Rise of the Rogues. [Open to Tytonidae]

[Velveteen]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Micah - There was so much activity going on around them that he knew he should try to be a little more aware of his surroundings, check to make sure that his faction mates were holding their own but they were only spared the briefest of glances. Micah knew that they were there and knew that they were fighting their own battles, but he also knew they were fine. If they were injured he’d slap a band aid on them later and tell them to walk it off. Didn’t matter much if they liked it, he wasn’t gonna coddle their asses and every last one of them knew that.

The telltale click of an empty weapon could be heard second before he was pulled down to the floor. “What the **** woman?” That was so unlike her. He couldn’t even recall a time when she wasn’t prepared for a fight at the drop of a hat. The rabid female rogue that had thrown herself at Vel kept coming and since Vel was out of ammo he withdrew a dagger from his boot and whipped it at the inbound female, catching her in the throat. Micah took the brief respite and threw an extra clip of ammo at the woman on the floor with him. “Thats all I have.”

Velveteen - “What the **** is right. I think i grabbed the wrong gun.” She glanced down at the piece in her hand and scowled before bringing her hand up and pegging it towards another intruder, catching them square between the eyes. It was nothing that would kill or even maim but it did cause the male to stop for a moment and rub the now bleeding area on his forehead. The sick, gurgling sound that happened at the same moment was a good indication that Micah had taken care of the one doing the supergirl impression though when he handed the the ammo she looked at it blankly for a moment and towards the discarded weapon the lay several metres away. Yep...that was fancy.

She was usually far more prepared than this and honestly she had no real excuse except the panic in the moment that gripped her when she realised what was happening and that Micah was down here. He was both her strength and her weakness in that regard and the idea of anything happening to him saw her usually rational mind go to ****. Now was not a good time to be going to ****. She handed the clip back over her shoulder. “Then keep it. I am good.” She inhaled and concentrated on drawing on her inner power to begin casting rigormortis upon those rogue vampires that drew near causing them to almost freeze and slow down for a several seconds to allow the others more time to be precise in dealing out the fatal wounds.

Micah - “You misunderstood me.” He shoved the ammo back at her. “Mine doesn’t take the same as yours. That’s what I had leftover from when you leant me Masterpiece.” Good thing he hadn’t decided to sell that with the rest of the crap he’d less than an hour earlier. One clip wasn’t going to last her very long. Getting to the lockbox was starting to become a priority and just as he was trying to find the fastest route several clips skidded across the floor. A flash of blonde was all he caught but that was enough to tell him that Bunny hadn’t listened to his command of stay put and had caught their conversation. He couldn’t be pissed off as she’d returned to safety after delivering what Vel needed. “Here.” Micah pressed the clips into her hand just in time to divert another rogue that took a chance to try and take the pair of them out.

Velveteen - “Ahh...ok. Thanks babe.” She muttered, stashing the clips into her pocket. They were pretty useless without a gun to load them into. “I will be right back.” She said over her shoulder before skittling across the floor to grab the weapon she had only moments before thrown away. She took a bit to look around at the carnage that was happening and wondered what the **** Doc and Dulce were doing. The two looked like they were deep in conversation regarding the giant anaconda. A single moment longer and she was able to identify the reptile as Blake. “Oi! You two.” She called over the sounds of battle. “Could use yer help….NOW!”

As soon as the clip was secured she fired off a couple more rounds creating another cloud of dust as she made her way back to Micah. She had no idea how many had been sent off to the Shadow Realm for some chill time so far but there was still too many where they shouldn’t be. The explosions , however, had stop which could mean one of two things. The numbers were dwindling or there were no traps left to explode. She hoped for the former.

Micah - Sometimes he wanted to throttle her. This was one of those times. Why the **** she’d throw her weapon halfway across the Eyrie was beyond him. Pestilence was attached to him. Maybe it was a guy thing. Who the **** knew but she was going to get an earful after this was all said and done. She knew better.

Another explosion shook the foundations of the treehouse telling him that more rogues had managed to get over the razor wire that surrounded the tree. More traps ruined. But at least they were doing what they were supposed to - giving them warning and causing extra damage. He heard rustling above him and dove to the side just as a stray branch fell and hit the floor where he’d been only seconds before. “I thought you built this ******* treehouse sturdy woman!”

[Blake]

It took but a few moments for the large snake to uncoil from the now broken and limp vampire. His tongue flicking out as he reared back, that massive bulk lifted back by powerful muscles, ready to strike if needed. So far it seemed as if the targets were those that actually identified as vampires and that were fighting back against the unrelenting wave of rogues. Blake would take the momentary confusion, a blessed relief at the very least. Things were far worse than he was sure anyone anticipated. He could feel the explosions of the traps rocking the tree house beneath him and with the number of rogue's he knew that this wasn't going to be a short little exchange. Apparently they had done something to piss off a majority of the rogues in the city but...well, what they had done was pretty obvious but how did they become so organized? As much as he could think of a myriad of different uses for the snake it was simply impractical, he was far too large a target and wasn't able to adequately defend himself and so he used everything he had left. It took every ounce of strength and willpower in him to focus the last of his anima to begin shedding the scales from his body.

Gasping for breath the familiar form of Blake now stood where the snake had been. He leaned against the nearby wall and took a moment to regain some semblance of strength. Looking at Dulce and Doc he held up a single finger. "You could at least say please. And it's a snake not a dog Dulce. Must not have many snakes at your Green Acres." He narrowed his eyes. "Now kill something will ya?" There was still a home to defend and even if it took every ounce of him he would stand. He swore to bleed and die for Tytonidae and now, on tonight of all nights, he would push himself far harder than he ever had before. Shoving off of the wall he sent himself straight at one of the charging rogues. Gripping it and smirking as his hands ignited with flame there was only a split second before he gave a mighty throw and sent the rogue right back out of the tree house. Served the ******** right too. With one out of the way it wasn't long before Blake made it to the forge. Perfect, everything was as he'd left it. A few finely worked blades was exactly what he was looking for and grabbing a handful of short blades he ran back and just as he was about to come up beside Vel a branch fell right where Micah had been standing a mere few feet away. Now they were wrecking the house too? First the traps, now the damn tree? He gripped one of the short blades he'd managed to grab from his stock pile of parts and sent it flying through the air. A smirk growing on the shadow's face as it neatly embedded itself in between the eyes of one the more filthy looking assailants.

Looking around he let another one soar through the air just as it came in to sight. The force of the blade hitting the creature actually knocked it flat on it's back as the butt end of the blade slammed in to the creature's sternum. Damn it![/] The frustration was clear in his eyes as he gave a wave of hand causing the very shadows themselves to come to life and lash out at the vampire he'd just knocked flat. Watching as an umbral blade formed and skewered his target Blake smirked. Making his way over to Vel he let loose another blade from the half dozen or so he'd managed to snatch from the forge. This one burying itself in the chest of one attacker at the same time a bullet from some where lodged in it's head.

"Not having weapons can be a ***** sometimes you know, but improvising can be pretty damn fun. Any idea what the hell is going on other than the fact that we're under attack?"

[Aysel]

She was, to put it lightly, incredibly annoyed at the moment. All she wanted was a quiet night of playing pranks and torturing her husband. Was it to much to ask for a simple night? It seemed it was. She heaved a sigh that sounded more like a growl and easily picked up the fallen branch, swinging it like a leafy baseball bat, she connected solidly with a rogue and sent it flying off the balcony. She hope the fall killed it. Stomping around the second floor, she paused to say hello to Micah and Vel, the sound an almost friendly grunt. She didn't feel like enunciating right now.

Moving on, she picked up an invading vampire by the throat, supernaturally elongated fingers curling around the slender neck in a complete circle. She lifted the creature up and stared in to it's eyes as it clawed at her bare arm. This time she did speak. First you ruin my night, now you try and ruin my tattoos? The **** is wrong with you?" She didn't give it a chance to answer before she swung him much like the branch, cracking him in to the crafting bench she had become all to familiar with over the last nights. The satisfying sound of a broken back met her ears and she gave a toothy grin.

Swinging her arm in a lazy arch, she slammed the rogue in to a wall, having far more fun beating on it that she should. Her eyes and smile were unmistakably filled with blood lust as she continued to turn her prey in to jelly from the inside. When she was finally bored with the game, she tossed the rogue, and then smacked him with the tree branch she still held, sending him over the balcony as well. If he wasn't dead now, the fall would certainly finish him off.

Gripping the branch in both hands, she spied a set of rogues trying to sneak up on her husband. This only made her angrier and she was reminded a little of the comic book character "The Hulk". She had watched Avengers recently and the comparison made her chuckle.

Aysel smash!" She growled out. Probably the wrong time for a joke, but she wasn't terribly concerned with etiquette. She was more concerned with playing whack-a-rouge with her trusty branch and the now prone intruders who had been coming up behind Zakar.

[Nishaa]

Nishaa looked smug as a rogue vampire came at her from the left. Her arms twisted to embrace the rogue grappling it momentarily before raising her free hand to pushing the gun to its stomach before pulling the trigger. The vampire staggered as Nishaa smiled. It fell to the ground writhing in agony it’s pale, dirty hands clutched at the bloodied wound. Nishaa on the other hand canted her head to the side, amused by the pain she saw before raising the trigger again this time pushing the end of the gun to the rogue’s temple. She knelt down on the ground next to it and smiled, a crazy odd kind of look to her eye.

“See you in hell.”

She said as she pulled the trigger and the vampire dispersed into ash. There was a crazy snort of laughter coming from her. The ash falling into her black hair, rubbing against her cheeks. She turned around on the spot to look at Micah. His words escaped her lips.

“I am ******* shooting ****.”

She pointed to the pile of ash on the ground.

“Asshole.”

She smiled, showing she really didn’t mean it – well, she did. She had a playful banter ninety nine percent of the time, so this was nothing. Her dark orbs scanned the scene to see a giant odd monster like thing going through the ocean of rogues that continued to swarm on the second floor of the treehouse. She knew it to be Aysel when she heard the ‘Aysel Smash’ leaving the gigantic monsters mouth.

“Sup Aysel.”

She said, she knew the other woman could hear her. Nishaa wanted to call her the hulk. It would be funny instead her eyes went to the snake worming it’s way through the crowd killing things as it went. She didn’t even know vampires could turn into snakes. She needed to find out who the snake was and ask them how they did it.

“Let’s kill more!”

She exclaimed as she reloaded her gun and shot at another fanger, as it also dispersed into ash.

[Every]

She didn’t know the amount of vampires that had been killed as time went on, but she could see the ash that piled up and with a hiss, she threw a taller man over her shoulder after his claws had sunk in momentarily. There were a few injuries littering her body – she could feel a cut in her thigh and shoulder, another along one arm and before she had even noticed it, her cheek had cut and healed. Blood stained her clothes, but because of the color and the way it ran down her skin, Every knew none of it was hers. The inky black essence always splashed the air and lingered before disappearing into thin air. It didn’t linger. She adjusted her hold on her blade, bringing it in close to slice it across the man’s stomach when he was back on his feet and near her.

Every could hear the gunfire from those in the faction and one of her childer speaking, a grunt escaping past her lips as she felt a kick connect with the side of her blade, knocking it against the flat side against her arm before she recovered. In a fluid motion, she brought it down and the other vampire screamed until her elbow connected with his jaw to shut him up. She heard Velveteen shout for Micah to duck and twisted around to shove her blade between the man’s ribs. Blue eyes widened briefly in response, a snarl following as he recovered and as Every recognized the face, she jerked her wrist upwards to catch his heart. She’d seen him before recently. Feeling the ash crumble over her skin, Every looked around and at the others quickly. More faces, but no names came to mind.

“Rogues.” The word left her lips and she felt the explosion, an annoyed expression crossing her features as she groaned at the idea of repairs. Hard work down the drain. Again. “Anyone else have a clue to how they’re organizing?” She shouted at her sires before noticing the snake was gone and Blake was around. That explained who it was, at least. Hearing Nishaa, her hazel eyes flickered over to her childe and she rolled her eyes before shouting over the sound of fighting, “Not the time for sass, headache.” Wiping off her blade from habit against the cloth of her shorts, Every felt the bloody ends of her hair trace across her skin as she was drawn back into combat after a knife came too close for comfort to her stomach.

Reacting instinctively, she retaliated and left a nasty scratch along their arm before pushing the other vampire towards a break in the wall. Tossing her blade in the direction of the wall, Every heard the hilt connect with something and ran in the direction of a nearby hanging branch before jumping up and grasping it as if it were a bar. The rogue began to straighten up as she swung her body forward with momentum from her run, her feet connecting hard against the woman’s chest causing bone to break as she was shoved backwards. Pushing off from the woman’s chest, the small female swung backwards and went over the branch once more to pick up a bit of speed before she released and tucked her knees. Flipping twice, the former athlete landed with her feet together, briefly stumbling backwards before recovering in the short moment of peace given to she collect her blade muttering “Never thought that’d come in handy” under her breath.

Just before reaching her blade, Every took note of the rogue beginning to climb back up and snatched the weapon up quickly to drive it down right into the woman’s skull, yanking it out before she made her way fighting, hacking off limbs and disarming as she went. Keeping her back towards the large tree, Every healed her leg – finding the slower speed to be obnoxious even with the heads up as her relic would warm up against her flesh – and noticed that the explosions had stopped shaking the tree. She was half tempted to run downstairs to check for a damage report and a heads up to how many had breached the Eyrie but as the forced herself not to act on impulse, she used her blade to drive it into the back of a rogue searching for someone to attack and pierced its heart.

[Helena (DELETED 4251)]

The petite, blonde woman had been out walking her large, black wolf in the hunting grounds. It was a chance to let him do his business, mark as many trees as he wanted, and learn how to hunt his own food. As it was, she could buy sixty lbs of fresh meat and this babe of hers still wouldn’t be happy. Skoll was a glutton, because he was use to being spoiled by the woman. She was working with him, on learning how to hunt. More often than not though, she had to help him with killing the prey and getting to the good parts.

Nonetheless, she wasn’t bothered. It was a good bonding exercise for them. It was something they did almost every day. Minus the days Helena was busy during their walk time, or the days Every had the wolf. Otherwise it was a consistent part of their routine, even if the time they did it was different from the day before.

However, Helena’s quiet night became anything but when they tomed to the Eyrie. Skoll began howling and growling like mad. The woman was nearly dragged through the fadeportal that lead to the elevator. She knew Skoll, he didn’t act like this. And the loud noises, the vibrations, the sound of fighting was quite evidently what was wrong. She moved into the elevator with the wolf still linked to her by the bracelet-leash that connected to his collar.

All the while on the way up to the second floor, she was preparing her gun and blade. The door to the elevator opened before she finished getting her rounds in the chamber, but the rogue that went for her found itself on it’s back with a large, black figure snapping at it’s neck. Helena blinked in surprise, pulling the wolf back to put a bullet through the rogue’s head, “I did not teach you that. EEVEE.”

It could have just as easily been Bamse, but given all the time the wolf spent with the woman, it was more likely. The woman glanced around the hectic second floor before the giant wolf swiftly pulled her over to Every to lunge at one of the ghoulish vampires after her, “For Fanden! At least let me get loose, Skoll!”

The woman grumbled, snagging the wolf free of the leash, but still yanked him back to stab her blade through the rogue’s heart. She knew Skoll was strong, but she wasn’t sure he was strong enough to take on rogue vampires. She almost contemplated tying him up with the leash, but if he was tied to something, he wouldn’t be able to run if anything came after him. So, instead she just prayed he’d calm down and go back to being the little sissy he usually was and hide, “What in the name of Odin is going on here, Eevee?! What did Bamse do now?!”

[Psyche]

In the empty hut, Psyche sat cross-legged in the corner. His mind had been out and about as it usually tended to be, screening the thoughts and memories of various individuals he'd encountered. Though, he knew he'd need to leave soon. He'd been spending the past few nights above ground and it was taking it's toll on him, leaving him feeling weak and separated from any sort of rejuvenating sleep he'd get down below. In a momentary lapse of concentration, the tattooed telepath gained brief attention to his physical surroundings to note a lithe, ratty young vampire sneaking into his barren room. The almost feral seeming creature was B-Lining it's way towards him, and it didn't seem to have any hugs in mind. Psyche managed to regain enough concentration to raise a mental barrier and throw off the rogue's aim, however, the creature's claws still managed to tear into his bicep.

"Son of a *****!" he managed to blurt out as the much stronger vampire toppled him over.

Psyche managed to get a hand out at it's throat, attempting to keep it from clawing his eye's out but he wasn't sure how long that was going to work. As the wirey asshole sliced into his stomach with another sweep of the claws, it became abundantly clear that he maybe needed to speak with Chaindog and get AT LEAST a self-defense class or two in. An idea came to mind and Psyche reeled onto his back and reached for the back of his trousers where he normally kept his pistol...only to find bare back.

"Mother..." he winced as the rogue bit into the top of his head.

This fight was not headed in a good direction in the slightest and if he didn't figure something out quick, he may be spending some more time in the Fade. And that wasn't an option. Going against promises he'd made to himself, he decided it was Do or Die. Psyche instead of pressing the rogue back, reached to the back of it's neck and reeled him in. The bald, tattooed head of the vampire lunged in and bared his fangs at the throat of the rogue, ripping the larynx completely away from the body. Blood flowed freely from the now open wound as the telepath drank from the crimson fount. Lost in a momentary frenzy, his tongue lapped at the vitae as it escaped the rogue's body before tossing it's now limp body to the side.

Psyche stood motionless for a moment, assessing what he'd just done...potentially having violated his own safety by feeding here in the Eyrie. These were his family...but that hadn't stopped them from killing him once before, either. He'd have to hope they didn't find out. Picking up the body, he carried it into the empty bedroom and tosses it on the floor. The limp corpse laid motionless. He considered that it was still present and reasoned it had to have been a killer. Taking a moment to evaluate the course of action, he heard the commotions about in the treehouse and figured he'd have to worry about this after. So, he picked up his rifle, 'Mindsweeper', and made sure he had sufficient ammo on hand.

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a cigarette and placed it on his lower lip. His hand found his zippo, flicking the wheel and sparking a flame into existence. As he lit the end of the cigarette, he tossed the lighter over onto the body of the rogue and watched as it began to burn. He'd need to ensure he got rid of those ashes after...he still wasn't sure how that all exactly worked with killers and didn't want to risk it...

[Psyche]

Psyche was about the exit the hut and stopped as he tasted the blood of the rogue on his lips again. "****. That could've been bad." Wiping the blood away from his face, he determined that maybe if he would wear a shirt now and again it might aid his clean up effort. As he jeered himself, another ruckus broke out on his floor of the treehouse. What the hell was going on here? How'd a rogue get up to his hut anyways? And since when did they start working together? That last detail worried him. Batshit crazy was bad, but organized batshit crazy? That was just....well, that'd be Velveteen. He smirked to himself a bit before hearing another crash. "...oh....right!"

Stepping out the door, he looked down the maze of rope bridges. Coming his way were two more rogues like a burnout to their next fix. "Ah damn." Crouching down quickly, he lined up the crosshairs of his scope. Perfect zero sat at the forehead of the first rogue, before he deftly pulled the trigger and watched as whatever was on that creature's mind...quickly exited through the back of it's head. The second was reaching over him as he made the change of target, just in time for him to shove the barrel of the rifle in it's screaming mouth and pull the trigger. "Ka-boom, *****."

Heading down the central hub of the floor, Psyche looked over the ropes for a better idea of activity. Looing down he could see the ruckus below and couldn't believe the damaged vampires having made their way across detonating traps. Checking above for activity, he turned just in time to catch a falling rogue hit him in the face and drag him along down below. After a brief hang time, he hit the wooden flooring and just narrowly missed the altar table. The rogue had, fortunately for him, landed beneath him and ended up with a elbow going through it's ribcage.

Psyche sat up and shook the debris off of him for a moment. "This is some straight up bullsh*t..." Looking around now he actually noticed how much of a dilemma this was. Factionmates were scattered about turning the rogue vampires to ash at a consistent pace. He had no idea where so many could even have come from. A thought crossed his mind that he maybe needed to check on his labs and make sure they were still standing, but was suddenly cut off by a stray vampire bulldozing him over. He grabbed at it's throat and allowed the momentum to carry them into a backwards roll before twisting the rogue's head backwards and watching it dissipate to ash in his hands.

"I need to find a spot to post up...

[Jesse Fforde]

Chaos presides over the Eyrie; Jesse wonders whether it’s just this floor, though with the way the place shudders and shakes, he knows it’s not confined to the one space. The whole tree is being overrun; their home is in danger. Poison is sweeping through the branches one rogue at a time, and Jesse doesn’t lose a single step as he unleashes violence upon them. When he had first joined Tytonidae, it may have been just a faction. Now, however, given that he has also been adopted into Andras, and the majority of the people around him he counts as family, this tree has become a sanctuary unlike any that he has ever had before. The apartment that he’d lived in with his mother was not a sanctuary – it had been a place to sleep, and to stay sheltered in restful hours. The apartment he’d had above True Love Tattoo was similarly just a space where he kept his belongings. There was no sentimental attachment. This tree, however? It is the space in which he finally learned the definition of ‘home’, even of ‘family’. And he will defend it to his last breath.

Even though the branches are falling and the tree feels as if it’s swaying, given the ferocity of the explosions below. Micah’s shouts to Velveteen send a sliver of terror striking through Jesse’s heart – the idea that the tree might not be strong enough to withhold the attack, and given that they are a far way up off the ground… Jesse tries not to think about it, and his specific fear of heights.

He’s also glad that Velveteen seems to have barked her orders at Dulce and Doc who, for a moment, were far too preoccupied with the Anaconda which previously had been crushing one of the rogues. The fact that the animal was killing the same foe that Tytonidae had gathered to kill was a clear indication that the serpent was not just a serpent, but one of their comrades. Doc and Dulce’s preoccupation with the beast was ill-placed, when they could be instead helping the rest of them rid the plague rogues.

At first it had seemed as if they might be outnumbered, but Tytonidae is a strong force, and its members crawl from the literal woodworks. Jesse recognises Aysel perhaps only because she had named herself; Nishaa was talking too much, but he supposes that’s how some people roll.

The huge black wolf, accompanied by Helena, has Jesse suddenly thinking of Fenrir – the snake, Jormungandr. And they are each all the undead, here on the branches of Yggdrasil, fighting for their lives. Yggdrasil’s roots are vast and strong, and the notion gives Jesse strength; he pushes the fear of falling far from his mind and throws himself into the heat of battle. He takes a page of Every’s book and taps into his parkour skills, using the walls and the branches and the benches, whatever he could, to twist and turn, to flip and veer out of his enemy’s greedy grasp.

He’s not sure how many rogues he manages to kill; he knows that he injures quite a few, with both sword and gun. Lost in the chaos and thinking of nothing but getting rid of the scourge at hand, he isn’t aware when or how the Salamander ended up curled, clinging to his shoulder. The creature is small and by all rights should have fallen off by now, but instead it clings; it burns against Jesse’s skin, and he’s only half aware of a sudden burst and flare of heat behind him.

The Salamander – affectionately known as Mandy – had cause spontaneous internal combustion in one of the rogues as it had tried to attack Jesse from behind, when Jesse was preoccupied tearing the head off another. He holds the head by its hair, and uses it like a soccer ball, kicking it, pelting it in the direction of another raging creature. With a squelch and a crack, the head smashes into the face of the rabid vampire. Jesse uses the creature’s sudden disorientation to surge forward, to catch it off guard, to spray it with bullets to head and heart until the ****** turns to ash. He then is forced to duck, and roll commando-style to avoid being hit in the head with a flying branch – from where it had come from he does not see – and comes to stand beside Velveteen and Blake.

He doesn’t ask any questions. He doesn’t say a single thing. Other people have asked the questions and perhaps the answers aren’t forthcoming – the goal, he supposes, is to insure safety first, and figure what the **** happened later on.

[Psyche]

The commotion of the present floor had gotten to be far too chaotic to make any beneficial use of his Mindsweeper. Psyche kept an eye on the entrances to the room and tossed his rifle of to the side of the room, for the time being. Reaching for the automatic pistol and scerated blade he'd tucked into the back of his black leather pants, he cocked the slide of the pistol back and was open for business. If at all, he'd try to keep his back guarded in some manner. Whether it be by wall or opposing body, he wanted to limit how much space he had to keep a visual of. An inability to hear in a completely chaotic room at all angles, was not the safest environment. Nor did it make him feel any more comfortable.

Every ounce of Psyche's will wanted to tear the flesh from these interlopers and drain them of their wasted gift of life. Somehow or another, they'd come to cooperative terms and invaded one of the few things he truly held dear. He'd not started out his existence as a vampire with any tight familial bonds. The first three months of his existence had been spent in an almost catatonic state laying on the floor of a room in Dark Eden. But he'd spent almost as much time with his maker since then, as well. He hadn't harbored any ill-will towards any of his kin...at least not to those who actually were his kin. However, much of those within the folds of his 'familial line' weren't of the blood, rather of the invitation. Fact was, those he shared a connection with often shared his similar characteristic of quiet contemplativeness.

Of his time with Tytonidae, he'd come to grow amongst a sect of individuals who he knew would not only encourage him and hold him accountable, but those who would garner friendship and comaraderie. Perhaps unsure if he felt himself in the structure of any 'family', he did feel content.

Reeling back against the wall as one of the rogue's rushed him, Psyche stabbed the blade of the knife into the creature's throat and placed the pistol at it's forehead. A slow squeeze of the trigger allowed a volley of rounds to expel the animal's brains through the back of it's head. Withdrawing the knife, he watched it crumble to nothingness in his peripheral. The skeletally tattooed vampire shot a grin over to the small group over by Velveteen. He supposed it was perhaps an awkward way to rejoin the category of the 'awake'. It suddenly occured it'd perhaps been months since he'd really 'mingled' with anyone and he'd have to make a conscious effort to really find out what was going on around here. Things seemed to change at such a rapid and awkward rate, he wasn't even sure he could imagine the strangest of things that could be going on.

The telepath, manipulating the make-up of the Vathia, planted his voice into Vel's mind, "Would now be a bad time to ask what I could do to help out?"