Rise of the Rogues. [Open to Tytonidae]

[Blake]

Holding his ground beside Velveteen he gave a soft growl and buried another of the blades from his forge in to the neck of a particularly small vampire. Just as it had been about to make contact with a pair of vicious looking claws he swiftly ducked and that was when his weapon found it's mark leaving the creature lying on the floor gasping for air as it's blood began to seep from it's filthy body. Rising to his full height there seemed to be a fire that lit within the eyes of the well aged shadow. This was his home and these bastards thought it was okay to attack? Fools. He could hear more explosions rocking the tree as the traps did their work and he was sure the other nasty surprises were working just as well in the other rooms and halls. Half of him wanted to use those tactics here but it took him a moment to realize that he was fighting as a team now. He needed to benefit the others and work in tandem.

Taking a moment, after he caught a rogue in mid air and sent it flying back out of the tree from whence it had come with a vicious throw, he appraised the situation and saw that there seemed to be quite a fair amount on control in place thus far. Tytonidae was standing their ground thus far but whether they could keep it up was a different question. As much as he just wanted to wade in to battle and just start tearing people apart he knew that probably wouldn't be the best idea...but what other choice did he have? His weapons were upstairs and all he had here was far below any quality of use at the moment. Alas, his only choice was to focus and turn his fingers in to large and incredibly sharp claws. And in to battle he went making sure he slipped and slid and worked his way through the melee to cover the backs of his comrades and make sure no harm came to them. Let them handle to offense, between his quick dexterous strikes and the gunfire from the back of the room he was feeling confident. Almost too confident.

Just as he set one rogue on to it's back with a vicious upward swipe of those claws he felt another heavy weight on his back. Another rogue had leapt on his back. Struggling to regain use of his arms from the pin it had him in he groaned loudly as the creature bit in to his shoulder. "Get the hell off ME!" He threw his head back and felt the back of his skull connect solidly with the forehead of his attacker. The hold broke as both combatants stumbled for a moment, dazed, Blake wasted no time in freeing his arms and reaching back. His claws and hands wrapped firmly around the rogue's jaw and with every ounce of strength he had Blake pulled. Feeling the body go limp at the sound of a sickening crack he grinned as he held the head of his attacker in both hands. The rest of it's body crumbling to ash as it hit the ground.

"Talk about an ego check...jesus."

The words mumbled under his breath as he checked at the bite wound. His arm still functioned and though it stung ever so slightly he knew it wouldn't be too much a hindrance and so he entered back in to the fray. His attacks savage and bestial even as he moved with grace the likes of which a dancer might have. Even if he did not manage many kills he knew he was slowing and weakening his foe slowly but surely. That was all that mattered, that he do his part and keep his friends and family safe. It was something he had sworn to do when he first joined Tytonidae and even now he held that oath above all else.

[Velveteen]

Chaos. That was the only word that could describe the scene at hand though insane ran a pretty close second. Vampires seemed to materialise from nowhere only to be hacked up, shot down or thrown back over the edge. Some went easy. Some some did not. The noise of battle was almost deafening and in a comical moment of realisation, with the the way things looked right now, there seemed to no end in sight, though to be fair, unless she could actually get a visual of the outside perimeter she really didn’t have a clue how many there were. For all Velveteen knew at this point, these could be the last few…..or there could be more.

The acrid yet nostalgic scent of smoke filled the air and for the briefest moment Velveteen was transported home. The smell of burning scrub in the summertime and how a smoky haze would hang heavily in the air for days on end even after the flames had died. Smoke? SMOKE! And just like that she was snapped back to reality. The Eyrie was on fire! And in that single moment of sobering clarity time seemed to freeze and then restarted in slow motion. Confusion set in as as she became a spectator. The raging battle slowed down to a speed that made it look more like a graceful and choreographed ballet. Ash fell like snow and drops of blade became rose petals that wafted languorously to the floor.

The dark haired vampire blinked as others looked to be speaking to her. Not only did it sound like they were talking underwater but the sound was also reminiscent of the how people would play the old vinyl LPs backwards. It was rather disorienting and the expression on her face must have been completely comical to those who had enough time to notice but perhaps this was a good thing. She seemed to be moving normal….at least to herself. That was when she realised she had unconsciously invoked the power of celerity. Silver eyes, scanned the area, taking in even the minutest detail. Nothing was missed. Temporary distraction came however as The thoughts of another weaved their way among her own. She recognised them as Psyche’s and responded in kind. “Find the fire!” She could only hope he would understand and that wherever he was he could smell it too.

In a sudden and overwhelming rush, time caught up to her. Now it was time to put everything together and end this ****. Before they lost everything. They were starting to take on some major damage and if she didn’t do something soon they were going to start losing some of their own. Long, cool fingers reached out and curled tightly in Micah’s arm. “LOCK IT DOWN! AND HURRY.” She screamed over the noise and surveyed the area between herself and the cupboard below the crafting bench before making a break for it. A sword came out of nowhere and had she not dropped to slid across the floor It would have been her head rolling bodiless into the wooden doors instead of her feet smashing them open right now.

Her eyes fell upon the small pile of flatish discs, not unlike land mines in appearance. Shock cages that she kept locked away for an emergency and if ever there was an emergency it was right now. One after the other was hurtled along along the floor towards the feet of an intruder, catching them off guard and leaving little to no room for avoidance as electrified cages began coming up and closing about the rogue vampires. They likely wouldn’t hold them for long but it would buy the time they so desperately needed right now.

[Micah]

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her to ask Jesse, or even Dulce. Being in the middle of a battle doing what it was that he did best was where he wanted to be not behind the altar doing a ritual. But he knew it needed to be done. The others were too far away and it wouldn’t be a good idea to try an get their attention to bring them over to complete the task Vel wanted done. The look he gave her told her that he wasn’t happy about it, but he did it anyways.

Behind the altar he called the demifae but before he could toss the first item into the circle a bullet whizzed past his head and slammed into the wall behind him. This was going to be difficult. Though he’d done the ritual countless times it still required a certain amount of concentration. Micah went for his gun, abandoning the ritual for the time being to fire off a few rounds at the unknown vampire that had shot at him. With a pained cry he went down like a sack of rock and dispersed into ash. Obviously someone else had managed to do a number on him as that kill was far too easy. Though, a kill was a kill.

Again he went to start the ritual but it was like the rogues knew what he was trying to do. “Jesus Christ where the **** are they coming from?” Frustration colored his words as shot after shot was fired from both sides, neither gaining the advantage. But the rogues were succeeding in keeping him from his task and it was pissing him off. If he could just get it locked down, they could get rid of the ones who had managed to get inside and go from there.

A pale, shaking hand touched his arm and out of the corner of his eye he saw Bunny step up beside him. Micah could see that she’d managed to patch up her shoulder while she had been behind the altar but she was far too pale, and her features told him that she was hurting. But it obviously wasn’t going to stop her from helping. Determination radiated off of her tiny, fragile frame and he knew what she was doing. She was buying him time without a care for her own life. Brave girl. Stupid, but brave.

Trusting Bunny he threw everything that he needed into the circle. Her presence at his side gave him the time that he needed and with a renewed sense of determination he set to the task his wife had given him. Word after word fell into place, but a pained whimper from his side caught his attention causing his concentration to slip. The angry fae in the circle hit the barrier, weakening it but it held strong. Micah hesitated, torn between continuing and protecting Bunny. The girl in question gave him a glare and hefted the rifle that Vel had given her to her shoulder and fired, taking down the rogue that had managed to graze her arm. “I am FINE Micah. Finish the ritual.”

Refusing to waste the time she was buying him he gave her a curt nod and quickly finished the ritual. He knew the second that it was in place, as the rogues that were still trying to get in were thrown backwards off the railings. Their screams as they fell were music to his ears. He grabbed Bunny’s arm and forced her down behind the altar where she would have some protection. “Thank you. I never would have been able to lock it down without your help.” A fresh clip of ammo was loaded into his gun and several spares were hastily shoved into his pocket. “Now stay put! Do as I say.” He didn’t need to look at her to know that she was glaring, forced to obey him. Satisfied that she was safe, he rejoined the battle.

[Nishaa]

Sass

She squinted at her sire, and flipped her the finger. Nishaa was full of sass, so much sass that she’d be scared of all the sass that Nishaa had. Instead, the woman halted her fighting after watching her latest victim fall to ashes.

“Always time for sass, sire-patrol.”

She fired back as she swerved to the right her gun aiming for a vampire that was dressed in a what seemed to be jogging bottoms and a crop top. Nishaa found herself shaking her head as she pulled the trigger one after the other. First the groin, then the head, then a couple in the shoulder until she missed the heart. She knew it wasn’t long until this one hit the dust too as she fired her gun again – this time, the vampire screeched and spasmed in pain before dispersing into ash in front of her eyes. She found herself growling, feral slits for eyes as she stood there for a moment panting.

• ”That’s what happens when you lack fashion sense.”

Nishaa jerked her vision to the left as she heard Velveteen bark an order; it was hard to make out the exact words she had said, over the sound of bullets and bones being crushed from both sides. She watched as Micah ran off to the ritual alter. Adding the ingredients to the pot. She watched intently her back pressed against the wall as she caught her breath. The woman was drained. Yet, she watched her grandsire intently as he ritualed. Bunny at his side, before she could feel it. Feel something different about the Eyrie. Micah finished the ritual the demi-fae was content, then doing his bidding before zooming off. Micah slipped back into the battle as did Nishaa, taking that as cue.

She reloaded her gun, bullet by bullet before emptying her clip at a nearby vampire. Damn ******* pesky bastards. They just didn’t know when to give up and realise if they carry on they’ll die.

[Every]

Nishaa’s words caused the woman to smile in her direction before she felt a knife cut into her leg. Every’s attention was drawn back to another vampire with blond hair, the blade splitting the skin and in retaliation, she swiped out with her own and the annoyance on her features as she missed was evident. As it always did, the shadow-y substance of her blood wisped into the air before stopping. When the man swung again, she was ready as her hand came up to catch his wrist and instinctively, she squeezed until there was a distinctive pop that mirrored his scream as the bone broke. The knife dropped, her own coming up to slit their throat before shoving him backwards to one of the broken pieces of wall.

Turning on the spot as her ring grew hot, a bullet grazed her shirt and she frowned, trying to figure out where it’d came from. She heard Vel shout something and saw Micah heading towards the altar. She could smell the fire and felt her concern for their home rise. Every wondered briefly if there were sprinkler systems installed somewhere, but the thought was lost as she raised her blade to stop that was too close for comfort. Without thinking much on it, she summoned a sidhe in the direction of her attacker only to hear the creature cackle before disappearing. “Useless!” She’d used it mostly against fadebeasts.

As a large black wolf went past her and attacked, it took her a moment to register that it was Skoll after she heard a familiar voice shouting for her and she gave a sharp, definite whistle before hazel eyes found Helena nearby. “Don’t scold the wolf!” She huffed at her sibling, “And I don’t think he did anything.” Why Micah was being blamed was a mystery to her and she pushed it aside as something to ask Helena about it later as she skillfully hacked off a leg, causing the creature to begin to fall. In a fluid movement, she twisted her wrist and sliced off its head. Just as the first one died, Every found herself in another fight with one she’d seen tangling with Blake earlier on and she couldn’t help but mutter under her breath about the amount that kept coming.

The wolf moved back, growling and snarling only to get a sharp look from the woman for the animal to stay put as she missed with her blade, cutting into the creature’s cheek light enough that the wound instantly healed. Every slashed out again, hissing as she felt a bullet punch into her shoulder and with satisfaction, her blade cut through the arm and the limb holding the gun fell to the floor. Looking over the wounded shoulder, she glanced back at her sibling before a sudden movement caused her to jump out of reach of swinging claws. Her own blade cut deep into its stomach. “Helena, just let go, we need all hands on deck. He isn’t as incompetent as you’d think.”

When the rogue moved in the second time, Every waited for the right movement before she drove her blade into its head. She could see the surprise written across its face as it stumbled straight into one of the shock cages that Velveteen had begun to slide out. She looked to her leaders, the people she proudly had as family and then it dawned on her what Micah had been doing at the altar when she noticed that the numbers were diminishing. Brief relief crossed her features as she heard the screams of the falling rogues.

[Dulce Periculum]

The sounds of gunfire continued as the bodies were hitting the floor and leaving their mark. Ash, black blood and whatever else could be left behind was adding up quickly. Dulce stood tall in the chaos like a disgruntled shopper in a mall under fire. It was no secret she loved her accessories but it had been that one of them was a big *** snake. She should have known but until that moment she was distracted by such a prospect. Not like anyone had witnessed her turn into her less than appealing animal form or knew what it was. It was one of those tricks of the trade so to speak that she figured was wisely left up to the element of surprise. That was exactly what she was about to do. Chalk up the lesson learned as just that until she heard the wake up call being shouted out for those around her followed up with a skull rattling jar to the back of her head. Someone was gonna die. actually more than a few.

“Blondie!” The voice squeaked through the war zone as the warm hand tried to drag her away from where she was standing. “What is going on?!”

Dulce recognized Sada with the sweet scent of fear emanating from her petite body as her arm countered the woman's attempt and curled her close. She spun around on her heels lifting the human up as her free hand pulled out Lola. She was pissed off. It was going to draw attention really quick if she allowed Sada to stay in the middle of what was going on. All she needed to do is leave Sada out as a open feed bag for the losers to buy some time. She had two hands and a gun. She was about to be set up to do just that.Her legs moved in a burst of a blurred long stride that had her quickly tossing the woman over a desk. Sada had been taught well to handle herself. Now that she was in position Dulce hoped she would hold up and do what she did best if anything came at her. She was small but could put up a good fight.

“Get ready and shoot anything that doesn’t belong here.” Dulce growled. Sada quickly pulled out her gun and released the safety while nodding. “Shoot to kill.”

Dulce felt the trickle of cool blood at the back of head slide down her neck. Her eyes scanned the scene and found a rogue coming straight for her. Lola lifted to the occasion with the help of her steady hands and a skull shot sent fragments of the head parting like a busted watermelon. Unfortunately she felt the weight of another against her back and the wrap of a thick uninvited arm around her neck. She reached back and took hold of the offenders collar and ripped him off sending him to the floor at her feet. Another shot in the face made a bloody mess. She kicked at the body and took off running to the next body that was attacking her family and faction. It would not exist long enough to regret it.