When Anya emerged, Gabriel listened to her then quickly grabbed the piece of concrete she pointed to and shoved it away. The chuck of rock hit the ground with a slight thud. "Is she hurt?" Gabriel asked as he moved the rubble away that Anya told him too. Still he was so aware of her looking at him with far more interest than the average person. it wasn't just his strange hair or eyes that caused her to stare. She was interested in him.

Anya raised her eyebrows. Rescuer indeed. Gabriel handled the concrete like it was nothing. He was a dragon, of course, and that was to be expected, but it was still impressive to see. "Now that one," she pointed to the next, weaving through the wreckage. By now Gabriel could see flashes of her scales, wide stripes of black, and black-specked red, alternating with thinner bands of yellow. As naga went, Anya was bright, flashy, and theoretically deadly. Not that she'd ever had the reason or desire to actually bite anyone. "Her leg is pinned. Maybe broken, but I did not touch her. She'll respond better to you."

The further they went, the harder it was to move the rubble away as it was so entwined with bits of twisted rebar but Gabriel managed. He watched Anya as he followed her directions and moved away the concrete. The woman was remarkable looking in her naga form. her scales were flashy though unlike his subtle blue but she intrigued him none the less. he wondered what it was about Anya that Zaria hated so much.
"Are we nearly to her now? the poor girl must be terrified!" He really did hope that she would respond well to him. even in his human form he wasn't exactly normal looking.

Anya led Gabriel down into what had been basement of the building, the dragon clearing a stable path as they went. Luckily, the work went quickly. Anya had no idea how long Tait's and Zaria's powers would last. Besides, the longer the poor girl was trapped down there…

"We're close," she replied, flicking her tongue and making sure of her direction. "She is. Terrified, I mean. There, that one now," she pointed to a chunk that was mostly rebar. "When we get to the last few pieces, I'll describe them to you, then… leave. If you can carry the girl up on your own." She twisted a bit to look over her shoulder at Gabriel, hoping that his answer would be yes. The path that had been created behind them was pretty clear. She was nothing if not proud of what she was, but she had no illusions about outsiders.

Heather watched on in fascinated awe as Anya changed into her Naga form, it really was a beautiful metamorphasis. Unfortunately before she could finish looking they had reached the next van, after this one there would only be one more to go. Luckily this one was open too, nobody was inside; Heather guessed that if there had been any occupants previously they'd joined the gathering crowd around Tait and Zaria.
Sam went in first, this time since he knew what he was looking for he and Heather managed to shut down all of the cameras in under 20 seconds. Sam grinned profusely, he was beginning to like this 'sneaking' business. The distance to the next van was less than 10 meters but during the journey Sam noticed what he hadn't before, that Anya woman was a snake person! The word 'Naga' sprang to mind, though he hadn't read about them much what little he had read about them fitted Anya perfectly. Mouthing a 'Woah' he came to the next van. It was locked. Biting his lip he turned to Heather, "Uh, It's locked."
Great, Heather thought. What could they do now? Chewing her knuckle in concentration she thought. Maybe, just maybe this media van was the kind with a sunroof. "Stay here," she whispered at Sam, spreading her deep blue wings she gave three quick flaps and she was on the roof. There was an opening, it was about the size of a dog door. "Great." Heather said, this time out loud. Shrinking magic had never been Heather's strong point, all she had been able to do during previous training sessions was drop a dress size. Her father had always told her that magic feeds off of the energy that comes when you feel a strong emotion, often leading to the belief that magic is dormant until puberty. Taking a deep breath, Heather concentrated all of her being on all of the sad memories she could remember until tears were streaming down her face. Now, shrink! she thought to herself, and she shrank. Soon she was small enough to fit through the opening. She quickly jumped down and stopped concentrating, returning her to her normal size. This van had the exact same layout as the first one so she managed to switch of the cameras without Sam's help. Unlocking the door from the inside she retracted her wings and ran back to Sam.
He immediately noticed that it looked like she'd been crying, "What happened?" he asked, alarmed.
Heather just smiled at him, and said in a clear voice, "I managed to use shrinking magic!"

They were nearly to the little girl now, Gabriel right behind Anya. The rebar bent slightly as he pushed the chunk of concrete back. there was a decent sized path behind them now. it was rather remarkable and they were probably more efficient than a human team even with all their technology.

"I'll get her on my own then. You don't want her to see your naga form right?" Gabriel asked. "So which pieces should I get?"

"Of course not. She's scared enough as it is." And so was Anya, for that matter. She was currently more exposed than she had ever been and, for once, actually looked forward to returning to human form. "This one," she pointed to a fairly small chunk of concrete, one with colorful paint chipping away from one side. It had once held part of a mural. Then she showed him another piece of rebar, then finally an oblong chunk of concrete. "You'll find her in a hollow under there."

"So... You can shrink stuff and now you're crying...? I don't see the connection." Sam stated with a rather quizzical look on his face. "Did you hit your head...?" he continued, looking over her face for signs of injuries.
Heather rolled her eyes, Sam could be so... Human! "Sam, I'm fine." she laughed, wiping away the tears. "I'm crying because I needed to focus all of my energy on- I'll explain later." she sighed, noticed the confused look on Sam's face. They walked around to the other side of the van so they could see what was happening clearly. By the looks of things Anya and Gabriel had almost freed the girl.

Tait made sure to keep an eye on the business with removing the girl from the rubble knowing that the paramedics would be needed once they freed her. He begin added the chants for a memory replacing spell to his words, so that the people would experience a blank spot of time. He felt awful for charming them as way, but it was necessary.

Zaria soon found herself surrounded by men, all of which would have eagerly let her drink her blood, but Zaria kept her blood lust tightly in control. She had a mission to finish and that was her top priority.

Gabriel nodded to Anya in understanding. To a person like him, seeing a naga was interesting, but he didn't expect that most scared little girls would see Anya as a savior rather than the nightmare creature she appeared to be. Nor did he suppose that anyone would want to be seen if they would be seen as a nightmare.

He got in front of Anya and started moving the last three pieces of concrete. "Okay, I'll meet you when I have to the girl." After Gabriel had removed the last piece of concrete, he crawled into the hollow under there.
"Hello?" he called out. "Are you alright?"

Anya nodded back, smiled wanly, and swiftly coiled around toward the surface. Much as she wouldn't have minded exploring the area a bit more, she was glad of the quick and stable path to her clothes.

Nobody had moved them or, she was relieved to see, her purse. And who would have, everyone being under hypnosis? After a brief pang of regret, she shifted out of her scales, her long serpent tail gently melting, twisting back into long, slender but deceptively strong human legs and feet. And then she pulled on her clothes, all but the panties (a total loss) and jacket. They were dusty and so was she. A quick call to the boss resulted in more than enough time for her to go home, shower and change before work. She hoped. Deeper investigations into the arcane nature of the blast would probably have to wait until evening, anyway. The others were doing a great job keeping potential witnesses under control, but that wouldn't last forever. It would be better to come back when things had quieted down...

Kenley whimpered, and tugged at the rock on her shin. Her foot had stopped hurting what seemed like hours ago, though it might have been only minutes. She didn't think that was a good thing. Her mom -- where was her mom, she wanted her mom -- had just been helping her get ready for school when the world went crazy and the building fell down. Where was her backpack? She was missing school! And who was this person talking to her? He seemed nice. Helpful, even. Maybe he'd take her to her mom. And school, too. She was supposed to have a spelling test today! She couldn't miss that! "I can't feel my foot," she cried out to whoever it was. "I'm stuck!"

Gabriel crawled through the hollow until he was right in front of the girl. Even in the dark lighting, her face looked white under the dirt and tear stains.
"Shush, I'm here to help you. I can get you out," He said in a comforting voice. He looked at the rock that had fallen onto the girl's leg. "I'm going to move this rock okay? it may hurt." He didn't wait for the girl to respond before carefully lifting the fallen piece of concrete and pushing it to the side. He gathered the girl in his arms and carried her back to the surface, murmuring comforting words the entire time. When he finally made it back to the surface, he called out to the naga woman.

"Anya, I have the girl. where are the paramedics and her mother?"

Tait was read the moment Gabriel climbed out of the rubble, he released the people he was charming from his charm and walked back over to the group, looking at the girl with concern.

Zaria had seen Gabriel's flash of bright blue hair the moment he emerged from the rubble and smirked saying to the men around her, "Boys I believe you have some work to do, and with that she released them and walked back over to Gabriel and asked, actually sounding pretty concerned, "Is she okay?" she looked at the girl.

An answer proved unnecessary. As soon as Tait and Zaria released their people, paramedics worked through their confusion and gently took Kenley from Gabriel, putting her on a stretcher, working on her leg and comforting her mother at the same time. Whether they'd be able to save the foot was anybody's guess, but the odds seemed to be good. The girl had not been trapped for very long.

Through it all, green-eyed Kenley gazed at the strange blue-haired man who had rescued her. She was dazed and in shock, certainly, but much as she would forget in the days ahead, she would always wonder. Was he an angel, saving her from whatever lurked in the underground? She needed to believe that he was.

Anya stood silently in the background, grateful that the effort had gone smoothly. It was better that she not talk until the girl was on her way to the hospital, however, just in case the girl recognized her voice. She idly wondered where Heather and Sam were off to, and whether they were okay. They were so young… Ah, well, at least she knew where to suggest for a meeting place that evening that would be safe for all of them. Well, all but one.

Gabriel was glad to give the girl to the paramedics. He was dirty now, bits of concrete stuck in his hair, but he was smiling broadly. He had helped someone and that was all that mattered. When the ambulance was finally away, he smiled at the others. "Well that was quite remarkable, what we did today."

Heather and Sam ran through the throng and met up with Anya and Gabriel, they hadn't been able to see very well from their position in front of the van so were anxious to know what happened. Before she had even stopped running Heather called out excitedly, "How did it go? Is she okay?"
Sam rolled his eyes, "Hetty, let them breath!" he exclaimed, catching up. Despite her smaller stature Heather had always been the more athletic of the two. Brushing his honey-brown hair out of his face he looked up at Gabriel anxiously "But, um, yeah... Is she okay?"

"Yes, it was," Anya replied to the dragon, not sharing his enthusiasm. She was grateful that the girl was okay, that the effort had been successful, but even without video footage or reliable witnesses, there would be questions. And if they stuck around much longer, and cameras started to switch on again… "We should go. I'm late for work, Sam and Heather must be late for school…

"There's an all-night diner across the street behind St. Peter's. The church with the fancy gargoyle. I think I'll go there for dinner tonight. Great hamburgers." It was not the most casual hint ever, but it would do.

Heather sighed with relief, it was good to know that the girl was okay. Catching Anya's hint, she nodded. "Is that the one with the graffiti'd sign? Yeah, the hamburgers are divine."
Sam tilted his head in agreement, he could see they were planning another meeting. "Sounds great, I might check it out some time." he hinted, it was a badly veiled attempt at asking if he could join the arcane group, he wasn't technically supposed to be there anyway but they might let him join in, seeing that he already knew. Also noting Anya's statement about being late for school, he looked at the time. "Great Scot!" He exclaimed, "Heather, we've almost missed period one!" he continued on, grabbing her hand and running full pelt in the direction of Allibaster High, the local high school he and Heather attended.
Turning around, Heather winked at the other Arcanes and then continued running after Sam. "Slow down!" she yelled, "We're missing maths, you idiot! You should be happy!"

Gabriel sighed as the two teenagers ran off to school. "Its days like this I'm glad I don't have a job yet. There's no one to miss me when I go rubble diving after an explosion." He chuckled softly to himself, then turned turned to Anya, catching onto her hint easily. "I haven't had a good hamburger in a long time. Tonight yes?" he asked with a smile. He was slightly nervous to spend too much time around the naga though with her obvious interest in him.

"That's the one," Anya barely had time to reply before the teens were rushing off to class. Of course, mundanes were made up the majority of the business at the diner. Sam would be more than welcome there. It wasn't him she was worried about.

It wasn't Gabriel either, for that matter. She feared that his presence would make it difficult to focus. At the moment, concerns about blending in and getting to work were effective distractions. This evening, though, what would that bring? "Tonight, yes. Just after sunset. It's easy to find." She worried about herself when it game to the dragon, but he was of the Order. He would be as welcome as Sam at the restaurant. It was Zaria, she was certain, that they would have to keep an eye on this evening.

Tait smiled at Anya, her hint was slightly obvious. "I'll be there, hamburgers will make good fuel for a nightly stroll." The way Tait said stroll made it very clear it wasn't a complete mundane stroll that he took. "Count me in."

Zaria was highly aware of the looks Anya was sending her out of the corner of her eyes and Zaria sent a snarl, although a mild one, at the woman before smiling and saying. "I'll be there, it's been awhile sense I had some human food." she turned to look at Gabriel, "Now I believe we had a conversation to finish, and I have nowhere to be."

"No, no. Not the bugs, you intolerable fool, the little green monsters you've sent all over the city. Mischievous things, it's the last thing I need at this point." This man was... well, insufferable, to say the least. The very, very least. How on earth did he ever end up living so near such a nuisance? Sighing heavily, he rubbed his temples. His headache was only getting worse, and why was it so damn bright out? This was why he was a night owl, he couldn't take the sun, or the heat. His pale skin reflected light as he squinted and covered his eyes, blocking out some of the sun.

"I don't have time to deal with those, so why don't you just call them off?" Something in his mind kept telling him that it wasn't this man, but he didn't want to listen. He didn't want, or need, it to be anymore than a freak creation of this hippie.

"It's settled then," Anya nodded at Tait, smiling back. She rather liked Tait, in spite of herself. She also hoped never to see him in her dreams. They were private things and, well, a bit strange. Especially when she wasn't herself, but her patron. And those tended to involve hunting. When they did, she'd often awaken with a strong craving for mice. Not that she acted on it. Usually.

She quirked an eyebrow back at Zaria. They'd already compared fangs and, after all, it wasn't how big they were that really counted. It was what was in the venom glands that mattered, if one had them. Then she gently picked a piece of plaster from Gabriel's shirt sleeve and added an equally gentle, "See you tonight," before gliding back to her apartment to face the rest of the day.

"Monsters? Dude, I don't do monsters. Just creatures. The harmless kind, right buddy?" Ted looked down at the Lunar Dog who'd returned, sidled up next to his leg and proceeded to hum an old Kibbles 'n Bits jingle. If that wasn't a hint, Ted didn't know what was. "Okay, buddy, I hear you. I'll feed you soon," he reassured the dog, scratching it behind the ears.

Then he had a brainstorm. They were rare enough. Gardening was pretty meditative, even instinctive, and truly thinking didn't come into play very often. So he latched on to this idea, eagerly enough. "Maybe I can help you, though, man. Show me what they are, maybe we can figure something out."

It was about now that he was about to regret himself, because before he could do anything, even attempt to stop himself, his mouth opened and a horrific idea poured out. "Don't play dumb with me, I know their yours. But either way, come with me, I'll show you the little monsters." But instead of taking it back, he wasn't one to show a weakness, or take back his words, he turned on his heels and made his way through the grass. Silently cursing the stains he may find on his fine shoes from trotting about on earth like this.

He pushed his way through the high hedges that separated the land (even he wasn't above a shortcut), and made his way across the perfectly manicured lawn. Two large, and polished gargoyles were perched upon the large entry way, and a towering mahogany door. In the moments it took him to cross the lawn he thought about what he was doing, inviting the hippie into his home, letting someone else know about his vast amount of cameras through the city, spying on almost everyone and everything, and in general... just interacting with anyone for more than five minutes. And, plus, all of the things that the hippie touched would have to be cleaned.

With a heavy sigh he watched as the large mahogany doors opened him, waiting for him to enter.

Ted's neighbor's yard was much too orderly. Obsessive, really. As the unicorn followed Max through the grounds, Ted couldn't help but plot new life for the place. It wasn't necessarily voluntary. Wild vines sprouted in his wake, and colorful farkleberry hybrids that emitted bakery-like scents. Some of those would glow in the dark, too, come nightfall. Perfectly edible fruit, with healing properties to boot. Ted made another mental note about sending some bread over.

The doors opened to an impressive mansion. The hippy didn't hesitate to enter. After all, his friend was inviting him in! And what a place it was, sparkling clean. Maybe too clean, come to think of it. Ted didn't bother to kick the dirt off of his sandals, or brush the dust off of his shirt. At least his hair was tied back into the usual unkempt ponytail.

"Uhh, dude, I don't see any monsters here," he said, looking around the place. "I swear they're not mine though."