Rise of the Rogues. [Open to Tytonidae]

[Velveteen]

The gentle flickering flames offered a warm, realistic ambience as the gas fuelled fire danced behind the thick glass. An open log fire, while more romantic, was not what Velveteen considered a smart idea in a tree house but she did enjoy the warmth that a fire offered in the chilly Canadian weather and a gas fire was the perfect compromise. The woman lay on her back in front of it as she looked up at the ceiling. Her hands were tucked beneath her head and one knee was pulled up while the other leg was crossed over it. Her foot that hung in the air tapped along with the music that filled the room. It was a scene that was not uncommon except for the fact that her husband was missing from it.

The renovations to the Eyrie were complete and the traps they had been working on night after night like busy worker ants were now set and would remain so until someone set them off. She was quite happy to lay about and have a night of nothing, which is exactly what the pair had planned, except for the fact that Micah couldn’t quite relax until he gone over the lock boxes and the plans to make sure everything was, in fact, done. He’d been completely driven to the point of obsession with this project and if that was what he needed to do then she wasn’t about to argue. Especially if it meant he was completely hers for the rest of the night. The music and the warmth had lulled her into a totally relaxed state so when Hera, the wolf pup that was no longer much of a pup, bounded from her usual place on the lounge and out of the room she barely paid attention. That was until the howling began to drown out the music.

The dark haired vampire frowned and snatched up the remote to lower the volume, wondering what could have the usually quiet wolf causing such a noise. She blinked as she detected an unfamiliar yapping that accompanied the baleful howls. Perhaps she should go and find out what was going on there. She pulled herself up into a half sitting position as she considered the need to moved. While she doubted that there was anything to worry about she was confused as to what the yapping was and where it was coming from. With a grumble she ended up pulling herself to her feet and wandered out to investigate. Sometimes when the fae got restless it would cause the wolves into the area to howl and Hera would join in at times. Velveteen expected that was all it was tonight too.

She found the wolf sitting out on the balcony and beside her was what looked like an overly large dust bunny. “Lil ******! Where the hell have you been?” She admonished the tiny canine that Karina had given her sometime ago and had since vanished as she scooped him up into her hand. Perhaps he never disappeared at all. The critter did look like an oversized powder puff after all. She turned the little dog this way and that, still disbelieving that this could actually be called a dog, though even that failed to cease the incessant yipping that she expected was meant to be fierce and ferocious. Perhaps it was in little dog land but it was more amusing than anything else right now.

The sound of several branches snapping somewhere below caught her attention and it was at that very moment she realised that that she could grunting sounds, the sort of sound one would make when expending a lot of energy hastily. She shushed the baying wolf and peered over the edge of the balcony only to gasp in shock. What she saw was not only completely unexpected but sent into her into an immediate state of panic. Vampires. And pissed off looking ones at that. None of which she recognised though there were many, were climbing the trees surrounding the tree house and launching themselves directly at the second floor balcony. While most seemed to fall short and plummeted back to the earth she watched as at least two managed to get a foothold and scramble over the edge despite the razor wire. Obviously personal injury was not an issue right now.

There were quite a few members on the second floor...including her husband. Already her feet were carrying her to the elevator as she yelled at the top of her lungs. “MICAAAAAHHHH!!” Though for all she knew he could already know. How many had made it in before she decided to pay attention she had no idea. The traps would hold them back for a bit but with no idea how many or from which side they were coming she couldn’t say for how long. The little dog was dropped on the table as she rushed past to collect whatever guns she could carry and get her *** downstairs. It seemed tonight was not going to be the night she had hoped for after all.

[Micah]

It had taken them a week to construct the traps that they needed for the renovations for the treehouse. Micah had been expecting it to take much longer than that, but the majority of the faction had been more than willing to pitch in and supply them with the parts that they needed to accomplish the task. The majority of the crafting had been done by himself and Vel, with AJ, Zoey and Eve contributing. The amount they had ended up with was staggering and he was glad that it was finished. If he never crafted another damn thing, he would be a happy man.

Now that the worst of it was over the only thing left to do was sort out what was left item wise and decide what to keep and what to sell. He didn’t want to put it off, preferring to get it out of the way while he was thinking about it instead of waiting until later. It didn’t take long to sort it out. He stored what he decided to keep and made his way over to the shop to sell the rest. It was mostly common items that could be found anywhere. The harder to find items would be put on auction with the funds going directly into the faction account that Bunny kept. It was looking decent but over the past couple of months it had taken a beating.

A quick stop at the ATM was the last thing that he needed to do before he headed upstairs to spend the evening with his wife. With as busy as everyone had been he and his wife hadn’t gotten much time together. They were lucky if they’d managed to get a quick hello said to the other in passing, which was another reason he wasn’t going to put anything to do with the renovations off. If it was out of the way, that meant more time with Vel and that was something that he needed. As he stepped away from the ATM he thought he heard something coming from the direction of the balcony. Micah halted his steps and listened, but when he didn’t hear anything for a few second he brushed it off thinking it was just his imagination and continued his path to the elevator.

Before he got there the doors opened and Bunny stepped out, bag in hand as she headed for the shop. She gave him a happy sort of grin but as soon as it appeared it faded. Micah frowned as the girl sort of stumbled back a few steps and he went to shoot off some sarcastic retort about her being clumsy when he caught the scent of fresh human blood in the air. Then he noticed the growing red spot on the pale blue material of the shirt Bunny was wearing and it clicked. She’d been shot and he knew then that something was very wrong. There wasn’t a single member of the faction that would attack her. They knew better. Bunny was family to him and anyone who treated her otherwise would be on the other end of his gun.

As she hit the floor the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he turned, ducking just in time to avoid a stray bullet. Several loud explosions rocked the tree as the traps were triggered, and he got a sense of satisfaction at the pained cries from the intruders filled the air. His gaze was drawn to the balcony where several unknown vampires had just leapt over the railing and began firing. One of them noticed the blonde on the ground as she tried to draw her weapon. The smirk on the rogue’s face had him seeing red and he dove, tackling Bunny to the ground and covering her body with his as he took a bullet that was meant for her head. All that served to do was piss him off. He didn’t notice the sting in his shoulder as he drew his gun, stared down the unknown vampire and fired off several rounds that connected with the unknown vampire that had shot the pair of them. The rogue’s head exploded in a spray of blood and grey matter.

Micah managed to get Bunny safely behind the ritual altar, managing to give her a quick check to see how badly she was wounded. The sound of gunfire was loud, and not only that but it was close. “Go Micah. I’m fine.” With a single brief glance at the blonde safely behind the altar he moved out into the open just as the elevator doors opened and his wife appeared. It was time to kick some ***.

[Nishaa]

Nishaa dawdled across the lawn that belonged to the Eyrie, she had called it home as she had been accepted as a full member now, the keys to the main door and the passcode for the elevator, and she did odd things during the nights now. She had a knack for breaking and entering and during the construction of the traps she acquired quite of lot of parts for Micah, and in her hand tonight she held a bag full of goodies for Micah, things like hunting shotguns, box of perfumes, nuts and bolts the usual **** you got when wanted to make something quite rad and that could give an awfully big BOOM to boot.

She slipped inside the large treehouse to find Velveteen in the elevator, the doors closing on her face she had a panicked look about her which worried her, grandma was never worried about anything unless it was about Nishaa going through her pantie draw, which she had threatened before. Nishaa slammed the palm of her hand against the ‘call lift’ button and waited her foot tapping impatiently against the ground. She hated waiting; it was her very own pet hate. Pulling out her phone she sent a text to Paige, her girlfriend; Be there soon love, just dropping **** off – grandma looks flustered, can’t be getting enough sex surely. Maybe we need to give them tips, eh love! ~ Love you x She clicked send.

In that moment the elevator came back to the ground floor, the doors opened the scent of faint blood filled her nostrils, odd. She shrugged it off, assuming someone had killed a few paladins. Nothing to crazy, she’d be doing the same, she clicked the second floor button as the lift stirred and jolted into motion. She waited for what seemed forever as the lift finally stopped and the doors swung open. She could smell that blood again, fresh – still bleeding. It smelt, disorientating.

She turned her head to the side to find Micah looking ahead towards the balcony, she looked in his general direction to find a **** load of vampires trying to claw at the balconies side. They looked feral and blood thirsty. Grandma was there too, close to Micah. She loved her grandpa, and moved quickly to stand beside him, the opposite of where Velveteen was. Pulling out her rifle she loaded it taking her sweet *** time, as if to get into the *** kicking mode.

“Well ****, gramps. Who’d you piss off, yo?”

She said as she aimed her gun in the general direction the vampires, the bag that held all her bits and bobs of ****, she threw towards the crafting table. Time to party! She made a mental note to thank Shan again for this **** hot gun.

[Aysel]

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

Aysel Johari: She watched very carefully, concealed around a corner with a clear line of sight to the mans back. She couldn't tell if he was working or studying a parts list. Easing out of her hiding placed, she launched the small rubber ball in her hand, causing it to hit the wall just above his head and go flying, bouncing off in another direction. She waited a fraction of a second after seeing it hit, then ducked behind the wall once more.

Zakar: *he flinched, startled as he looked around for the source of the noise. Seeing nothing, he went back to the assembly of his latest creation, a rifle that he was hoping would be his best work yet. Hours had been spent on its creation and he was now ready to set the scope and sight it, distractions were unwanted at this point, whatever they might be. With he scope in place, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and peered through it*

Aysel Johari: She peeked out from her spot and threw another ball, this one hitting him a glancing blow in the shoulder. She started to laugh when a disturbing sound caught her attention and she forgot to duck back behind the corner, her eyes scanning the area, trying to place what the noise was.

Zakar: *He jerked reflexively, finger squeezing the trigger, forgetting that he had live rounds in the gun since his next step would have been to test fire it. The rifle discharged, the sound echoing in the main room of the tree house. He set the gun down quickly and scanned the area, checking to see if the bullet had hit someone and caught sight of Aysel* Troublemaker! *he growled as he approached her with a wicked gleam in his eye*

Aysel Johari: "Shhh!" She hissed at him, easing along the wall. She saw Micah, and Bunny, and then it seemed as if the gates of hell opened up. "Zakar!" She yelled, closing the distance between them at a run, pointing at the human who had been shot and the enraged vampire moving to protect her. "What the ****?!"

Zakar: *He stared at her, eyes narrowing as she hissed at him. Had she just shushed him?! He opened his mouth to fire off a retort then turned when she yelled his name and pointed. ****! Had the stray bullet hit someone after all? It appeared so and he paled when he saw the look on his sire's face. He turned back to look at Aysel with a scowl, just in time to see blood and bone spray as a headless body dropped to the floor. The scent of the leftover body was not one he recognized and he grabbed his gun from the shoulder holster, suddenly tense as his eyes roved the room*

Aysel Johari: She slid her own hand gun from a thigh holster, watching Micah and the room. She had no idea what the hell was going on and the explosion that shook the tree not only caught her off guard, but made her curse in several languages. All that hard work. They had just finished. Looking at her husband, she gave him a nudge. She had glimpsed several more... vampires? coming over the railing, ignoring the razor wire, and putting the whole of Tytonidae in harms way.

Zakar: *Had the people of the city finaly managed to pull their heads out of their collective asses and stop arguing with one another long enough to band together and attack Tytonidae? The thought was dismissed almost as quickly as it had taken form when he took in the way the invaders ignored the wounds the caused by the razor wire and shook his head as he muttered under his breath* Suicidal AND stupid. * A quick glance at his wife made him smile in spite of the grimness of the situation. He turned his head just enough to whisper next to her ear* I think it's time for some target practice. *without a second thought, he took aim at one of the invaders and pulled the trigger, grinning like a maniac as the first two bullets connected with the creature's chest and groin. It might not stop the thing in its tracks, but it would slow it down slightly...he hoped.*

Aysel Johari: "Nice shot..." She teased, taking aim at the same creature. She had just squeezed off a couple rounds at it when a chill wind whipped through the Eyrie. It seized their target and hurled it at the two vampires, causing her shots to miss as the wounded Rouge collided with them both, knocking AJ to the ground.

Zakar: One moment he was on his feet, the next he found himself beneath the very thing he had just wounded and the Rogue was furious. Fangs flashed in front of Zakar's face as he tried to shove it off of him with one arm while trying to bring up his gun to shoot it. Silently he cursed himself for not spending more time on strength training as he struggled under the Rogue's bulk, finally managing to squeeze off a shot that was more sheer luck than skill, into the temple of the Rogue's head. He shoved the thing off of him and sat up, looking immediately to his right to check on Aysel as he asked, "What the hell just happened?"

Aysel Johari: She pushed herself up, rubbing the back of her head. "I am not sure, but we can figure it out later." Rolling to a knee, she took careful aim, center mass, on a Rouge coming towards them. She had the perfect trigger squeeze, slow and easy, when it felt like an iron bar slammed in to her arms, the bullet exploding from the gun and straight in to the floor. "What. The. ****?!"

Zakar: He smirked as he replied to her rhetorical question in a teasing tone, "We can figure it out later. Looks like you need target practice..or a lighter gun, my heart." While he'd been talking, he had been watching the Rogue as it approached them and at the last possible second, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger as fast as he could, firing off several shots at the thing.

Aysel Johari: The bruising was already beginning to form, and before she could answer, he was already shooting. Unfortunately for him, what ever was messing with her chose that moment to raise the barrel of his gun. It almost seemed as if the invisible force were trying to save the invading "army".

Zakar: Mild amusement at her poor aim turned to annoyance when his gun seemed to be forcibly re-aimed by some unseen force. "That was a waste of ammo," he snarled as he was now face to face with the Rogue. Hands reached to grab hold of the creature as it seized him by the throat and lifted him off the floor, leaving his feet dangling a good six inches from the floor. As his hands clamped down on the Rogue's shoulders, the shadows around the two attacked the Rogue without warning, seemingly skewering the thing on shadowed blades that, while they did damage, faded from sight almost immediately afterward as if they had never existed.

Aysel Johari: She stared in amazement, leaping to her feet, she pulled a knife from her boot, stabbing it over and over in to the back of the Rogue that held her husband in the air. "If we don't regroup, we're all screwed." She shouted to him, trying to be heard over the noise of gun fire and exploding traps. "We should try to get to Micah!"

Zakar: He heard her say something about Micah but he was more focused on trying to get loose. Aysel was stabbing at the Rogue but it still felt like he had bands of iron wrapped around his throat and the grip showed no signs of weakening. If anything, each stab of her knife seemed to be making the Rogue tighten his grip. Desperate, Zakar pulled his knees up and pushed against the thing with both feet as hard as he could, finally managing to dislodge himself from the other vampire as it careened backward, thrown off balance by the unexpected move.

Aysel Johari: She was growing more and more irritated by the thing, activating her monstrous form with out thinking about it. She gained another foot in height, her lean muscles rippling in to a larger bulk, fingers shifting to claws and her features becoming almost feline. With a growl, she reached out and grabbed the Rouge, crushing it's head and dropping the body. "Micah." She grunted to Zakar, trying to talk around a mouthful of teeth was difficult. So she pointed at the same time.

Zakar: He couldn't help but stare at her in almost horrified fascination as she seemed to change before his very eyes. When had she learned to do that, he wondered and almost asked her before he thought better of it. Now was probably not the best of times to play twenty questions with her as she really didn't seem to be in the right frame of mind for it and they had other, more pressing issues to deal with. Zakar got to his feet and looked up at her, then nodded and began to make his way toward Micah, hoping the man had some kind of plan or...something.

Aysel Johari: She followed after him, her steps shaking the floor as she moved, the gun in her hand seemed small and toy like, her eyes tracking around, watching as the invasion continued, the two they had taken out did nothing to ease the perilous situation.

[Blake]

It was with absolute silence that he stood before the repaired glass pane that covered the entire south wall of the Veil penthouse. Those dark eyes looking out a city that he felt was truly damned and destined to die. Anarchy, true anarchy, was nearly at hand. Harper Rock needed just a few more lynch pins to fail and it would collapse in on itself. Already the denizens of the city were eating each other alive and the only form of law came in the form of death, cold and gripping even to a vampire. Everyone stared that faceless phantom evenly at least once, a few of the unlucky ones even having to face death more than once. It was the fate of an immortal, knowing that death wants you, has claimed you but can never truly have you. Those dark eyes left the horizon line of the city and fell to his hand. To him it was all too visible, Blake could see the age creeping in to it, the sheer feeling of being old creeping in to his owns bones as he wondered exactly what it would be like to actually grow old and die peacefully. It was a kind thought, of the few that had been actually enjoyable to dwell upon as of late.

"Come on old man" The words muttered softly to himself. "Get a grip, we have **** to do tonight."

He knew he hadn't been around as much as he should have been around but with everything happening on the private side of his life he knew he really couldn't be blamed. From having to have Veil completely redone to everything else that was happening it was good to finally be back where he belonged. It was probably a good idea for him to check in with Vel at some point soon and considering the rest of the night was completely free for him tonight seemed like a good night especially seeing as how he had yet to change out of his work clothes for the day. Slender and pale fingers undid the top button of his shirt as he lost himself once again looking out over the city. Maybe it would be a nice calm night full of good conversation and even better company. Turning away from the glass wall of Veil he pulled a well worn book off his desk, the pages slightly frayed as if it has seen a great amount of use, the corners of the book folded and bent from unintentional rough treatment. Why did it seem like everything was a trip down memory lane as of late? Everything he touched seemed to be reminding him of one thing or another. With a soft sigh Blake opened the pages of that book and within seconds he vanished from Veil Tower. Time to go home.

It didn't take long for Blake to notice something was wrong when he arrived. The floor was shaking, he could hear gunshots and there was the pervading sense of something simply....wrong. Pulling the large revolver from inside his jacket he checked it to make sure it was loaded. The sight of six satisfyingly large rounds primed and ready to be fired gave him a moment to smile. Even as he slipped off his jacket and left it lying there on the floor his mind was working at almost hypersonic speeds. Three goals. Find out what the hell was going on. Eliminate the threat. Find Zoey. That was all there was to it. Thankful for the powers he had recently learned to enhance beyond normal means he waited until he was just inside the the tree house to send a surge of anima coursing through his body, the slight tingles and the warmth spreading through the shadow was enough to almost make him feel alive once more even if, by very nature of what he was doing, he was reaffirming how just beyond human he now was. Driven by sheer willpower and annoyance that some thing was happening in the Eyrie of all places he took the form he had found so much comfort in. Everything in front of him grew larger...no....not larger, he was getting smaller. The sound of each and every single one of his ribs cracking and reforming as they needed to echoed throughout the base of the tree house. It hurt. And it hurt like hell. His spine began to elongate while his face began to grow deep dark scales. When all was said and done there was no longer a man standing just inside the tree house but a large coiled snake of black and yellow coloring. If that lipless mouth of his could smile any passerby would swear that the 22 foot long and almost 500 pound snake was smirking.

Granted, his current form was slower he had to appreciate the ease at which he was able to slip in to spaces far too small for his human form to enter. It didn't take long for him to figure out exactly what was going on. Ferals. Organized ferals. Well...as organized as they could manage to be. They seemed to be simply throwing themselves at the tree, climbing to it's higher points and attempting to force themselves in to the upper floors of the Eyrie. Well that just wouldn't do. He didn't have much in the way of clearing his way up but he did have sheer size and strength and anyone getting smacked with the back end of a five hundred pound snake was going to feel it. A few of the ferals were going to add 'giant snakes' to things that were to be avoided after tonight. Slowly he made progress, using stealth to his advantage hedging on the fact that the ferals probably wouldn't know what to do with a giant snake if confronted with one or, in his case, simply passed by one. Taking his dear sweet time he finally found where the intruders were aiming for. The balcony. Using those serpentine senses he found a small hole, probably made by a squirrel or some such, that would allow him to bypass that horrific razored wire.

It was through this hole that he made the last leg of his journey, a whole three minutes since he'd begun his journey give or take a handful of seconds. Noting the presence of others he moved that serpentine head in the direction of...Micah perhaps? Maybe Velveteen? He wasn't a hundred percent sure at the moment. Feeling the foot steps of a fast moving creature just to his left he let pure instinct take over. He began to quickly wrap himself around the leg of the feral in question, the snapping of the bones in that particular leg was all too satisfying to Blake as he continued to coil himself up the body of the unfortunate intruder. Every ounce of his muscle mass working to crush the rabid creature. He looked back at who he assumed was Micah and Vel as he heard the satisfying sound of bone after bone being shattered.

[Jesse Fforde]

When Grey is at work, and when there aren’t any hunts – when there’s no other business to attend to, Jesse can be found at the job at which he is paid for. The one he doesn’t attend as often as he should – a job which he feels privileged and spoiled to have attained. They can log whatever hours they want. Can refuse jobs. Can, pretty much, treat the place as if it were their own. Which, for Micah’s sake, is probably a good thing as far as Jesse is concerned. Jesse had once owned his own tattoo parlour, and when working he employs the same OCD that he had back when he was his own boss. When there aren’t any jobs, he cleans. And, with preternatural senses at his disposal, as well as stamina and speed, the place is left without a speck of dust on any surface by the time that he is done. If inspected, no health codes would ever be deemed violated. Jesse knows what he is doing, and he does it with pride.

He had booked in a few jobs, however; a few regular customers who had followed him from True Love who knew him for the kind of work that he liked, and who commissioned from him original pieces. One: Peter Pan, done in rockabilly style. Two: Oroboros, etched full-size upon a young man’s back. Three: The finishing touches upon a full sleeve, Yggdrasil – the World Tree, with colourful scenes from Asgardian lore filtered throughout.

As soon as the last customer left the building, Jesse put all his sales through the register and cleaned his station. It’s late enough that he does not expect any more customers to walk through the doors, and he hasn’t got any on the books. It’s early enough, too, that he can still go back to the Eyrie and get a few other things done, before either finding Grey or hunting the sewers.

The tome drops him in one of the numerous hallways of the Eyrie. It’s not as quiet as it usually is, however; although there’s no one else there, he can hear the sounds of battle as they reverberate through the limbs of the tree. Within seconds he has his jacket removed and his weapons drawn – one fade portal later and he’s ushering himself into the elevator, which will take him to the second floor. When it spits him out, he has to pause; what he witnesses is completely unexpected. Vampires, attacking. Rogues, by the look of the madness in their eyes. He can see Micah and Velveteen; he can see Zakar and AJ; he can see Nishaa. And… is that a Snake?! He shakes his head and cracks the bones in his neck.

It’s tempting. So tempting, to take that form himself – but he thinks he’d do better with sword and gun than with just scales and no weaponry. He can’t stand still for long; one of the rogues is sprinting toward him. She has a blood stained chin and a missing canine, but the canines are bared in a hiss. She has just a dagger, which is raised in attack. Jesse sucks in a breath, ducks, and rolls. As he rolls, he trips the rogue and sends her sprawling, before he springs onto her back and skewers her through the heart, before severing the head completely from the shoulders.

He doesn’t even have time to mouth the words what the **** before he’s attacked by another… and on it goes.

[Doc]

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

Doc: Doc called out to Dulce, “Hold the elevator..” He slid in just before the doors slid shut. He looked at her “You didn't even attempt to hold the doors. *****.”

Dulce Periculum: She stood there watching Doc struggle and move *** faster than even he planned on to get inside the space of the elevator where she stood. This, of course, amused her as did his sharp assessment of her lack of response to his wanting the elevator held. “You are right. What ***** would when you asked?” Dulce lifted her brows quickly as if they too were suddenly amused at the look on his face.

Doc: Doc shook his head. Damn if she didn’t take his insult and take it two times around the track and slam it right back into him. One of these days, he was going to win this battle of insults, but he knew when he was beaten, he would shelve the battle for the time being and attack again later. “How’s Hantu.. haven’t heard much from him the last few weeks. Not that he’s overly talkative in the first place.”

As the elevator doors opened on the second floor, the scene that presented itself was sheer chaos. There was an all out fight to the death taking place. It was hard to get a read on what exactly was happening, except that there was gun play and blades slicing into bodies left and right. “See what you did.. **** Dutch .. I can’t take you anywhere.”

Dulce Periculum: You sure about that? Maybe there was an alert put out where the biggest smart *** could be found and they are waiting for you to arrive?" Smirks. "Let us greet them...shall we?"

Doc: Doc pulls his 40 mm Sig Sauer and nods, "I would say 'ladies first', but I think I will take point this time, and you can cover the flank.." He grins before moving into the fray, fire point blank into to the back of some unknown vampire about to launch himself at Nishaa. The shot stunned the Rogue long enough for Doc to grab the tang of an unfinished blade from the forge; which he slammed into the head of the prone vampire, cleanly bisecting the top of the rogue’s head in a rather crude craniotomy.

Dulce Periculum: It sounded like a logical plan. Ladies first. Doc had far more manners and diplomacy in one thumb than she did in her entire six feet and then some body. She was known to be as subtle as a wrecking ball slamming into an occupied tower of sleeping residents. No need for words. He was going to do his thing and she would do the flank thing and clean up. She reached behind and retrieved Lola with a firm grip and now all that was left to do was walk like was invincible and press the end of Lola at the temple of the head that didn't belong where it was currently taking up space. "Need an invitation to be here." Her finger curled the trigger and Lola kicked back as the round went blasting into the skull sending the pieces flying like a shattered pinata. "This sure beats a planned party and costumes. Who is next?" She chuckled and proceeded on through the Eyrie.

[Dulce Periculum]

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

Doc: Doc was pelted with bits of blasted brain matter, as she almost humorously asked who was next. He nodded toward a rather large snake that seemed to be more sentient than a reptile had the right to be. "I'm thinking.. that guy." He gestured with his hand still holding the handleless blade toward the snake. "Heads or tails?"

Dulce Periculum: There was an art to skinning a prized source of hide for high end fashion. Snake especially. She was quick about it. Her icy blues skated up the length of the snake to discern if there was a unique pattern that would be ideal for boots. A couple pairs of thigh high length seemed possible with what she was looking at. Pants as well. the sounds of more shots being fired and the energy of building chaos grabbed her attention. they needed to be quick about this. they still had a faction to protect. “Heads.”

Doc: Doc flipped the blade around in his hand. “Can’t say I am fond of snakes, but this in one case where I will do what is needed. I wonder if we could have that head mounted? Do they mount snake heads?” He headed to the balcony where the Snake was, “Look at the markings on that thing.. that would make a ******* unique belt.. Alright.. that means I got tails.. What the **** do you do with the tail of a snake?”

Dulce Periculum: Dulce was thinking how wicked the head could be mounted somewhere. Hantu could core out the inside and stuff it or shove some sort of preservative in there. Hell if she knew what to do with it but she knew it was damn impressive sitting in front of her so why not have it on a wall? “I guess you will have time to figure it out once this blood fest ends. Right now let’s get it done and over. I think we have more than this in here to deal with. Need to find Micah and Vel and the others.” She pauses briefly from snake assessment and reaches Hantu. Hopefully he would be able to pull away from business at hand and head to the Eyrie.

Doc: “I’m thinking ‘belt’ here.. So I need at least thirty inches in one long piece.. just to be sure..“ Doc said aloud, but mainly talking to himself, as he mentally eyed the snake’s tail trying to figure where the four foot area would fall amid the coils of that huge thing. Louder he grumbled at “Dutch.. You said ‘heads’. Do something for **** sake..make it stretch it the hell out. I can’t very well hack tail off with it coiled the **** up..” he barked at Dulce, “Quit dancing .. and do!”

Dulce Periculum: Dulce looked at the massive snake then at Doc. "What the hell do I look like? A snake charmer? Make it stretch?" She paused giving it another looking over. Her face now wore a rare frown. "Stretch?" She barked at it.

Doc: "Like it ******* understands you.. Put a ******* bullet in it's head!"

[Every]

She had been sitting in her hut, taking a break from some of the traps that were still on her ‘things to do’ list and leaned back on her couch with a book in hand. One leg was crossed underneath herself, her chin resting on the palm of her hand as she turned the page every once in a while. Thinking about the time that had passed in the year, her freehand tapped idly against her upper thigh. Childer, Tytonidae, the family, and now in a relationship again, it was yet another one-eighty to how she’d been at the end of the year. Setting down her book, Every leaned forward to collect a wine glass full of blood from her table and paused when she heard the gunfire coming down from below.

“What’s going on down there?” It wasn’t a serious concern of hers, they were known for being violent and maybe someone had pissed off another in the faction. She looked at her cellphone, finding no message from Micah or Velveteen before she grabbed the glass and lifted it to her lips to take a sip. Setting it back down, Every heard another shot and yelped when a bullet came through her floorboard, cutting through the glass in her hand before sinking into the wall. “Dammit.” She got to her feet as she heard Velveteen’s shout for her sire below.

From habit, she grabbed the taser that Micah had given her for Christmas and stuffed it into her pocket, collecting her combat pistol and tucked it behind the waistband of the dark green running shorts she wore. Pulling her tank top down over them, she listened intently to the sounds below and felt her eyebrows furrow together with the sounds of gunfire and fighting. She’d left her custom blade downstairs with her bag, so as she passed her table, Every collected a hunting knife and headed to the elevator. It was only until she was halfway down one of the wooden paths that something that didn’t belong near the Eyrie caught her eye.

“Adelaide.” She called for her wraith only to receive no response as she tucked her knife away for the time being and removed her pistol. Lifting it, she took aim towards one of the vampires that were making their way up a nearby tree and fired off a few rounds. One hit its mark – the shoulder – while the other punched into the wood above the vampire’s hand. She watched him fall as she started to run towards the elevator. There was a crunch that echoed through the air and she punched the down button immediately.

Turning to put her back to the doors, she watched the nearby branches in caution before the doors opened behind her and stepped into the elevator. In her mind, Every pictured the computers where she’d tucked her bag away for the time being earlier on. Straight and to the right. Hearing Doc bark at someone, she lifted an eyebrow just when the doors fell open. Chaos. “Lovely night for a fight, isn’t it?” She shouted at Dulce and Doc before she stepped out, turning sharply when bones broke and she took notice of a giant snake around a body. She scanned it quickly, determining that whoever it was, was one on their side before she sprinted in the direction of her custom blade.

Watching a vampire scramble over the side, Every pulled her trigger as she slid to a halt. Multiple gunshots landed in their side, their leg and she hissed in irritance before tossing the weapon underneath the desk as she drew close enough to catch their arm, twisting sharply to drive her knee directly into their back. Bones broke and the two tumbled to the ground. The woman stayed down in the time she grabbed her bag, pulling out her blade as she heard movement behind her. As she turned, she drove the blade directly into the vampire’s heart and pulled it out.

When the other turned to ash, she got back to her feet and caught scent of Bunny’s blood. Looking around for the blonde, she relaxed momentarily when she noticed she was tucked away. Her ring grew hot and immediately, she ducked out of the way as claws swung in her direction, tearing at her shirt and she slashed instinctively, her blade sinking into the leg of her attacker and slicing it off as she straightened up. She summoned a sidhe and watched the man get slammed to the ground before she lunged at him.

[Micah]

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

Velveteen - Velveteen swore harshly as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the ground level. She must have hit the wrong button in her haste to get to where she needed to be. The pad of her thumb pressed against the button for second floor repeatedly in frustration as if that action would somehow give the machine some indication of her need to be elsewhere and fast. It didn’t. With the same slow mechanical whisper the doors closed lazily, possibly even slower than usual. It was mocking her...surely. Silver orbs stared ahead as she began to imagine the worst. The sound of bullets and blasts still heard from behind the thick, metal walls of the elevator. Right before the doors locked together she got a quick glimpse of someone she thought might have been Nishaa though in that instance it was hard to discern for certain who the approaching figure was and way too late to prevent the doors from closing completely.

Once she had finally reached her destination and the doors slid open once it took no time at all for her to assess the situation, decide is was complete and utter chaos and locate her husband. The scent of blood of permeated her senses and she wondered who had been hit though she had little time to dwell on it at this point. A couple more blasts sounded on the other side of the wall as the traps did there job. They likely wouldn’t kill them but would certainly slow them down and make them easier to dispose of by the time they made their way to the central area. Her gun came up and she took aim at one that was intent on rushing her. The razor wire had made a nice mess of the male but right before the bullet was lodge between his eyes and turned him to ash there was a hint of recognition in his eyes. His face looked familiar to her too but right now she couldn’t place why.

A quick appraisal told her that Micah had been hit but that it was nothing that the killer couldn’t shrug off easily and she could give him one of those bandaids he liked so much a little later. People seemed to start appearing out of the woodwork. A mixture of Ty and crazy assed unknowns, though another vaguely familiar face made her re-evaluate the unknown portion. “You know. I think we have killed all these dipshits before.” She said loudly enough for her husband to hear over the sounds of war. “How many rogues have we killed n…..” Her words were cut short and her mouth fell open as a gigantic snake slithered into the treehouse. “What the actual **** is that?!”

Micah - His attention was drawn away from his wife as he was tackled from behind. Nishaa’s voice rose above the sounds of chaos and he wondered where the **** she came from. “Every mother ****** in the city apparently. Don’t just ******* stand there Nishaa start ******* shooting!” Such a cowardly move, attacking when someone’s back was turned but these weren’t your average vampires. They were pissed off rogues who obviously weren’t above using cheap tactics to attempt to get the upper hand. He hit the floor but managed to flip the rouge over his shoulder and get back to his feet. The blade that his wife had give him was in his hand and with one clean swing Micah slit the rogue’s throat while driving a dagger into the side of it’s head instantly turning it to ash.

They were still coming and over the sound of the gunfire he heard Vel’s words and got his first good look at the group of crazed vampires. She was right. These faces...they were familiar. Tytonidae had killed enough rogues that this attack, while a surprise, wasn’t all that unexpected. He noticed others there - Zakar, AJ, Jesse, Doc, Dulce and Eve all throwing themselves into the battle they found themselves engaged in. “What’s what?” His head turned, only thinking to get a shot glimpse but the sight of the snake had his stopping in his tracks. “I have no ******* idea, but I wanna say it’s on our side.” He pointed at the rogue that was getting crushed by that huge body.

Velveteen - A bullet flew by, so close to her ear that it lifted her hair on the wind caused by its motion. “I hope so.” She muttered as she gave the large reptile another glance over only to have it looking back at her. If it were any other time she might have delved into it’s memories or what not to find out exactly who it was, assuming that it was one of their own using meaner things, but that would have to wait. Her ring grew hot on her finger and her predictive reflex ability had her ducking out of the way of another bullet that that may well have landed in her forehead if she hadn’t. “**** this ****.” She growled lining up vampire after vampire and offloading her bullets into them with precision accuracy. Some fell quick, others refused to quit and ash began to create a fine film as it was walked in and scattered across the wooden floors.

Velveteen gave a passing nod to each of the Ty members that came near. They always shared a certain camaraderie in battle that tended to bring them closer together as a unit. That was always a good thing. Though the idea of the clean up was not something she was looking forward. She was, to put it bluntly, ******* sick of making traps and the idea of more just made her groan inwardly. Her eyes darted around the area and she stayed closed to Micah. Though he was at her back she could sense him and if by instinct followed his every movement.

The dark haired vampire became momentarily distracted by AJ who looked like she had just swallowed several bottles of steroids and them some. It was not pretty and she shuddered a little before her head whipped to the side, catching sudden movement in her peripheral vision. One crazy ***** with a missing arm and one large hole in her head had literally launched herself in Velveteen’s direction. Her gun came up and her hope of causing a cloud of falling dusted was quickly diminished by the click of her gun that failed to produce. Out of bullets. “***********!” She hissed as she reached behind to grab the back her husband’s shirt. “DUCK!” She screamed, pulling him down with her.