"Verona Byres," Ezekiel said with a slightly bowed head.

His mother seemed to be thinking for a bit and she leaned back slightly. Ezekiel watched her as he waited to be lectured for associating with her but when he didn't get one he was relieved.

"You need to apologize to her face right now," his mother scolded. "You know if that got out it would look horrible on your record."

The car turned around as if the driver were tuned to what his mother was saying and headed back in the direction of where Aldous' shop was. When they got there Ezekiel was forced out of the car.

"All right mom," he said. "I'll do it!"

"Mister Ezekiel!" Running up to him, Aldous hand delivered the letter, "It's from Verona..."

"Mayhen," Verona began as they stopped.
"You know that I don't care for you that way... I mean, I do love you, just not like that, okay?"

"I know, I know," Mayhen argued back.

Mayhen was twenty-one years old, and served as a bit of a big brother figure, rather than what he'd always wanted to be. Being drunk, only gave him a reason to hit on her and get away with it.

"Gimme a hug then," Verona replied, back to a somewhat normal disposition.

Gripping her tightly, Mayhen sighed upon their release, "One day, I promise things will change, you'll see..."

"Okay," Verona said as she smiled.

Ezekiel had quickly taken the note from him and studied the words. He was a bit shocked and read them again. He The meaning didn't really soak in until he'd read it at least the tenth time.

"She hates me," he said sinking down to the ground.

The pavement wasn't as comfortable as it could be and Aldous was starting to look confused. Ezekiel couldn't explain his problem to him, or even to Verona if he wanted to. He stared at the sheet with a blank expression.

"I'm such an idiot," he said to himself. "Maybe I should just approach her and apologize. Yes that's what I'll do."

He was starting to get excited without realizing it and happy at the chance to actually make it so someone didn't absolutely despise him. He stopped though when he realized he had no idea where she was.

((Where is Verona anyways?))

(Like, right down the street.)

Continuing her walk with Mayhen, she really didn't talk more than she needed to..
Mayhen really didn't talk too much either; he sensed the tension in the air.

All Verona could think about was him, and reasons that would have made him the way he was now.
There was always that curse.. And his father mustn't be very pleasant to be near.

All of her theories were well thought out as she wasted the silence away, hoping that soon enough she'd be able to think alone.

But being as sweet as she was, she wouldn't want to hurt Mayhen's feelings anymore than she already had..
And she had hurt them quite alot, most of the time not even meaning to.

Ezekiel saw her down further with someone and he cringed slightly. He stood up nonetheless and made his way towards that area. Maybe he'd write her another letter explaining what had really happened though he knew his father would hate it.

He was muttering slightly to himself about that plan, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he slowly became more excited. His guard was down a bit too far now and when he'd caught up with them for the most part he jumped slightly.

"Verona," he called. "I need to talk to you."

That voice.. It was smooth as silk, and so perfect; intoxicating almost.. What could he possible want to talk about?

"If you want," Mayhen began, "I can tell him to back off."
"No," Verona replied coolly, "I will see what he has to say."

Turning to face him, Verona began towards him, her face unreadable and bland.

"Yes," she asked. "I don't have all day Ezekiel.."

Her voice stung with an odd venom once she spoke his name. Why did she suddenly feel this way? It was like, she fell out of her groove, out of her atmosphere. Like Ezekiel had changed everything.

Ezekiel was slightly taken back and he reacted by faltering slightly. It was like him to do that. He shifted slightly unsure of how to word what he was going to say because he'd never had to do this before.

"Well," he said. "I have to apologize for earlier."

He was noticing Mayhen and felt fairly uncomfortable. He was slightly jumpy at the present moment and was afraid if he got scared he'd change right there from the excitement of just being scared.

"It was rude of me to be so inconsiderate this morning," he said with a slight bow.

He flushed slightly when he felt a few people staring and then something started changing. He looked wide eyed for a moment and concerned at the same time.

"Well I have to go," he blurted out.

He turned and ran in the opposite direction and ducked into an alley. The change was starting to get faster and once he was behind a dumpster he'd changed completely.

It was as if she hadn't even had time to respond.
Ezekiel had come and gone in a flash.
But the message had indeed gotten across, he said he was sorry, and he seemed mostly sincere before he ran away.

Mayhen only stood in the brief distance, just as disoriented as Verona, and began to roar with laughter as she returned to his side.

Wrapping his arm around Verona's shoulders, he began to guide her to the bar a few doors down.

"I think he likes you," he stated with a large grin.

It would have only made since; the running away part.
It did seem quite logical, but Verona disregarded it quickly.

"No, I don't think so... If he did, he wouldn't have been so mean and-"

"Keep in mind Verona, he doesn't socialize too much."

"True but still..."

In the alley way Ezekiel had gone into there was a lot more mud than he thought there would be. He ended up grooming himself for a while to calm down. When he'd accomplished this he got close to turning back into a human.

Someone came out of a restaurant to throw out the trash and saw him. They screamed and ran down the alley way. Ezekiel looked shocked and a frenzied panic overtook him since he couldn't concentrate long enough to change back and he needed clothes.

"There's a big cat down there," yelled the person who had seen him. "Someone call animal control."

The person had immediately gone into the bar and slammed his fist again the bar table. He looked frightened for the most part.

"I need a phone, there's a large cat in the alley way not to far. I think animal control can handle this," the person said with a shaky voice.

((aww the poor kitty will be seized by animal control!))

(You must not like cats, lol.)

Upon hearing all of the sudden commotion, Mayhen was into the alley way in a split second. He lived for trouble, and for the fight, the drinks and women, were only pluses.

"Mayhen," Verona called while dashing after him.

Running into his frozen body, Verona grunted as she tried to peer over his massive shoulders.
"What is it Mayhen, I can't see!"

Mayhen's mouth gaped as he stared down on Ezekiel, of course, he didn't know it was Ezekiel.
It was one of the dirtiest things he'd seen for a while.
"Yeah, someone outta call animal control, this thing is obviously not from these parts."

((Quite the opposite. I have two cats and I love them to death))

Ezekiel growled slightly when Mayhen came running down the alley way. He looked tense, like he was ready to attack anything that came too close to him.

He shrank behind the dumpster though when he saw Verona behind Mayhen, not willing to come out. There was a squeak behind him though and he bolted out, he hated mice.

It was after the mouse frightened him that the animal control came. They came with dart guns filled with a liquid that sedated the animal. Ezekiel automatically backed to the wall, his eyes wild with fear.

One of the animal control workers recognized him and almost started laughing. He stopped himself though to keep this little problem a secret.

"We got a SUC here," he stated and a few of them walked around him before chasing him into the crate.

(Haha, me too.)

Peering over at animal control, Verona was glad that they didn't end up shooting at the animal; she loved animals.

"Hey hey!"

Running after them, she followed them out to their vehicle as they loaded the crate in.

"What are you going to do with it," she asked as she stood beside them, Mayhen behind her almost immediately.
"You aren't going to put it down, are you?"

Rubbing her back, Mayhen attempted to move her away from the area, only to get shrugged aside, as he usually had been.

"Are you," she repeated.

"Well miss," the leader said after a moment of thinking about what he could tell her. "If were not able to find him a place in a near by zoo I'm afraid we'll have to put him down."

Of course it was a lie, but a well constructed lie. The two other animal control workers nearly started laughing but managed to keep straight faces as they watched what was going on. In reality they were just getting the Singston's back for being a bother in the city and changing into their animals.

"You see miss," the leader continued. "We take SUC very seriously. Its a matter of life or death so to speak."

Ezekiel growled from inside the cage at the man. He pawed and one of the men shot him with a dart before shutting the door.

"Well I apologize miss but it seems we have to go," the leader said before taking the drivers seat as the other two got in and they drove away.

Why did everyone seem to know something that Verona didn't? And how come everyone was so intent on not letting her get a word in edgewise today? Something was certainly wrong.

"Mayhen, what's an 'SUC'," she asked. "Is that some sort of code, and if it is, why couldn't they just tell me rather than tell me like that?"

"Verona," he said sighing, and pulling her out of the street. "I think that you have too much on your mind today, far to much. More than usual. Why don't you just relax for a bit; I'll take you home too."

"But I don't want to go home."

"Well, you are anyways. You've had a big day."

((FYI SUC stands for Singston Under Curse))

Ezekiel had pounded against the bars for a while before collapsing in the cage and falling asleep. Animal control new exactly how to take care of the situation so they ended up delivering him to his house.

He woke up a few hours later with a headache that was worse than before and now he felt sick. He could barely remember what had happened and all he wanted to do was have a few drinks now.

He moved to get out of bed but his sister was there watching him with her book that was next to her. Veronica was also there and seemed to be displeased with him.

(Oh I know. But Verona doesn't.)

After Verona arrived at her home, she went immediately upstairs and into her bedroom.
As she slipped through her door, she smiled to see her room, nice and tidy from the maid's early shift.

Her room was a pale beige color, with light pink curtains, and burgundy furniture, with light pink cushions, and gray colored bedsheets with a pink satin comforter to match. Needless to say, it was a very girly seeming room, but it fit her personality perfectly.

Her bedroom was on of the front bedrooms, fully equipped with a balcony that faced her driveway, and courtyard.

Opening her balcony doors, she smiled as a gentle sunsets breeze flowed throughout her room.
Verona stepped out onto her balcony, and leaned against the stone railing.
Her blond hair was still tied up in a bun, although at this point, it must have been a mess.
Taking her light pink ribbon from it, her hair fell onto her shoulders, gently swaying in the breeze.

((Ah, good.))
"You're going to have an escort tonight," Maria said bluntly in a commanding tone. "Veronica will make sure you get home without running into that girl again. It's not good for you to change so much."

Maria had an idea of what the girl could do to Ezekiel if they got to close. Ezekiel just scowled at her for not telling her exactly what was going on. He slipped out of bed before grabbing some clothes and went to the bathroom to change. When he got in there he noticed a few scratches on his face that look like cat claws.

"Oh great," he said to himself. "I injured myself again. Guess I'll be going to stop by Aldous' place again today to get some help with that. I'm so glad I got him into training for healing."

He finished changing quickly and started towards the door. Veronica, a woman that stood at about five foot seven, and with her heels reached at least five foot eight and a half, came walking after him. Her movements were more graceful than most of the family's but since she was a cousin of his it was almost expected that she be the one that would 'babysit' the heir.

"You're not going anywhere without me," she said sharply.

Meanwhile, back in town, Mayhen was at Aldous's again, it seemed that the old man were more popular than most people thought.

Verona had taken flight from he balcony, and into her closet, picking out the next days attire no doubt.
Almost every outfit that Verona wore, incorporated the color of light pink in it; her favorite.
She sang to herself, an older sounding lullaby that her mother had once sang to her when she was younger, that had well mapped out a perfect little girl.

Her next outfit was a white lacy top with short sleeves, a pink neck ribbon, a white, mid-thigh cut skirt, with pink leggings and white flats.
For that one, she'd wear her hair down; it would fit her better that way.

Ezekiel didn't protest as they made there way down the stairs. There was a car waiting for them as usual and someone handed Veronica a bag, that probably contained her school work since she actually had to work to get anywhere in life.

He slid easily into the car, followed by Veronica. She was quiet as usual and was contributing to Ezekiel's new foul attitude.

"I hear there was a wild cat found in the city today," Veronica said. "It will most definitely be in the paper tomorrow."

"Yeah right," Ezekiel scoffed. "Driver, go to do the Bran Shop owned by Aldous."

As the driver pulled away Ezekiel observed the sky. It had become a bit more unpleasant since he'd been inside for a while and there was a slight overcast though there were spots where the sun shone through in a break of clouds.

"So Aldous, what do you know about that Singston kid," Mayhen began.

"Oh, just about as much as you do," Aldous replied.
"Well, I don't like him..."
"Why not?"
"He seems to be wearing off on Verona."
Aldous looked at Mayhen, not comprehending what he'd said, and the way he'd meant it.
"How so?"
"I mean, he is just so... He's just a bad influence. Verona hasn't been very cheery at all, and I mean, when is she ever not happy? Today, she cried alot... You know how I feel when she cries Aldous, and what it makes me do. I want him out of the picture," Mayhen told him. "I want him gone.."
Aldous only sighed. He had been there, listening to Mayhen's pleas with Verona for years now, and almost all of them were just as senseless as this one.

"Mayhen, that's really not your choice to make."[/i]

The car ride seemed to drag on longer than usual as Veronica lectured him on the reasons he shouldn't talk to random women. He half-listened to the fact that he was sore all over from being chased into a crate and the fact the wound on his face still hurt.

When the reached the area where Ezekiel was usually let off the car pulled to a stop. Veronica got out first and barely waited for Ezekiel to follow. He got out more gingerly than he had gotten in and followed her like a wounded puppy.

When they reached the store Ezekiel opened the door and Veronica entered. She saw Mayhen there and cringed out of habit since she was used to being around Ezekiel's kind for the most part.

"Hey Aldous..." Ezekiel began before seeing Mayhen. "I need some help with a... scratch that I got earlier today."

"Oh," Aldous said, taking a few steps behind the counter. "And how did such a pretty boy get that," Mayhen asked sarcastically.
It was bad enough that Mayhen had already shot down two glasses of heavy liquor, and after having his heated discussion about his distaste of Ezekiel, he felt even more eager to pick a fight with anything he could.

Pulling a small box out from under the counter, Aldous handed it over to Ezekiel slowly.

"Now," he began. "This will take care of scarring, and some of the pain. NO ALCOHOL," she scolded.
"It would have some nasty side effects on you with this in your system."

Ezekiel, as always, ignored what Mayhen the stranger said although he couldn't control his cousin. Veronica heard Mayhen's sarcastic comic and had to cross her arms to prevent herself from throwing something at him. She was growing impatient with Ezekiel and knowing he couldn't have alcohol made it worse.

"Thank you," Ezekiel said and strained a smile as he took the box. "What kind of side effects might it have?"

He didn't really want the answer since it would most likely just insure that he didn't drink anything and he wanted to drink. He would use the box in the car when he was a distance from the stranger that was in there.

Veronica came over to Ezekiel so she'd get rid of her distraction and then seemed to recall something. She straightened herself while brushing some wrinkles from the dress she was wearing.

"Aldous," she said. "I'd like to inform you that there will be a masquerade ball held tomorrow night and the Opera House. Formal attire is to be worn along with a mask. Higher ranks are not forced to do so but it is preferred to keep the mystery."

The announcement she had almost sounded robotic but she seemed to have gotten it out correctly and it was legible. She had been the one putting posters up in parts of town but no one had yet gotten to this section of the town.

When Ezekiel asked about the side effects, Aldous frowned very visibly,"The bad kind.."
Aldous was not completely in tune with all of the curse, but he did know enough.

Upon hearing of the masquerade ball, Aldous's frown turned into a small smile, the wrinkles in his eyes showing now, more than ever.
"Oh really," he said. "And this is open to anyone.."

Pondering for a moment, Aldous sighed, the smile still abroad on his face.

"I shall tell Verona then, she will be thrilled. She lives for events such as these," Aldous stated as he nodded towards Mayhen.

"Of course she will need a date.."

"And I've got that covered," Mayhen interrupted.

Ezekiel almost instinctively glared at Mayhen for quickly taking the date thing up. He shook his head slightly feeling a bit of anger rise in him. He'd most likely be drunk at the masquerade, and talking to his younger sister about how much he hates politics.

"I may not be there, Aldous," he said after a moment. "Could you tell that to Verona for me?"

Veronica glanced at Ezekiel when he asked for the offer and then shook her head. What a silly boy he was, asking for someone to tell a girl that he wouldn't be at a masquerade that his father would most likely force him to go to.
"Now if you don't mind," Ezekiel said. "I have to tend to the wounds."