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Niklaus had only just made his way back to the second floor when he heard that giggle, he didn't recognize it at first. After all, how would he? He was fairly new to the company of Nishaa and the woman showed herself right after. But she didn't stay there for long - in a glimpse, she had stolen the shard right away from Every. The expert thief up to her old tricks again, no wonder she was the one who stole it from his bag when he initially found the damn shard from that altar. Nishaa went down immediately, god why, he had JUST climbed all this way up to this floor and she had to go down? Roderic then took off after Nishaa but went...up instead? Maybe he had a plan, so the Killer had two options really now. Either give chase and follow Nishaa down; she couldn't go far too, the ground floor was still mostly trapped and only Niklaus knew which traps he disarmed just a few moment ago. There was no way someone would have replaced them already, right? He would have the advantage of the terrain over Nishaa down there too.

The second option was him going up and following Roderic to see what his plan was. Maybe he had an idea of how to snatch the shard back from Nishaa. Niklaus would just let them battle it out then 'acquire' the shard from whoever got it. That sounded good too but Roderic's plans were usually weird as hell, right? Like throwing his sword at things... Down he was going then, he could keep his eyes on Nishaa too then. She was the sneakiest; he didn't even know where she had been all this time. Probably invisible and watching them all, figuring them out! How creepy, Nishaa!

The male sighed as he glanced down at the stupid tree again, getting that whole sense of deja vu once again. Man I really hate trees.. He had to be quick, Nishaa couldn't have gone so far. He jumped down and dug both sets of claws into the tree's bark, claw-sliding his way down until his feet met with the solid floor. Nishaa, Nishaa, where are you. Frowning as he stepped around some traps before regaining the safe path he had cleared earlier. Where the **** was she? He hid himself into shadows, figuring she might have done the same and was still lurking, watching him. He had to find her, she had his shard, once again...

Trahir waited patiently. After being shot in the foot and having his shard taken from him he had waited. He was the youngest member of the faction likely by far and the most inexperienced with his powers. The others knew the layout of the tree house far better than he. There had to be something he could use though. Something. He waits quietly and a thought comes to him. He opens his tome, reappearing at the one common ground they share and waits. Eventually the shard has to come this way doesn't it?

Where is she... WHERE IS SHE! The Killer had walked all the way to where he had previously been dropped when Every pushed him over the edge earlier. Still no signs of Nishaa. There was no way she could have disarmed traps and made her way to the basement already but she surely could have tomed there, right? That would make sense.. but how would he get to the damn basement in question? It was a suicide mission to disarm traps and look for the entrance to the basement. It would be a great way to get caught in a shock cage too, not ******* happening.

Another thing he noticed was that he wasn't being pulled into any direction either, as least nowhere on the ground floor. It wasn't possible that Nishaa found a way to cloak the shard too, right? Could she have been away figuring out what the shard was all this time before getting back into the hunt for it? That would have explained it but Niklaus really doubted there were any books or whatsoever about shards. No one really knew what they were or what they could be used for. He tried researching them a while back, only finding that they had some connection with the fae. But if the shard was in the Eyrie in the first place, there was a possibility that some ancient manuscript about it could have been laying around too. Or some kind of tablet, like... there were angel and demon tablets in Supernatural. Why didn't he think of that earlier?!

Well ****.. Nothing down here for sure. He summoned his wraith to himself and gave him the same order again. Find Nishaa. Find freaking Nishaa! It always had to be her, didn't it? The one who appeared and disappeared so easily. So the ground floor was a bust, second floor too probably. There was only the third floor left to explore now, perhaps the fourth floor too - but who would want to disturb Velveteen and Micah up there. No one could risk those two joining the hunt for the shard too! Was the elevator even still functional? He thought it was stuck somewhere in between floors or so, or did that get fixed already? Niklaus simply made his way to the latter and slapped the recall button, he had done too much climbing already, **** that. That elevator better be functional.

It had happened again.

The visions had consumed her. One moment, she had been holding onto her sire's ankle - and the next she had been tossed into another realm in her mind. The screams of terror, the voices begging for mercy - the sound of her gun as she fired bullet after bullet through the skulls of innocents. She saw her face, the face of a young teenager - the face of a monster. Gritting her teeth against the memories that still clung to her mind, the Russian put her hands on the branch she was balancing on and set herself upright. Her skull ached and throbbed, her body begged for reprieve from this hunt - but she couldn't allow it to happen.

Snapping her fangs together, she dropped her gaze to the floor below and tilted her head. Everything had changed. It was a strange sensation to wake up to something different, especially when it felt as if only seconds had passed. Shoving her hand through her hair, she dropped from the branch and winced at the sharp pain that shot through her body like lightning. I must get that fixed. It was a simple thought - a fleeting one, before her mind was once more consumed with the task at hand. The only thing that had stalled - even silenced - the visions and the voices had been that shard. It was a simple object, and yet it held the entirety of her sanity - and she felt its pull.

Nishaa.

Of ******* course. If anyone would have it - it would be her twin. Biting into the pad of her thumb, the Mystic swept her gaze over the area around her. It would be simply enough to find her. She knew how the others mind worked. It was why they were so close, so connected. Whereas Nishaa was the blizzard, cold and daunting, Reanna was the hurricane. The storms and destruction their minds created knew no bounds - and so she began to move. It wasn't a simple task. Her body hadn't healed completely, and she knew exactly why. Only two people knew where she hid her vambrace - and one of them was holed up in her apartment. The other, of course, was the target of her current hunt.

She betrays you.
BETRAYS.
How does it feel?

The voice began again, quiet at first, before growing until he was booming through her mind like a clap of thunder. Throwing her hand out for balance, she shook her head once before gritting her teeth together. Now was not the time. Weaving her way through the halls, she tipped her head and listened. She felt the pulling of the shard, and she knew she was growing close. As she rounded another corner, she finally gave a slow, cruel smile. There you are.

Without warning, the woman lunged for the other, her fingers twisting into her black t-shirt, causing the fabric to rip as she pushed her into the floor. Throwing her hand out, she twisted the shard from her possession and leaped back to her feet. "You should... have known..." Her voice was strained, her eyes wild and bloodshot. She looked a complete and utter wreck, her usual cold composure vanished beneath the insanity and heartache her brother ensued. "Betrayer. Betrayed... You betrayed..." She chanted, before shaking her head again. His voice, louder now, echoed through her mind as she stumbled back a step.

None of this should matter. She had her possession, she had her shard. It was hers. Her precious, hers. No one ******* else. Before she could say another word, she stole enough energy from the spirits around her to vanish into thin air. Her feet connected seconds later with an unknown floor, and it took her a second to realize she had come into what appeared to be an abandoned hut. Quickly navigating through the darkness, she shook her head. It wouldn't work. It was like going on repeat - no. She needed another plan.

Keep moving, my love.

Yes. That would work. They couldn't catch her if she kept moving. With that last thought in mind, she fled the hut's door and began to run in aimless directions, weaving and winding her way throughout the treehouses corridors.

You succeeded in your endeavour. - Steal shard.

She was really getting tired of her childer taking her shard, her headache and catastrophe. Actually, she was tired of them all doing as much and the petite thief caught herself on a branch just as her foot slipped out from underneath her. Rather than go elsewhere, she dangled there and considered her options. Logic fought with desire, desire fought with her beliefs and she listened to the struggles going on around her.

What could she do?

Kill the next person who took it from her? It wasn't easier said than done, difficult, yes, but not impossible. It wasn't something she preferred to do and was set aside as a last resort. Trapping the area? Perhaps. As plans went through her mind, Every swung herself back and forth to build momentum before righting herself on the branch. Her barefeet landed silently against the wood and she considered that first, she needed shoes.

Making her way over to the roof of her hut, the shadow dropped down and then wandered to her door. Her running sneakers were kept in the same closet as her traps, the brunette hissing lightly when one of her tripwires pointed the muzzle in her direction the moment she pulled the door open. The unorganized clutter irritated her, but as her hazel eyes found a space that she could squeeze into, a plan began to formulate. Reaching forward, she adjusted the shotgun to chest - height and set the muzzle on top of Deep Derp the owl pillow before grabbing her shoes.

It didn't take long for her to have them on her feet and as she left her hut, Every double checked to make sure her sensor alarm was working before eyespying Nishaa. She didn't recognize the hut, and there were only a select few that she didn't as she made her way on the bridges connecting into trees before calling the shadows to her so that she would disappear from sight.

She felt the shard pulling her, away from the huts and she wondered why briefly before beginning to sprint in the way it was coming. Spotting Reanna running like a bat out of hell, Every ran towards her and spotted the shard, she felt it in her own hand and at the last moment, stepped to the side before reaching out and snagged the shard back. Unaware as she popped out of shadows, she ran back towards her hut and shut the door behind her.

The shard was stuffed into her sneaker, safe for now as she hurried back to her closet. Picking up a tool stuffed above the shotgun, she hit the lightbulb inside and pulled the door behind her, ignoring the glass as it shattered around her before scooting into the mess and fixed the tripwire the handle. Would it kill who came after her?

No, but it would hurt like hell.

You succeeded in your endeavour - steal the shard
You succeeded in your endeavour - avoid collision

He waited and waited and the elevator still didn’t make its descent down. Someone must have done something to it, again. The same elevator, while being the quickest way to travel between floors was also the less discreet too. It would signal his presence, even if he had cloaked himself in shadows. Climbing was out of question too; a waste of energy and precious time. Niklaus decided to teleport himself to the third floor, it had been a while since he was last stalking that area. He still had to find a hiding place too, didn’t he? It was always smarter to have a plan B, C and D before figuring out the specifics of his plan A.

The moment he set foot on the third floor, he just knew it. The shard was there, somewhere. He could feel it, that delightful pull that said “Come get me!” He closed his eyes and let himself be guided until he came right in front of one particular hut. It had to be in here, but who owned this hut? He had no idea. But he was sure he wasn’t alone on this floor; everyone else felt the shard’s pull too, didn’t they? Using the fact that he was cloaked in the shadows, he would inspect the surroundings to see if anyone was around. He thought he heard something and instantly spun around to find…Reanna. She looked furious, leading the Killer to believe that the shard might have already changed hand again, was it even with Nishaa anymore?

He had an idea of everyone who were still in the game;, Roderic, Nishaa, Every and now Reanna too. He decided to stay concealed but keep her within his line of vision; surely she knew who owned that hut. Anyone who would barricade themselves in a hut surely would have some kind of surprise awaiting an intruder, right? The Eyrie was riddled with traps too, who made those traps? The very same guys currently trying to steal his shard. He had to be smart here now.

She had it - but only for a moment. One single moment, and then it was gone. Stalling in her haste, the vampire spun around and bared her fangs at -- her sire. The woman looked as wild as she felt, her eyes wide and her hair a mess. She saw the truth reflecting in her gaze. One solid moment of stunned silence - and she knew that her sire would try to hurt anyone that came near her. Now it is getting personal, she thought dryly. Had it not been before? Had they not been at each others throats the entirety of this event? Surely, their leaders had to know the kind of mayhem and destruction they would have caused bringing the shard into the Eyrie. Perhaps this was simply a game - a test, if you will. Survival of the fittest - weed the weakest ones out. Snapping her fangs together in frustration and determination, she spun on her heel and followed after the woman.

In the back of her mind, she knew it was wrong. She knew she shouldn't fight the very person who had taken her in - no matter what problems might have branched from it. Yet, she couldn't stop the anger that pulsed through her veins or the need to get her hands back on the shard. Closing her eyes for a moment, she brought the picture of the shard to the forefront, hoping that just simply seeing it in her mind would calm the inferno in her heart. It didn't - it only made it worse. With a growl, she gave the knob a quick twist, the door practically slamming open as she stepped into the hut.

"Every. I know you are here," she called out, her accent thick and her voice rough. She sounded as if she had been screaming for days, the pain of speaking sending knives down her throat. Shoving her hands into her messy hair, the Russian scanned the confines of her living room, her head tilting to the side. How could she do this to her - to betray her? Had she always favored Nishaa over her? Yes. It had been that way from the beginning. She didn't fit - she didn't belong. Of course Every would make sure that she knew it, that she felt it. Even now, to take the one thing from her that could keep her sane - what else would she do?

**** Kirill, of course.

The words came through her mind instantly, and she felt her knees buckle beneath the violent rage it caused. The voice wasn't her own, and before she could react too hastily - another came in. A rich, deep, amused laugh that clearly belonged to her husband. It was all she needed to find a moment of clarity, and...

There.

Her deranged thoughts were cut off at the knees as she heard the sound of glass breaking behind the closet door. With a grin, she quietly made her way across the room. Without a though, she gave the door a pull, her hand stretched in an attempt to snag the shard - only to be thrown backwards. Pain blossomed through her chest and stomach, and for a moment, she found it hard to breathe. It wasn't that she needed the air in her lungs - she needed the comfort of it. Gasping, the woman tried to lift to her knees, her wild, lupine gaze landing on her sire as her lips pursed into a pout that seemed out of place on her usually cold features.

"You... you shot me..."

Steal the shard -- failed

The shadow didn’t bother to keep silent as she heard her sensor click off in warning and her cell phone vibrated on the table where she’d left it to let her know who was entering. Her childe’s voice was heard and her hazel eyes focused on the door, her fingertips reaching for a knife that was kept in the stuffed animal. In the closeness of the closet, she could feel her tome pressing into her hip and it was decided that the first thing she would do when they would finally get it through their heads that it was her damn shard, was re-organize some of her ****.

She readied herself, waited. Listened.

And then the door opened and a shotgun blast filled the room.

Every herself was dazed because of the close proximity of the sound, the way that it echoed off the three walls and door gave her a headache that lingered until she shook her head. Even then, her ears were still ringing as she took in Reanna’s figure once she was thrown backwards. The shard was still safe in her shoe, the way it felt odd against her sneaker cloth as she eased herself out of her hiding spot. Her long bangs fell in front of her features and she debated about making a run for it.

But, as she stepped over her childe and inched towards the fadeportal she had set in the far corner of her hut, Every paused and then shook her head at the words. “You fell into my trap.” She motioned towards the wire that was attached to the trigger and doorknob. Beneath her pleasure, Every felt guilt. She didn’t like that she had hurt one of her own in the least. Her family.

Her plan had worked, but it didn’t ease the way that she felt seeing the blood across Reanna’s chest. Her emotions flickered across her features, into her hazel eyes before she pushed her bangs out of her face. “You’ll be fine, Ray.” Turning her back on her childe, Every took her fadeportal out to Marsh Hill before digging her tome out and returning to The Eyrie. Where could she go?

The question ran through her mind.

They had the tendency to find her wherever she went. Nishaa, Reanna. She was sure that Niklaus and Roderic were often on her trail. Fear traced along her spine as she considered going into the elevator shaft, at least there she could hide and get a vantage point. “What if some dipshit blew out the elevator, broke it again and it’d crush me?” She really hated the idea of going into the elevator.

After a few minutes of forcing herself, she made her way to the base of the tree and eased open the door enough to squeeze through, not minding the darkness as she shoved the door shut once more. Cursing quietly to herself as her foot connected with a piece of metal and the scent of cleaning solution mixed with old blood filled her senses, Every felt along the wall before she found the maintenance ladder and began to climb back up to two.

The words pounded in her skull, but it was nothing compared to the pain that was twisting in her chest. Blood seeped into the black of her t-shirt, and when she dug her heel into the ground to lift herself to stand, the agony caused the world to shift. An angered growl vibrated from her throat as she dipped her fingers into the bullet wound, nails digging around until she managed to pop the bullet from her flesh. It clattered to the ground as she turned her gaze to the door, though she realized it hadn’t opened – no, her sire had simply disappeared. A cold panic filled her when she realized that for the span of a second, she could no longer feel the shard. The grip it had on her sanity, her heart, allowed her to have a moment of clarity – and then she was craving its rough comfort once again. With a snarl, she twisted her hair into a braid once again, allowing it to dangle over her shoulder as she headed for the door and threw it open.

The hut, though in one piece once again, looked completely different to her. The walls seemed to pulse with life, the branches swaying as the shadows moved. Nothing was safe, no one was to be trusted. They were all against her, all ready to cut her off at the knees if they had the chance. They will never have the chance, she thought bitterly. They all underestimated her. They knew she was good at what she did – she put feelings aside, thoughts. At this point, no one was her family, no one was her faction. They were simply in her way. She heard her brother’s gleeful laugh, saw the pride in his eyes as he waved her on, leading her towards the tome drop. She could feel the slip between her and her husband as she gave into Markus, her steps quiet as she weaved her way through the halls. She knew that Every was nearby, she could feel the pulse of the shard as if it she could touch it.

She had to have it.

Scraping her nails against her forehead, she tried to control the rage in her heart. The closer she came to Every, the closer she came to losing that last thin grip on her sanity. Thumbing the safety off of her gun, she counted the bullets as she finally came to floor two, where her sire was emerging. Without a word, she lifted her gun and fired three rounds into the wall next to the brunette’s head. She had missed on purpose, it was to give a warning – to show she was done playing games. Blood still oozed from the wound in her chest, and her arm trembled with pain as she watched her sire’s hair singe from the close proximity of the bullet. “You disappoint me.” The words were cold and sure, and after she spit out a mouthful of blood on the floor, she gave a smile to match. “You take shard like it is yours. He belongs to me. He is mine. Mine, and I will have him.” Her voice never shook, despite the trembling in her fingers as she moved to aim for the center of her forehead.

It would be so easy. She had done it so many times before – innocents, humans, mothers, children, brothers, fathers – she never discriminated. So why then, now when it counted on a personal level, could she not pull the trigger? Gritting her teeth in agitation, she flung the gun back over her shoulder and stalked towards the woman, her feral gaze locked on hers. “Give it to me, Every.” The demand came a second before she threw her hand out, fingers curling around her throat as her other hand roamed over her body. There was nothing sexual or sensational about the movement – and right before she dropped her touch to her pocket, she saw the glint of the shard in her shoe.

Twisting to hold her blade to the other’s throat, she applied pressure as she crouched to pull on her ankle – only to be met with blinding pain. The hold in her chest worked against her, and she staggered back a step. Before she had a chance to regain her composure, she knew it would be too late. If she knew her sire – by the time she looked up, she would already be gone.

BANG! He was a couple of feet behind Reanna, right at the door when he heard the explosion, not it wasn’t an explosion. More like a shot, a shotgun shot. He realized that it could have been him tripping that wire and getting shot had he decided to beat Reanna to the hut. Smart move, waiting that one out. The Killer eavesdropped on the conversation, learning that it was definitely a trap that Every had set. He was really waiting to jump her by the door but she took a fadeportal out of the hut. Damnit! Was that it, she had finally found the way out of The Eyrie with the shard?!

Niklaus concentrated and closed his eyes as he moved away from the hut. He didn’t feel it’s pull anymore. Every was truly gone.. “No ******* way… Where would she go…?” he thought. He stopped in mid track and looked back at her hut; he could get in the fadeportal and try to find her, right? But he was no tracker, nor had any tracking power yet. But his thoughts soon got disrupted, by a sensation this time. It was faint but yes, it was the shard’s pull once again. It was back into the Eyrie or at least somewhere really close.
So the shard DID bring its current holder back to the Eyrie. That was the only thing that made sense, everyone who held it, including him could have run out anytime but no one chose too. They chose to stuck to the Eyrie instead; mostly like where the shard obtained it’s power. Like some kind of cursed object that’s stronger in a particular place. He had to find Every. Deciding to follow his instincts and moved back to the tree, using the branches to stealthily climb down to the second floor. He could hear someone now, someone climbing a ladder all while the shard’s pull got stronger.

There was no doubt as to who it was, Every! He knew his cloak of shadows would disappear the moment he made any attempt to steal the shard but oh, he was going to. It was his shard! He went to find that maintenance latter but stayed a couple of feet away. He had a plan in mind and this was going to hurt, but Every had it coming. The moment reached the top of the ladder, he was already sprinting at her. Colliding against the woman with his full weight, shoulder first. It was a spear – why he was pulling wrestling moves wasn’t certain but it worked. That was payback for tossing him down to the ground floor earlier too. But this was by no means a safe move, taking her down meant he had to put his body in the way – the pair ending up topping over the edge and falling down all the way to the lower floor. Hitting the solid ground but he didn’t care about the pain, his eyes widened in greed as the shard was freed from Every’s shoe, shining so brightly on the floor. “Shouldn’t have thrown me down earlier, bubba. You'll be fine too.”, he remarked to the woman, giving her a pat on the cheek before he snatched the shard and teleported himself back to the second floor. It wasn't that bad of a fall, right? Every was tough, anyway. He was going to celebrate with a fresh drink of blood.

Tackle Every to steal shard - succeeded