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The thin blonde stepped out of the Cherrydale station and began making her way over to the mausoleum. She was glad that the temperature wasn’t too cold out – not that she needed to keep warm anymore but because it meant she didn’t have to go through the façade of wearing a bulky jacket on her way to fight. She wasn’t hard up on cash or anything, but jackets got shredded easily leaving her preferring to get away with a nice long sleeved shirt whenever possible. The shirt would likely be shredded itself by the time she was done, but it wasn’t as if she had to go through the streets to get back home, so it didn’t really matter. Her clothing bill was atrocious.

She’d made it to a couple of blocks away from the Mausoleum when the hair on the back of her neck started to stand up. This wasn’t something that happened often, so when it did she made sure to listen to it. Her darkened eyes narrowed as she looked in the general direction of where the mausoleum was as she started to move closer to the buildings, doing her best to blend into the darkness there. It wasn’t easy and she doubted she was doing a good job at all – she rarely found it easy to blend in since becoming what she was.

It wasn’t long before she saw what had made her feel uneasy and she was stopping in her tracks. She didn’t dare move any closer to what she was seeing – not yet anyway. Instead, she turned the corner and tried even harder to blend in and look like she wasn’t paying attention to the area ahead of her. She continued walking, changing directions every so often until she’d walked in a complete circle and confirmed her initial suspicion. The entire area around the mausoleum was surrounded by a huge *** fence. From how far away she was she was fairly sure that the fence was barbed wire, but she couldn’t be sure without getting closer.

That wasn’t all either. Soldiers. Soldiers everywhere. What the **** was going on? Deciding not to stand where she was any longer she moved into an alleyway that was out of sight of the newly erected fence and pulled out her phone. Jesus but those guys moved fast – she’d just been to the maus that morning and hadn’t noticed a thing. She was about to send out a call to Micah when she stopped herself, shaking her head and putting her phone back into her pocket. What was she going to say? “Hey Grand-sire, there’s a huge ******* fence around the maus?” That would be unhelpful. Surely she could do better than that?

It was then that she noticed that her margay very much wanted out. Her kitty was curious and while she almost allowed the change to happen she changed her mind at the last minute, focusing on her wolf instead. The margay might have its advantages but she had little control over the creature – a mission like this one would need her control. She made sure to check a moment before the change that no one was in fact around to witness her change before fully allowing the wolf out. The transition was seamless, leaving her fully in control moments later as all four paws were on the cold pavement.

Bright blue eyes looked on from the wolf’s face as she shook her coat slightly, taking a moment to fully get used to the new orientation. She doubted she’d be as good at avoiding detection as Micah might be in this form; her colour pattern wasn’t quite ideal. Her fur went from black at the top of her face and back, transitioning to rust and then finally to white along her legs and paws. Still, this form would be less suspicious than if she tried to break in in her usual form – she sincerely doubted the soldiers would believe she’d just stumbled into their area accidentally.

Once sure she was fully in control of her muscles, she made her way out of the alleyway though continued to stay close to the buildings. The natural shadows would be her friends tonight. Even in her new form she didn’t dare get too close too fast. She didn’t know what the soldiers were doing there or what they were looking for. The wolf made it close enough to get a better look of the fence and the soldiers behind it, but hopefully not close enough that they would notice anything suspicious about the canine. She circled the area again, coming to the conclusion that the area was very well guarded, making her doubt her ability to do anything about getting in.

She was determined, however, to do something more than just report that this was going on. So, instead of turning back and calling she kept circling closer and closer until she found what she was looking for – an opening. Not in the fence, but in visibility. She wasn’t sure how long it would last, or if she would even have time, so she went quickly towards the fence and began to dig as quickly and quietly as she could manage. She didn’t want the hole to be too big, as then they would be more likely to notice it before she got out of there, but it had to be big enough that she could get herself underneath the fence. This is what all the animals did in the movies, right?

The sound of footsteps nearing had her stopping moments after she began, her form flattening itself as quickly as she could next to a nearby bush as she waited patiently for another chance to come. Once the soldier had moved on she quickly resumed her work, more messily than she really wanted to but knowing she had to do it quick. Once she thought there was enough room she went for it, the bottom of the fence digging painfully into her back as she wiggled through the barely-big-enough hole that she’d dug herself. She could feel her skin breaking from the pressure and had to hold back the whimper that wanted to escape as she continued to wriggle until she finally made it through.

Finally through and a little worse for wear, the wolf’s blue eyes searched out the nearest obstacle she could use as cover. There was too much light and too many soldiers around to do this the normal way, so once she found something passable she focused hard on it, letting the super speed she’d gotten better at controlling to get there within the blink of an eye which was hopefully quick enough that no unwanted eyes would see her either.

The cover she’d found was a vehicle – it was big and bulky and she assumed it belonged to the soldiers that she was currently hiding from. She had her body flattened down beneath it, far enough away from the edges to hopefully avoid detection while still able to see and hear at least some of what was going on around her. She was hoping to hear the soldiers talking about what they were doing – but the longer she laid there the more she realized that wasn’t going to happen. They were well trained and tight lipped; she was getting nowhere.

With only the briefest amounts of hesitation she wriggled closer forward knowing that this would increase the chances of her being spotted. It was enough, however, for her eyes to catch something interesting. Not everyone in the area were soldiers, or at least she assumed that the ones she was looking at weren’t just soldiers anyway. They weren’t dressed the same and Nyla got the impression that they were more scientific than combatant. There were soldiers around them though, almost like an entourage or an escort of sorts.

Her ears flattened as she continued to watch the group make their way towards where she knew the mausoleum was – the building full of creatures that shouldn’t exist. ****. The thought had a whimper escaping the wolf before she could think to suppress it and almost immediately one of the soldiers was looking her way and drawing his weapon. Double ****.

It took all of her self-control to keep from using her powers to get her out of dodge as quickly as possible. She couldn’t do that – not here, not now. She knew this, so instead of hightailing it out of there with vampiric speed she capped herself at what she assumed was a wolf’s pace as she took off back towards the area from where she’d come. It wasn’t fast enough – or she wasn’t paying enough attention to skillfully dodge the bullets that began coming her way. The wolf yelped, pausing slightly as the first bullet found its way into her flank. The hesitation was only temporary before she picked her speed back up. She tried to ignore the bullets raining down around her, even as she yelped as a second bullet found its mark just inches away from the first.

She was starting to doubt her ability to make it out of there when the hole she dug earlier was finally coming into view. With a last burst of speed she pounced for the hole, wriggling like mad to get through – uncaring of the increased damage to her back from the bottom of the fence. She did not hesitate as a third bullet grazed along her side, all four legs continuing their pace towards the tree house where she was sure her grand-sire would be. Where she hoped he’d be. She hated the damn place – it was so creepy. Luckily it wasn’t a place she ever really had to go, even if a good amount of her family lived there.

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

<Nyla> She made it outside the tree house, the stinging of her wounds telling her that these ones weren’t going to be quick heals. She didn’t even have to go all the way to the base of the tree as just inside the enclosure surrounding the fort was the person she was looking for. She had lost all her speed from the run from the soldiers to her destination, leaving her favouring her back right leg as she limped her way to Micah, allowing her legs to give out on her as she got to him.

<Micah> He was sitting on the ritual altar, every so often he'd glance at the security feeds from the cameras that surrounded the base of the Eyrie. So far all was clear. Not even a peep from that coward Pratt. For the past week or so, Pratt had been sending burdens at every single member of the faction. It was amusing to say the least because he couldn't seem to fight back with weapons. No Pratt had to turn to rituals, and refused to pull himself from the altar he had chained himself to. Another glance at the feed showed something and he peered at the screen to get a better glance. What was that?

<Nyla> She had expected cursing or talking or something at least. Micah never had been very good at seeing his family hurt and she was sure she looked gruesome at the moment. She could feel her blood matting in her fur along her back in particular from the heavy abuse it had taken. Had she imagined seeing Micah there? The wolf lifted her head up, bright blue eyes filled with pain as they looked up at what was most definitely her grand-sire. He hadn’t moved. What the hell? The wolf let out a whimper as she wiggled on her stomach even closer to the man, her nose nudging at his leg to try and get his attention – though surely he had seen her, right?

<Micah> He leaned in closer when he caught sight of the multi colored fur. He knew those markings, and he knew them well. After all he'd been there when Layla had shifted into that form when they had attempted to get control of the margay. That had failed, but his grandchilde has discovered that she too could take on an additional form. Said additional form was currently at the base of the Eyrie and from the looks of it attempting conversation with one of his decoys. With a sigh he hopped off of the altar and took the elevator to the ground. As soon as the doors opened he could smell the scent of fresh blood and quickened his steps to reach her faster. "Layla? What's going on?"

<Nyla> The sound of Micah’s voice coming from ahead had the wolf’s head snapping in that direction. Oh ****. She was seeing double? Just how badly was she hurt? She didn’t remember getting shot in the head so surely her vision should be fine, right? She looked back to Micah#1 for a moment, then again to the oncoming Micah#2 before putting her head back down on the ground and covering her face with her white paws, the rough pads of them moving over the wolf’s eyes before she reopened them expecting to see only one Micah. It wasn’t until she reopened them and saw that there were still two of them that she remembered the last time she’d shot a water balloon at her grand sire and he’d exploded, giving her one nasty headache. Micah#1 was obviously a fake and Nyla was feeling silly.

The wolf placed her chin on Micah’s shoe and took an unneeded breath, stealing herself for the likely painful change due to her injuries. She hadn’t dared change back until she got free of the soldiers, but now she figured it was safe enough to change. It wasn’t like she could talk to Micah like this, which was the whole point of her decision to sneak onto the new military base in the first place. With another whimper she began the change back to her normal shape, fur receding as muscles and bones reshaped to their proper form. It wasn’t long until she was back, curled up on the ground with the back of her shirt completely decimated from the spikes of the fence cutting through her flesh. “Oww…” She had meant to blurt out the whole thing, but in the en that was all that came out at first.

<Micah> If he hadn't been so worried about her he might have been amused at her attempts to speak to his decoy. This wasn't the first time that she had managed to take the fake him for the real him. Thinking about that reminded him to go back and replace the one that she had destroyed with her toy weapon. There was time for that later though, and as the wolf placed her chin on his foot he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Layla didn't normally seek him out like this, a text or a phone call was more her style. He didn't have to wait for long as before his eyes the multi colored fur receded and his grandchilde appeared at his feet. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

<Nyla> She whined a bit, thinking she should probably sit up but she didn’t exactly feel like it at the moment. Sitting up would cause the damaged skin on her back to shift and that did not seem like any fun at all. “I was going to the maus… to get to the cats…” She took in a deep breath, which only served to cause another whine to escape as filling her lungs only served to stretch the skin along her back. “****. There was a fence. All over. And soldiers everywhere. I snuck in under the fence – ******* **** hurts.” She growled at that – it had always looked so much easier in the movies. “The places was full of soldiers with guns and I think some scientists? I couldn’t get close enough to tell, but that’s what it looked like.”

<Micah> A fence? Around the maus? Since when? And soldiers? Then her words sunk in and he just kind of stared at her. "You snuck under a fence...." Well that explained the fresh blood he could smell. Christ. Why did she always manage to find herself in these kinds of situations? "Forget all that. Where are you hurt, and how badly?"

<Nyla> “Of course I snuck under the fence!” Without thinking she sat up as she said the words, darkened eyes going wide at the red hot pain that shot all the way up her back at the quick movement. She took a deep breath in through gritted teeth before continuing. “The army has blocked off a building full of **** I’m sure they’re not supposed to know about… so yes, I snuck in to see if I could figure out what they knew. Dogs dig their way under fences in the movies all the time… I didn’t think it would be too hard. I didn’t realize until I was already halfway through that it wasn’t big enough…and by then it was too late to turn back.” She shook her head, still feeling the dread over what this could mean.

“I think the whole freaking block is fenced off and there are soldiers with guns over the whole area. I think they were leading the scientist people into the maus… I don’t know for sure. Someone spotted me so I made a run for it. Fuckers shot me in the *** I think…. And my side stings a bit but it doesn’t feel like I got shot there.”

<Micah> Don't laugh Micah. Whatever you do, do not laugh at your obviously injured grandchilde, no matter how amusing the thought of her getting shot in the *** is. "I see," he finally managed to get some sort of response out. He was proud that he managed that without a change to the expression on his face. This was one of those times that he would look back on and laugh over. Repeatedly. Maybe. He shook his head to clear it and focused on the task at hand. "Do you need me to call Bunny down here with the first aid kit?" His thrall was having a well-deserved night of relaxation. She'd been just as busy as he had been the past few nights, going out for hits and gathering things that were needed. And she never once complained or told him “no” even though he had given her the option to do just that several times. Bunny wanted to help. No matter what the task was, she just wanted to prove that she was useful and live up to the confidence that Micah had in her.

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

<Nyla> The blonde quickly shook her head, figuring Solara would want to check her over anyway like a damned mother hen. No sense in having herself prodded over twice, really. “No no… That’s not why I came here. Thank you though. I just thought you might want to know? I thought I’d be able to figure out what they were doing, but no one said a damn word. It was creepy how quiet it was.” She couldn’t suppress the shudder that racked her body. “This can’t be good…can it? I mean… have they shown interest in the maus before?”

<Micah> He shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know. I mean how long has that place been there? And they're just now locking it down?" There had to be a reason for it. Had to be. But what he didn't know and he didn't even know who they could ask. "I don't ever recall anyone taking an interest in that place. I've seen cops hanging around but soldiers? Never."

<Nyla> “And I mean… I was just there earlier tonight. They moved fast and efficiently. They were coordinated. Whatever is going on they mean business.” She shuddered again. She didn’t like the thought of humans there at all, though the idea of mad scientists backed by an army was even more terrifying than the thought of the deformed beasties in the cats mauling some humans.

<Micah> "Interesting." That was rather quick. And it made him wonder all the more -why- they moved so fast. Were they trying to hide something, or maybe keep something contained? It had been awhile since he had been to the Maus but he hadn't heard of anything, like an outbreak of rabid zombies trying to eat people. Something was going on, and with the place locked up tight the way that Layla was saying it was he didn't know how or if they'd ever find out.

<Nyla> She felt weird still sitting on the ground, so she pushed herself up doing her best to minimize the automatic wince at the pain in her back. “Bad interesting. I was in wolf form even and they just shot on sight. So they definitely mean business.”

<Micah> His lips pressed together in a thin line. That pissed him off. Granted they didn't know that the wolf they had shot was his grandchilde but she was already hurt. And he doubted that they thought they would have been doing her a kindness by putting her out of her misery. "Apparently they do. I want you to stay away from there Layla. Until we know more it’s obviously not safe. Promise me."

<Nyla> She opened her mouth to throw out a retort about how he really wasn’t the boss of her, but she bit into her tongue to keep from actually doing that. She knew how he got when his family was injured, so she figured she could do her best to show him she did appreciate that he cared – even if it rubbed her the wrong way sometimes. “I only went in so I’d have something more to tell you then ‘Oh look. A fence.’ I’m good with staying away. Did I mention that **** hurts?”

<Micah> "Yeah and look at you now. Shot in the ***” he snickered before he could stop it "and who the **** knows what would have happened had you not managed to get away? You are the most accident prone member of my line." He said it without any heat, in fact his words were laced with amusement and fondness. Layla was important to him, as much as any other member was. Of course he was going to worry about her especially when she was known to get herself into crazy predicaments.

<Nyla> “Well I don’t do it intentionally…” Now she was wincing for a whole other reason: that **** was going to ******* scar. She was going to have bullet holes in her *** and her back was going to be a mess. Damnit she needed to be more careful – before long it was going to be hard to hide it and she doubted Micah would be amused at constant reminders of her being hurt. “I’m sure Solara and Pixie are going to have a field day with this…” Maybe they wouldn’t notice if she just didn’t go home until she healed up….

<Micah> "I know you don't. Trouble is just attracted to you darlin, that’s all." He looked her over from head to toe. Habit. Especially the past few nights. "Just...be more careful ok? Please?"

<Nyla> She couldn’t help but blink at him for a moment. “Of course I’ll be more careful… I’m not sure how I could be more careful but I’ll try? I mean, I’m already spending most of my time at home…” She hadn’t been planning on actually letting him know she wasn’t just sitting around in the open, but with that please she felt he deserved to know. A reward for using his manners instead of just demanding.

<Micah> He winced. That reminded him...."Look. I’m sorry for being a dick about the Paladin. I could have been nicer about it but after you guys got hit for the third time I just kinda...lost my temper. I'm sorry." Rare that he ever apologized and he was sure Layla knew that.

<Nyla> She shrugged her shoulders, not sure if she should jump for joy at it or ignore it as if it wasn’t such a big deal. She went for the latter, figuring Micah wouldn’t appreciate her making a fuss over it. “It’s fine. I could have held my tongue better too, yeah?” She debated stopping there, but kept on instead. “I wasn’t doing it just to piss you off, you know? I had a reason… I don’t put myself in dangerous situations for shits and giggles.”

<Micah> He held up his hand. "I know. I do. I just...I wish you could catch a break ya know?" He shrugged again and crossed his arms over his chest. "I get pissed off easily when I'm worried and I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry about you. I do. All the time. You’re so independent and you rarely ever ask for anything. So when **** happens to you I try to be a good grandsire and I think I overdo it because I turn into a dick."

<Nyla> “Oh you’re fine… I’m sure Pixie feels the same way about me at times. It’s just who we are.” She shrugged her shoulders, already over the whole thing really. “Speaking of… I’ll have to make sure she knows to go elsewhere… though I don’t exactly want her in the sewers. Damnit.” Now she was on to thinking of ways to possibly distract her childe until they knew more about this new military presence.

<Micah> "Then you better go tell her. Keep her safe, and yourself. Even that bitchy thrall of yours." It was no secret that Micah hated Layla's thrall with a fiery passion and would rather drink acid than have a halfway decent conversation with her. "And call me, if you need anything. No matter what time, ok?"

<Nyla> Her head nodded and she was glad she’d already gotten everything out as she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to stay and finish the conversation with Pixie on her mind. Hopefully she was still at home and hadn’t already left. Maybe she could teach her how to break into places or something? She didn’t have to actually tell her not to go to the maus…. Just keep her occupied. She smiled at Micah though, flashing her non-receding fangs as she did. “Aww. I’ll be sure to let Solara know you care. It’ll just make her day!”

<Micah> He waved her off with a slight grin on his face as he turned to head back for the elevator. "Go home Layla. Get those wounds tended to and keep out of trouble. We'll talk again soon." He was anxious to get back upstairs. Definitely a sign that he had caught his wife's paranoia. "Stay safe."

<Nyla> “You’ll get the word out? I know I’m not the only one that frequents the maus…” She bit her lip then, not liking the thought of anyone else getting hurt either. She knew she’d seen some of Eve’s childer in there at times.

<Micah> He paused at the entrance to the elevator and turned around to look at her. "I will. As soon as I get back upstairs I'll let the faction know and then make a few phone calls so everyone knows."

<Nyla> “Good. Let me know if you find anything?” She got the sentence out before sliding her hand into her backpack to grab her tome. She knew Micah would hear and didn’t need to wait to hear that he would. It was more just habit that had her asking anyway. In the blink of an eye Nyla was gone, the tome sending her home to where her Pixie was hopefully lounging around.

<Micah> "Will do." He didn't turn around somehow knowing she was already gone, and knowing that he would do as he told her he would. The doors closed behind him, taking him back upstairs where his wife was waiting for him.