((I’ve been reading this whole story since yesterday and been dyeing to hurry and catch up so I could jump in. Started to get a little confused with which characters were who, so I made a cheat sheet for myself and figured I would share if anyone is interested.))

p o p p e t - Julia (F) 19 human [normal human]

AmaniIshtar - Jaylee (F) 20 shifter [pink pigtails]

AmaniIshtar – Derrick (M) 22 human [a nice guy]

Hidden Cupcake - Dahlia (F) War Rider [head of flame]

Hidden Cupcake – Levi (17) human [crazy former slave]

Kry – Aris – (M) 23 Garuda [one winged mute angel]

Beekeeper – Kylee (F) 26 Werewolf [not at peace with the beast inside]

Beekeeper - Lex (M) 28 human [one handed swordsman]

Fishyfey – Christopher (M) 27 vampire



Name: Christopher Adams
Race: Vampire
Gender: Male
Age: 27 (looks 17)

Description: He wears a sloppy black hoodie that can be pulled low to cover his face if the sun is too bright. Slinking through shadows during the daylight hours or staying in the safety of basements and abandoned buildings, Christopher hunts the streets day and night. His only possessions are a violin, bow, and arrows.

*****

Following the stink of smoke, Christopher traveled towards the next town. A once white sign with cheerful green letters, now faded, announced his arrival in Greer.

The dyeing flames were a dim halo of orange and yellow made ghostly by the fog. It smelled like roasting meat and he scrunched his nose against the stench. He crept closer, curious. Hoping.

There was no one in sight except for the carcasses of dogs. Someone had a bloody fight here, but they were gone now. Christopher sighed and looked for higher ground. He doubted he would find what he was looking for here, but nevertheless he had to try.

Half a block away he broke the window on a three story house and climbed inside, dashing upstairs. There was no access to the roof so he slipped out the attic window and pulled himself up. It was a 360 degree view. If anyone was out in the open he would see them.

Christopher settled the violin on his shoulder and pulled the bow across the strings. A sorrowful note rang out, followed by another and another until a song formed that would make angels weep. It was loud and pure, and he was sending a message out to someone if only they were still alive and could hear him.

Kylee's ears twitched, both human and wolf. Was that what she thought it was...? Yes. Another note rang out, loud, likely able to be heard even by the human.

Music. She hadn't heard music in ages and oh was it beautiful to listen to. She had almost forgotten what it had sounded like, the memory of celebrations back when she was... when she was normal had almost faded completely from her mind.

Her eyes closed as she strained to listen.

Who could be playing? she wondered, the sound dancing through her mind.

Who was it?

~*~

Lex stayed silent the entire time, even his breath quiet in the stillness of the mall. Someone else was here - he saw a shape dart into the closet nearly directly across from him, the door slamming shut and ringing out in the empty halls.

He had waited, sword drawn, keeping the light from reflecting off the blade and giving away his position. He waited until the door opened hesitantly, a dark head peering out and glancing up and down the halls before sliding out of the closet.

The man ghosted down in the opposite direction he ran - not unless he strained his ears could Lex actually hear the sound of a footfall. Until he couldn't see the dark bead of hair bobbing down the mall's long hall.

Standing, he kept his sword pointed down and in front of himself, swiftly crossing over to where the male had been hiding, taking great care to make sure his own steps were as silent as the unknown's. Peeking inside he saw nothing but cleaning supplies - until he saw a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, tucked behind empty bottles of ammonia.

Lex blinked. He couldn't be this lucky, no way. It must be empty. Reaching inside, minding the position of the door so that he wouldn't hit it and have the hinges possibly creak, giving him away, he grasped the brown bottle. Grinning he grabbed it, nearly giddy with happiness.

It was full. Now he had something to properly clean wounds when - and he knew it would be when, not if - he sustained them.

Slowly, though, his smile melted away. Something had scared that man off. Something - or someone - else was in the mall.

Dahlia let out a sigh when she felt the other leave, a few minutes of annoying poking and him moving her legs around. The winged man wandered off and she didn't even bother checking to see where. Hell a lot of them seemed to be wandering off into their own worlds. Not that she really minded. Meant she could finally get some sleep. A nap would do her legs good. She was about to drift off, finally start her legs on the proper path to mending, when a noise cut through the relative silence this place offered. Her eyes snapped open, a low growl rising in her throat.

"Who, in their right mind, would be playing music at this hour?!" she hissed, sitting up and shakily getting to her feet, glaring around them. Annoyance was clear in her demeanor and voice. She began to move, finally popping out back into the alley, eye twitching as she attempted to pinpoint in what direction to absurdly loud music was coming from. She was going to find it. She was going to go shut it up.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Levi had made his way back into his sleeping area, having removed the old jerky from his pile of things in the corner. It didn't take him long for him to finish it, eyeing his hands almost mournfully. He was going to have to find more food. And soon if his still gargling stomach was anything to go by. He placed his hands over his too skinny abdomen almost comfortingly, hoping to somehow soothe it. Maybe those monsters had food on them. It was a possibility....he shook his head rapidly, scrunching his shoulders up. No. No he wouldn't. He wouldn't even go near those monsters if he could help it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a faint smell, a smell he hadn't smelt in full in months; burning wood. Underneath it was another smell, something sicker and stomach churning. And it made his mouth water. Burning meat. He crawled out of his compartment and stood, quietly making his way back into the hallway, sniffing as quietly as he could in hopes of at least pinpointing the direction the tantalizing smell was coming from. He did not bother to bring any junk with him as defense, the only useful thing dropped and forgotten in the supply closet from earlier. And there was no way he was heading back down....there was noise, loud and long and sad and it caused him to tense up. He didn't know what it was and he whimpered slightly, glancing about fretfully. He relaxed as he glanced at his closest friend, hearing a soft humming sound coming from it. It was alright. He was ok. He just needed to go find whatever that smell was. So he moved, being as quiet as he could as he made his way cautiously down the hallway, intent on slipping into one of shops he knew was unlocked.

((Uuuuuugh sorry for the really late reply. I've hit a nasty case of stress and have been unable to properly type anything out at all. Hopefully it's over now so I can give this place the time it deserves.))

((It's okay Cupcake! You weren't holding us up! I hope everything is okay now!))

Jules had been doodling on the window with her finger when a sleepiness came over her. She yawned and laid back on the bed comforter. She didn't want to sleep. Not in here, alone. Monsters could get her with her guard completely down like that. But maybe she could just rest her eyes, for just a couple of minutes...

A sound, a musical tune played through the air. The sound of a violin. It was so beautiful and soothing. A lullaby to the night. Jules' light blue eyes drifted shut, but not for long. She sat up quickly, and listened. Where would that music be coming from? It sounded, faint. Maybe somewhat muffled? It was coming from outside then.

It was so beautiful, and so sad. Jules came into a sort of trance. Maybe it was brought on by the intense exhaustion and lack of sleep, mixed with the beautiful lullaby. She sat there, unblinking, staring at the window for some time. Yes, she thought, follow the music. Her thoughts, though few and far between, were simple.

Julia stood, her backpack left on the bed along with her jacket, and moved to the shop door. She unlocked it, clearly still tranced and stepped outside, leaving the door standing open. Jules would never travel outside alone at night. Humans were never to do such a thing, unless they wanted to die or be captured.

She moved slowly, following the beautiful sound of the violin. The fog was almost gone and the moonlight that shown down lit up the silky skin not covered by her black thick strapped tank top, and giving her light blue eyes an enchanting sparkle. She didn't even realize she was outside, no. She only knew there was her, and that beautiful sound.

Jules didn't realize she'd stopped, there in the middle of the road. She was staring up at the rooftop. It wasn't far from the store she'd been in. Just across from the mall. The music was up there. A small breeze picked up, blowing Jules' hair around her face and blowing her scent, the scent of human over the area.

((fishyfey: Sorry things have been a tad slow. I'm trying to get your charrie involved! ))

((Its cool poppet. ^_^ I figured he would either meet up with someone outside or he would wander into the strip mall after a few people posted. I’m not worried about it being slow. Seems to have been rolling along pretty fast so far and its already picking up again.))

Christopher played the last few notes of his song letting them hang in the air like a distant memory. It left the world quiet and lonely after the music, even sad music, had breathed life into it for a short time.

He smelled her before he saw the woman standing in the street. She looked like a lost puppy that had been dragged through hell and back. He suspected that wasn’t too far from the truth. They were all living in this hell and barely surviving.

She wasn’t exactly what he was hoping to find, but at least she was human. That was probably a good sign.

“Hey. Girl. Human.” Christopher shouted down. “Are there more humans with you? Have you seen a boy about 11 years old?”

She stared up for a few moments longer, before she realized the music had stopped. Jules blinked out of her trance. A boy? She shook her head no. Then looked around herself. Clearly she was outside, though she didn't recall coming out here. There was enough moonlight that she could see okay, even for a human.

Her light blue eyes looked up at the person on the roof again. Had he been playing that music? She wondered if he was human, too. He was looking for humans, but it seemed a particular one. That probably meant he was human, too. It was probably pretty safe up there on the roof. She was the human out in the open, on the ground, like an idiot.

She glanced back at the mall and returned her attention to him. He'd asked two questions. She'd shaken her head no about the boy but, "There are others inside. They, aren't human," she added. Maybe the mannequin man was. "There could be humans in there though, there are others we don't know...". Jules wondered if she really was safer out here than in there and shuddered.

She looked back up at the rooftop again. "Did you hear any music?" she asked curiously. "I thought, I heard something...". It had been a long time since she'd heard music like that.

((Sorry guys that I haven't posted till now. But Monday I was busy with my gramma followed by a huge headache, then early bed time because of dr apt on Tuesday, which then had me passed out for a little bit before hanging out with some friends while Aries was at school, another early bed time for sonogram apt. Then yesterday was gramma's apts, more running around, lots of sleep since I hadn't had any then work. Ugh, hopefully this all makes sense.))

Smiling softly as Kylee took her hand, Jaylee lead her off to the side, making sure to grab some of the clothes the female human had brought. Studying the area they were at, she didn't want to go too far away from the rest, but she had to find a place to get this one bandaged. Not finding much, apparently the area they were at was mainly a clothing section, the shifter shrugged mentally and grabbed a long cotton dress. It would do for bandages. Finding a nearby drinking fountain, she did grin a little. Hopefully there was still running water.

Luck seemed to be on their side, because there was indeed water still. Grinning, the shifter let her nails elongate into claws, slicing a strip from the dress and placing it under the cold water. "Lets see about getting all that sharp stuff. Hopefully you won't need stitches." She commented as she turned to look at the werewolf. Motioning for her to sit, frankly it'd be easier that way incase there was anything to her legs. Jaylee looked over the other girl then reached out to begin removing the shrapnel as gently as she could, using the wet fabric to clean off the dried blood that could be also hiding more damage.

Derrick was relieved that the scary lady with the gun had wandered off, taking the naked one with her. From what he'd gathered, they weren't human, actually, from the injuries he could tell on the naked girl, most normal humans probably would've been passed out. His quiet reprieve didn't seem to last long before the male, a one winged angel like guy- though kind of scarier looking- came over, somewhat glaring at him. The blonde gulped, then sighed. So far he seemed to be constantly getting the third degree around here.

Though it seemed this one either preferred not to talk, or couldn't, it didn't matter. Derrick still got the creeps. "Look man, just like I told psycho lady, I mean no harm, I just got lost from a traveling group of other humans. I don't even really remember who I am anymore, or my past." If it wasn't the humans, then it was the other types too that were picky about their 'herds'. Honestly, he was, rather stupidly, unarmed and didn't even carry a bag. What could he possibly do to these people?

Aris heard the music, and he glanced around for a moment. Noting that the human female of his flock had vanished again, and the Rider was up, moving around instead of resting. This was certainly a difficult to manage group, his attention quickly returned to the male in front of him and a look of displeasure crossed Aris features when the human male referred to one of his flock as a psycho. These people were far more sane than most he had come across. The male seemed mostly harmless, and he was human. Aris features softened slightly, and he reached out, placing his hand on top of the human male's head for a moment. A reassuring pat on the head, like one usually given to a small child, this human could remain. That was Aris' decision.

The music had stopped. Aris gave a slight nod to the human male, and began to walk away. That single wing twitching, and his hand closed around his sword hilt. His other human was missing. Most likely in danger, or lost. He grit his teeth and glanced around at his current companions. How could he communicate to them he was going to look for their lost human? This was getting rather frustrating. Lips parted, then that jaw clenched tightly. There was no time to play charades anyway, that wing twitched with annoyance and frustration at himself. Then he was walking off. His foot falls light as he moved quietly through the mall. Following the familiar scent of the human female. He was sure the others would figure out his intentions, they were rather intelligent.

He followed her scent to a bed, and found her pack, and the remnants of doodles on a foggy window. Aris sniffed at the air again, he only smelled her. No scent of another close enough to drag her off. He picked up her pack, putting the straps over the shoulder where he didn't have a wing. That other one twitched again as he moved, her scent leading him towards the front of the building. Towards a door. Something awful might happen if she were out side alone. He slipped out the door, the breeze blew the scent a bit, but it was still easy to follow.

Then there she was, her back to him, staring up at a roof. Someone was on the roof. Aris drew his sword quietly and rushed for his human female. His left arm slipping around her waist and holding her close while his right hand held his sword tightly, the tip of the sword pointed towards the stranger. Aris dark eyes were narrowed at the other. The scent coming from that roof top was not a human one, no, it was a scent Aris knew far to intimately and one he did not like at all. Vampire.

Aris would have growled if he could have, his arm around the human female tightened, it was a protective arm and the expression on his face made it rather obvious that he clearly, already did not like this new stranger. His gaze shifted to the human he held so closely, was she hurt? He didn't think so, he didn't smell blood on her. That was good, he had arrived just in time. That wing flared out behind him and twitched in agitation. If he'd had both he would have dropped the human her pack, shoved her in the direction of the mall and flown up there to confront the vampire rather violently.

However, Aris stood there, with the human wrapped up in that one strong arm and his sword ready in the other. Waiting for the vampire to make the first move. Those eyes were glaring at the vampire, almost daring it to do something, nearly begging it to give Aris a reason to take it's head off.

Jules had been looking up at the person on the roof, waiting for a response, when something grabbed her from behind. Jules wasn't a screamer, but she was already on edge after running into the mannequin man and then finding herself outside with no recollection of how she'd come to be there. So, like a girl, Jules shrieked.

Instinct had her trying to turn to see her captor all the while pushing to get away from it. It only happened for a moment or two before she realized in the darkness that her captor wasn't a captor, it was the winged man. She quit flailing and her cheeks reddened, though he probably wouldn't see. She cleared her throat. "Right", she whispered, before returning her attention to the man on the roof, not wanting to look at the winged man in embarrassment. She was usually way more composed than that.

She soon realized that her winged man was wielding a weapon. Did he know something she didn't? Probably. Everyone seemed to know more than a human, at any given time. Her light blue gaze looked to the silent man now. Was he angry at the man on the roof? What for? She wanted to reassure him.

"He's just looking for a boy," she said. "I'm sure it's fine. I told him there were others inside that we didn't know. Maybe the kid is in there. Shouldn't we let him look?" She was watching the winged man, knowing he couldn't speak, to see his response.

She had shrieked, but he had expected that, afterall he had suddenly grabbed her from behind. He kept his arm around her though, that gauntleted arm tightening somewhat around her when she mentioned allowing the vampire to look inside the building that currently housed his flock. Two unknown threats in the building, plus the werewolf, was all the danger his flock needed. He wasn't going to let a vampire near them at all. His body tensed a bit more, and he readjusted his grip on his sword. Tighter.

His human was looking at him, and he shook his head 'no'. The expression on his face was slightly grim, very serious, and maybe a bit of hatred in his eyes towards the vampire. No vampire could be trusted. None of them. They were the most psychotic, drunk with power creatures he had ever encountered. Vampires had robbed him of a wing and voice. Vampires treated humans like cattle. Vampires were the absolute worst in Aris opinion and he would not side with one. They simply could not be trusted. They were too dangerous. If only he could make this human female understand those things. Aris began to back up slowly, pulling the human female with him. Those eyes not straying from the vampire.

“Did you like my music?” Christopher grinned like the cat who ate the canary. Or was about to. “I can play it for you again sometime. If you ask nicely.”

He stowed the violin in its case. “Right now I have something else I need to do.”

A winged man approached from behind the woman and swooped her into a protective grip.

“What an odd couple you two make. Isn’t a human a little too weak for your tastes Angel? They are so frail… The smallest bump, the littlest bite, and they are dead before you know it.”

He saw the hatred in the Angel’s expression. It was as if Christopher had personally killed his kitten or nailed Jesus to the cross. Angels didn’t like that sort of thing right?

“Seriously dude? Do you have to prove your machisimo-ness to the lady by picking a fight with me? It doesn’t make you the bigger man. Listen lady, I think he is compensating… if you know what I mean. Might want to reconsider your relationship with him. Let me know if you ever want to hang out with a real man instead.” Christopher winked at her.

((This is uber lateeeee sorry!))

Kylee hissed a little with the wet cloth brushed against her skin - not so much due to the pain, but due to the iciness of the water. Alright, maybe a little bit of it was due to little twinges of dulled agony but really, who could hold that against her? Definitely not - Alpha - this woman. The others, however, would probably think that she got what she had coming. Not that she could blame them - their only interaction with her had been violent and filled with gnashing teeth and pointed claws.

For now it was probably best she stuck close to the lady. It seemed as if she were the only one that was on Kylee's side - as much as there were sides to be on. But in the back of her mind she knew that the others of the group would always come first.

Pack. Good pack. Keep pack?

The 'wolf wanted to stay. Surprisingly, she found herself wanting the same thing - and not just because there was safety in numbers. But if she wanted to stay she'd have to prove to them she wasn't dangerous. Which, evidently, may be a lot harder than it seemed.

Aris would have growled at the vampire, well. Aris was growling, but no sound came from his lips and throat. His eyes threatened murder. The way the vampire was talking about the human in his arm seemed more like threats to him. Clearly the vampire was threatening this human member of his flock. The Garuda didn't care if he was called an angel, it happened many times before, still coming from the lips of a vampire made it feel rather insulting almost. Besides, how dare he speak of humans, not just Aris' human, but all humans like that. Aris was going to give this world back to the humans, but first. All vampires had to be eliminated. Then the other monsters, including Aris himself.

He kept his sword up, ready to fend off an attack if one came. His lips parted slightly and though there were several things he wanted to say to the blood drinker, nothing came past those lips. Not even the tiniest hint of a sound. It didn't matter, exchanging words with a good for nothing vampire was beneath him anyway. Though he should have rushed up there and killed the creature immediately, his flock member's safety outweighed that right now. Once she was safe, with the others, he could fight the vampire. Aris body trembled with barely controlled anger and hatred. That anger only increasing with every word the vampire spoke.

"Hey!" Jules protested to the man on the roof. She was going to protest that her and the silent man weren't a couple. He was a monster and she was a human. Those things were unheard of! Besides, she didn't even know his name. But then the man was talking about humans being so weak and frail. She opened her mouth to protest again, but, it was true, so she just frowned.

He kept speaking, telling her she could let him know if she ever wanted to hang out with a real man. So was he a human or not? The way he talked about humans told her no. The way Aris was reacting to him told her no. And she doubted their one-winged man was trying to pick a fight to seem macho. She didn't know him well, but she assumed he was being protective, again. It seemed in his nature to protect others against danger. Which meant the man on the roof was dangerous.

She might be human, but she still had a brain. "I don't want to hang out with you," she retorted. "You huge jerk," she added in a whisper. She'd planned on saying that a lot louder, but at the last minute her brain told her not to start a fight. She probably should get back inside, and try and drag the winged man with her. Where would the man on the roof go? If he wanted to look for his boy inside, they couldn't really stop him.

If she left the silent man here, would he be hurt? She'd seen him fight before, he appeared capable. But the thought made her uneasy for some reason. Was she growing an attachment to this group? They had been through quite a bit together, those things made you close to others didn't they? Aris' arm was still around Jules, and their closeness made it easy to feel his angry trembling. Jules however didn't know if the trembling was in anger or in fear and it worried her. Were they in a lot of danger here?

Suddenly Jules was filled with the fear she should have had the moment she stepped outside. She wanted to run inside, right now. But would Aris follow? It looked like he wanted to fight. How could she get him inside, too? She could just ask. It was frustrating not to know the silent man's name. She placed a hand on his chest, with minimal pressure, as if to push him towards the mall. "Take me inside?" It was a request, in hopes that it was in his nature not to deny a request made in fear by an innocent.

She only glanced over her shoulder once to see the stranger. Wondering how much of a threat he was to the group. As much of a threat as the werewolf? Maybe the winged man was overreacting, filling Jules with an unnecessary fear and worry?

Dahlia was storming about now, marching through the alley and to the street, grumbling and hissing. The music had stopped but the damage was done, the sound leaving a long screeching hiss in her ears. It was infuriating to say the least. She finally made into the street, her pain being blatantly ignored as she scanned across the stretch of pavement. She lifted and hand and rubbed at her ear before making her way further out into the open. She could care less if it was dark out. Any nocturnal creatures she ran into usually learned to think twice when engaging her.

She finally saw them, standing in the dark mist off in the middle of the street down a way; two figures, one with what appeared to be a sword drawn. The dark shape near that one's back told her who that was and she groaned audibly. She lifted her gaze to where he was looking, narrowing her eyes at the figure on the roof. "Hey!" she yelled, voice breaking the air like a knife. "Were you the one making that infernal noise!?"

((In which should be doing homework and in which Dahlia yells like a madwoman in the middle of the street.))

Aris lips moved for a moment, as if he were retorting, then they stopped. Damn vampires. They were the absolute worst. The more that vampire talked, the more Aris wanted to destroy him. Well, even if the vampire had stood by and said nothing, Aris' want for destruction at said man would have still grown by the seconds. It didn't help that the vampire was trying to taunt him, but Aris would not be the first to attack, no matter how badly he wanted to. The safety of the human was far more important than a grudge match. When she pressed against his chest with a hand, his dark eyed gaze flickered towards her.

Such strong emotions swam in his eyes, but he nodded at her words, his eyes softening just a bit. Carefully and awkwardly he sheathed his sword with her still locked against his chest, then he picked her up, his one wing twitching slightly. Aris gave the vampire a warning glare before he turned his back to the creature and began to move towards the mall. Something caught his attention and he stopped. Turning slightly. Another of his flock had come out, from what she was saying, she had come out because the music had been disturbing her. Aris wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he saw the rider, perhaps a bit of concern for the human, for another member of their flock but it seemed the rider had only come out to yell at the vampire.

Aris started moving again, figuring the vampire would become to distracted by the rider to care about him and the human anymore. He glanced over his shoulder towards the two as he moved further from them, surely the rider would be alright. Had her injuries healed? Could she take on a vampire and survive with minimal damage? She had a better chance of survival than the human though, Aris didn't relax at all until they reached the door of the mall. His body no longer trembled with barely controlled rage, but his dark eyes were still smoldering with that strong emotion. Carefully he set the human down on her feet just in front of the door and turned to look back the way they had come. Hand on his sword hilt.

Jules wasn't sure if it would work, trying to get the winged man inside. But finally he sheathed his sword. Were they in the clear? Would the man on the roof attack them or something anyway? She hoped she was just being paranoid. Then the silent man was sweeping her off the ground once again.

She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to do that, but she remained silent. She kind of, liked it. It had been a really, really, long time since anyone had acted like they actually cared for her safety. Even humans, the good ones, could only care so much. Even those people had prices, breaking points, fear too great for themselves to care as much for anyone else. It was a strange feeling, wanting to assure him that she could take care of herself, but knowing it wasn't true. Maybe that's why she didn't say anything.

Before they could get inside, he stopped. She looked at him and then into the direction his eyes had drifted. The ripper was coming out of the alley. She was yelling at the man on the roof. She hadn't liked the music? Strangely, Jules couldn't recall the sound of the music at all. Just that she had heard it, and that she had found it. But that woman, the ripper, was terrifying. She wondered about the safety of the man on the roof.

They had continued inside, Julia looking over the winged man's shoulder at the ripper. Should they make sure she didn't whip out her steed and fry the guy? She didn't think the silent man would care if the other was fried. He set her on her feet and turned to look out the door. He was wearing her backpack, she noticed for the first time. She wasn't thinking about it though, she had something else on her mind.

Lots of things really. Mostly she recalled the silent man's trembling. And from this spot behind him, she could see part of the scar not covered by the pack, where another wing must have once been. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen another monster like this one. What was he? Why did he hate the man on the roof so much? What happened to his other wing? Did any of those things connect?

She hadn't even realized that she'd moved forward, reaching out to rub her fingers over the scar, until she'd done it. She imagined what he must have looked like with both wings. Like some kind of angel. What it must have been like for him to fly, and what it must feel like not to be able to do that ever again. Humans weren't the only ones who'd had great losses and Jules was hurting now. Maybe for herself, for humanity, maybe for the winged man, maybe for all of it.

Aris was frowning just slightly, staring into the fog from which they had just come. He was confident the Rider would be alright, he resigned himself to remain with the human. She would need his protection more, and wasn't there another human, a male with the rest of his flock? It was too hard to protect both of them while they were spread so far apart like that, but certainly the shifter would take care of things and certainly nothing would happen...except..what if the werewolf decided to attack?

His thoughts were interrupted by a touch on his back. The muscles beneath that scar quivered slightly at the touch, and Aris turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. Slowly he let her pack slip from his shoulder and to the floor, giving her a better view of the scar. It was very jagged, as if someone had ripped that wing from his back instead of just cutting it off. It had healed nicely though, as nicely as such a wound can heal. He didn't move, Aris would let her look and touch as she pleased. There was no harm in being curious about such things, even things Aris didn't want to talk about, things he would have been reluctant to talk about even if he had a voice.

Jules wouldn't know that the winged man didn't want to talk about it, even if he could have. She probably couldn't even imagine what had happened anyway. Though her mind was trying to think up all the ways he could have lost it, despite her trying to push the thoughts away. After a few moments, Jules found herself frowning deeply.

"Why does this have to happen?" she whispered, not initially intending the question to be spoken. When she realized she'd spoken, she figured there wasn't any point in stopping. "It's not fair you know? What makes someone deserve, this?" She wasn't just referring to the silent man's scar, but to everything. The world was hell now. Everyone was suffering. No, not everyone. Just the humans that were left. The monsters who fought against the vampires and the werewolves and the vampires and werewolves. Wasn't that everyone? Why did all of this have to continue?

Jules had forgotten that the winged man couldn't speak and she sighed. She wanted someone to talk to. Even more, she wanted to know what happened to the silent man. She wanted to know all of their stories. It wasn't any of her business anyway she figured. Besides it would only be a matter of time before they were all split up or killed anyway. No sense in growing attached to anyone now.

She picked up her lucky pack and moved away from the winged man. It would be better if he just left now. Spared her any more time thinking that any of them would actually stick around. She found the bed by the window that she'd claimed and sat her backpack on it before planting herself on the side, facing away from the silent man. Maybe if he just left, it would make her feel better about not being the first to leave. Which was exactly her plan as soon as the sun came up.

When she spoke, Aris lips parted slightly, and he shrugged. All of this, all of these things. They happened because of greed and lusts of power. Because some people were just sick in the head that way, because some didn't care. Mostly though it was power. Watching others squirm in pain, begging for mercy made some people feel powerful, and it could be an addicting thing. Some people were just inherently evil though. Aris didn't believe that there was good in everyone. There was good in some, and others were beyond help. That was how he felt about it.

Aris shrugged slightly, when the human moved away from him, he turned to follow. Lips pressed together in a slight frown. Being without a voice had never really been so frustrating as it was now. He had no intention of leaving, of abandoning the group. There was safety in numbers and so far the others seemed mostly trustworthy. The werewolf remained questionable and there was the threat of the vampire looming about and skulking around the way vampires do. Aris sat down on the floor with his back against the bed once the human had climbed on to it. He had unsheathed his sword and it laid across his lap. One hand around the hilt.

Something touched the bed, and Jules turned around to see that the winged man hadn't left at all. Instead, he'd made himself comfortable on the other side of the mattresses. Hmm. Jules turned and flopped onto her stomach, resting her chin on her arms at the edge of the bed so that she was beside the silent man.

"I wish I knew your name," she mumbled, side-eyeing him with that light blue eyed gaze. "Have you thought about learning sign language or something? Oh, I bet I could read lips fine." She said the last thing with a hint of excitement, almost like she was holding back a fit of giggles. She hadn't thought of that before! Maybe they could communicate in that way. Otherwise they'd have to fog a lot of windows, or just find some paper. She supposed that would work fine, too.

((Noooo menewsha why must you do this to meeee. My session totally didn't expire - you liar.))


There were three options Lex had to choose from - one, he went back outside, leaving the potential danger inside the mall behind. This was the lowest on his list - it was getting dark outside and there were likely more dangers out there than in here. Two, he found a place to hole up, to gather resources and escape without detection of any of the mall's inhabitants - and three, to confront whatever had made the man run away in terror.

To be honest, he liked number two the best.

He glided back into the bridal store, this time moving further in to see if anyone else had taken up occupancy - or if they had never left. It didn't surprise him to find disturbed dust near the back - or front, depending on ones perspective - but the unlocked door was a little bit of a shock. If Lex were to hide out in a store he'd make sure the most obvious entrances were blocked - though maybe they'd left, hence why they left the door unlocked.

It was then that he heard the sound of a string instrument - it was muted, showing the distance at which it was played. It left him stunned - the last thing he expected to hear was music of all things.

Likely a violin - lighter weight. But who would bring such obvious attention to themselves, especially with the disappearing sun?

There were two possibilities - one, it was someone trying to signal for help. This, however, was unlikely - no human would give away their position in such a flashy and noticeable way, not in this dusk when everything was beginning to make their first moves. The second one was that it was in fact a monster, trying to draw in potential prey with a siren's song. This was the most probable - and if he were to guess, the creature would have to be a Vampire. 'Wolves preferred to hunt - but Vampires, they liked to charm their way into a meal.

Lex's grip tightened on his swords hilt. The metal sung in his hand, calling out to him, trying to get him to go outside. To cut the head off of whatever had the gall to try such a stunt, to stop another monster in its tracks. Now, he wasn't one to go out of his way to pick a fight - but Vampires held a special place of hate in his heart. He sighed.

The blade slipped smoothly back into it's sheath, the pleas quieting into nothingness.

He would not go outside. The lack of light gave his opponent the advantage, the lack of hiding spaces hindering him. In the mall at least there were nooks and crannies he could use to his advantages, likely some dead spaces where the architects cut corners to save time, space, and money. It was better to deal with the devil you knew than the devil you don't - though in this case both devils weren't known to him.

His heart clenched at the phrase - it reminded him of the time before he was forced into being a wanderer. Him and a couple others had taken up residence in - of all places - a library. But there had been a generator that run on whatever could be burnt in it, so it was better than most other places. They had made a good life there for a while - however the building wasn't just attractive to them, but to others as well...

Lex cut off the line of thought. That was not a memory he wanted to relive. Too many painful moments. Phantom pains ran up from his right arm, flesh twitching between the burn scars. Memories from the time before always sparked this reaction from him, his brain remembering when he was whole, before he lost -

He blanked his mind, stopped his breathing. That was not a mental path he wanted to traverse - not now, and hopefully not ever.

Starting his breathing up again slowly, he calmed himself down, relaxing his brain, his muscles, his consciousness. This was dangerous - in this vulnerable state of meditation could leave him open to an attack. But he needed this, needed control back over his body.

The pains stopped.

He toed off his shoes, bare feet spreading along the floor - he'd make less sound this way. Lex needed to gather as much as he could before he continued on in the morning. This was a mall - if it wasn't raided too badly already there'd be plenty of potential supplies. A couple of the dresses were torn into strips for bandages to be used in the future, the plastic coverings cut and folded into squares. If cut thin enough, and if he found a pin, they could be used as makeshift stitches. Or a tarp if need be.

He shoved his pack and shoes behind a couple boxes placed underneath a desk within the store, making sure they were hidden from prying eyes. Whoever had been here before may come back, and while he didn't want to be parted from his possessions, the bag would only get in the way if things turned violent within the mall.

The belts attaching a glove filled with pieces of rocks and metal was tightened around his right wrist. Lex hated going into battle with his amputation obviously showing - whoever he was fighting focused on his right side, thinking that without his hand he was weaker. It pissed him off, and while it made it easier to predict what they were going to do next he wanted to avoid it as much as possible. And, with the glove, he could at least get a good whack over the head with it.

He padded silently into the hall, bare feet making almost no sound against the floor. Placing his hand on the end of his sheathed sword, he moved down the hall.

Levi had been sure to be as silent as he could, humming along quietly to the soft tune that gently filled the halls. It was clouding his mind a bit, lulling him, soothing his erratic thoughts. Even his friends were humming. He could feel how happy they were, how content with the sound. It brought a warmth to his gut, a pool of nostalgia that was building in him. It had even blocked the tantalizing smell from his mind and, for more than a few moments, he forgot why he was even dragging his feet down the quiet hallway, a dumb smile on his face. All he remembered was that he was trying to get outside.

His dumb sliding was halted, his body jerking to a stop and his eyes widening. There was something in his vision, dominating his lopsided sight and causing him to jerk back and snap his head upward. Someone, something, had slid into his vision mere inches in front of him. His eyes locked onto the taller figure's face, his one good eye focusing sharply. He scrambled backward, panic starting to fly through his mind, his friends in the hall suddenly starting to scream at him to run to fight but he couldn't bring himself to do much of anything at this point. The man was certainly large; well muscled and broader than Levi's own emaciated physique. His gaze finally darted around, looking for something, anything, he could use as a weapon. Maybe he could just use his unkempt nails to scratch at the other's face. No. That wouldn't work. The man had only one hand but even he knew the long tool at his side was a sheathed blade. He'd have to run. He could only pray his smaller body was faster than the much more physically fit man's.

((Eugh I hate when Menewsha does that. You have no idea how many replies that were multiple paragraphs long with a lot of detailed descriptions it ate up because the site decided to go down or something like that.))

((I knoooow. I had it all typed out, went through and fixed things, went to go click and boom. Nothing. :C ))


Lex paused, the hairs on the back of his head along with those running along his limbs stood up. He stopped breathing.

He was being watched, and by someone who was close by.

When he first stepped out into the hall it had been deserted - but obviously he hadn't looked close enough. The spaces that he had thought to put to his own advantage were in turn being used against him. However, the question was: friend or foe? Was it the man from before, or what he was running from? It seemed as if he were about to find out. But he needed to know what he was up against - not a wolf, most likely, or he would've been slashed by now. Vampire? No. There would have been sweet talking to get him over. Human then - unless...

Mutant? No, couldn't be... Could it?

He needed to turn around - but he could practically feel the tension in the air, grabbing at him, choking him. The sounds of scrabbling drew his attention. It was faint, but it was there. But it was not heading towards him - in fact, it was just the small burst of sound and then silence. If he turned around, he could be attacked - by a scared human or a clever monster. Lex took a risk.

"I am going to turn around, slowly. I don't want any trouble."

His voice was hoarse and it hurt to speak. He suddenly realized his throat was quite dry - he'd need to find a water source soon and make sure it was clean before bottling some up.

Hands - or, rather, hand - were gradually lifted beside his head, and he turned in an unhurried circle, eyes flitting from one side of the hall to the other. He tried to appear relaxed, though in a moments notice, if need be, he could be ready to attack. While hand-to-hand combat was not his preferred fighting style it didn't mean he couldn't use it to stall long enough to get to his sword.

Levi was about to follow his instinct, about to turn and run for cover. But the man spoke and that stopped him. It was hoarse and scratchy and it froze Levi in his tracks. The man then lifted his hands upward and behind his head and the boy had no idea what that meant. He took a few steps backward, blinking in confusion. 'Turn around' was all he could really make out from the man's voice and the constant screeching of his friends didn't help his hearing so much. They were quiet now though, filling his ears with silence once more.

He was confused. He was certain the man would have turned to kill him the moment he had discovered his presence. But instead he had talked to him. He thought back to the girl from earlier and he let out a noise, high pitched and pitiful. It could barely be classified as a whimper. At least then he had a weapon, something to defend himself. This time he only had his legs. The best defense he could have now was distance. And even then who knew for how long it would protect him.

((It's one of my greatest fears on this site to have this great post and then nothing. I've made a habit of copying my text just in case something like that happens so I can just paste it back in.))