Mythos: The Return of Magic - RP Thread

[TheCharredDragon]

Salazar Daniel Drake
Sagramore Descendant
Tree Clubhouse of Super-Myth Club

As soon as Daniel uttered those words, Alain was quick to decline. He had expected as much. The young man didn't exactly join of his own volition. From what he remembered, considering how many times he had spoken to the principal, Alain had joined so he wouldn't drop out. The other one who instantly answered was Daciana. No suprise there either. He unconsciously smiled at her answer. Her spirit never tired him. And then there was Lanaya's reaction.

For a brief moment, as he listened to the teen as he commented on Anima's theories, he thought he was going to attack her. But then he stopped and turned. Apparently, there was something wrong--off--with Anima. He said he couldn't sense her (which he wasn't sure how) or Percival (which he was sure how). Then he finally answered that he didn't have any reason to join th3 investigation. He was glad Anima was happy go lucky and never took insults to heart, because what Lanaya said ticked him off, especially him calling Anima "doggy". What exactly was wrong with her? And couldn't he have just said no? It didn't seem he meant to offend, so Daniel decided to calm himself by listening to the continuing conversations.

"Well, he is a ghost, and...the nekomata is practically a cat demon..." Anima said, mostly as carefree as usual, except the mention of the nekomata. "So maybe only stuff involving the Underworld can see it?" Then she blinked. "I did say they were theories. I never said I was super sure we're gods. And what does seeing have to do with death?"

This was getting off topic. Daniel coughed into his hand to indicate that to her, especially since he noticed the answers of the others present. Thankfully, Anima noticed.

"Oh, right! The plan. Anyways, first, thanks for those coming along. Those who don't wanna, you can go now," she said. Then she continued, mainly talking to those who're part of her investigation. "All right guys, this was what I was thinking. We're gonna go there late at night so that those with parents..." She mumbled something all of a sudden. "...can sneak out. We'll meet just nearby the church and then we'll go in and down the hole. Don't worry about getting down there." Anima turned to Daniel.

He sighed. He knew it. "Yes, I'll bring my rock climbing equipment and some extras with me."

She smiled. "Good!" She looked back at the others. "I'll have Percy keep an eye out for us. That's all for now. I'll see you tonight."

...

That Night

It was ten in the evening and the town was calm, for the most part. Most people were tucked in their beds, sleeping. The only buildings that were open right now were the nightclub, the twenty four hour convenience store 7/11, one fast food joint, and a few other places that I don't really know would stay open at night. Of course, there were police patrolling, but they were rather light patrols.

Then, in several certain homes, a part of it--a window, the back door, maybe even the basement door that leads outside--opens and someone goes out, heading for St. John's Church.

...

Anima Maria Juarez
Anubis Descendant
Office Building beside St. John's Church -> Inside the Sinkhole...Cave

There was a tiny part of Anima that thought this was nuts. She shouldn't be doing this. Her family would be really upset with her. Another part was anxious from her brother's injury and their safety. She really hoped he was okay and that they would be fine doing this. But the majority was very, very excited. This was like something out of the movies she watched. Maybe not all the Disney movies, but still like them. They were going to get down to the bottom of this connundrum and maybe even save the town from whatever is causing all of this.

All of the those who volunteered earlier today were here already. They would go in right now, but they need the (currently) most important member.

Anima turned around at the sound of somebody whistling. Daniel came to their little group, a little out of breath and donning a backpack.

"Why're you late, Dan?" she couldn't help but say, worried and curious.

Anima was used to late-ness as she was a near constant offender, but Daniel was rarely, if ever, late.

"I had to take my time putting my equipment quietly as well as getting out," he said. "And my home is rather far and I don't have any personal transport I could use."

Oh, that made sense. "All right, let's get in."

And Anima led the group quickly yet quietly to the back. Thankfully, the security there was lax. There were only about two guards, both outside circling the perimeter. It made sense seeing as the only reason they're guarding it is because it's dangerous for people to go in. Plus, some of the church was trashed, so it was easy to get inside. It was easier to see for her in the dark thanks to the destoryed roof letting in moonlight.

She paused right before the sinkhole. Then she turned to Daniel and gestured for him to do his thing. He nodded and proceeded to look for stable ground and a stable pillar left. Eventually he found one and proceeded to take out his gear. He buckled up harnesses on the others before sending them down. Anima was the second to the last to get down. Once she was down there, she pulled out her flashlight. Her jaw dropped at the sight before her.

Oh, they were in a sinkhole all right. And there was a very big tunnel connected to it and it was very deep, if the fact that her flashlight barely penetrated the darkness was any indicarion. It was a wonder that the church was still above ground. She briefly glanced behind her when she heard a thud and saw Daniel had gotten down dropped the backpack and was climbing down without a harness. She turned back to the tunnel. When she was sure Daniel was down there, she said,

"All right guys, let's go."

And then she carefully walked down the path.

...

After several minutes, it was obvious they were going deeper underground as the tunnel was sloping down somewhat. It got larger as they went on, easily half the height of the church now, which was probably a hundred feet or so. But one thing was clear, there were also a lot of tunnels connecting to this one. The group had already passed by twelve or so. It was also clear that this was dug, even to an amateur eye, as there was no dirt at all after they went in. It was hard as concrete and was a very faded, but still noticeable, sickly green.

There were also no signs of life.

 

[Vern]

Sullivan Van Daal
Gilgamesh Descendant
Abandoned Church

Sullivan yawned, and slipped his hands into his pockets. It was nighttime, and the group of them had just slipped by some guards and entered the so-called ‘scene of crime’, where a sinkhole had appeared and ruined his plans for a peaceful day. Under normal circumstances, he would have had no interest in such an event, but these were not normal circumstances. After all, judging by the incident at the farm, pretty much anything that happened in this little town could be directly linked to the presence of ‘Gods’, ‘Dog of Death’s, and whatever else. And, of course, he had the misfortune to be one of those things. Why was he not surprised?

Curiosity is human nature, and it was curiosity, as well as a sense that this sinkhole might carry some undue significance, that brought Sullivan here at this goddamned hour. Sure, he could function well without sleep, but for Christ’s sake, he wasn’t nocturnal. At this rate, he might as well take to sleeping upside down in a cave during daytime. Perhaps his adopted sister did have the right idea; stay home, eat some chips, watch some anime, and just let the others deal with it.

But judging by last night’s fire incident, many of his sheep were ill equipped to deal with potential problems that may arise, and it was his duty as a shepherd to ensure their safety. A shepherd does not profit and is often put into a bad spot if his herd is attacked by wolves, and, likewise, Sullivan knew he would be in a troublesome situation if something happened to those incompetent kids.

He breathed out a sigh, as if he had been dragged into something beneath his notice, and made a mental note to stop thinking things like that. What was the word his sister often used for that type of thinking, which seemed to imply that he was deceiving himself in order to feel better about helping others? ‘Tsundere’, was it? Well, that was irrelevant right now. A shepherd is supposed to care for his sheep. Otherwise, he is doomed to failure, and will lose his livelihood.

It was just like people to mistake feelings of disinterest or disdain as signs of affection. Sometimes, the human race just sees what it wants to see, even when the truth was being thrown in their face. That was why he didn’t care for the opinions of others, especially when those opinions involved bad things that were said about him.

They were standing at the edge of a sinkhole, and the club secretary, Daniel, had brought some climbing gear. He had already sent a few people down the hole, and Sullivan was leaning on the wall at the back of the church, patiently waiting for his turn. There was no need to rush things – the night was young, and many of his sheep happened to have near unlimited amounts of energy. Where they got all that, and how they could stand being so hyperactive all the time, he did not know.

When most had gone, Sullivan slipped himself into the harness and quickly descended into the sinkhole, slipping out of the harness when he was close enough to the ground and hopping off, landing on his feet with a cat-like gracefulness. Daniel rappelled down behind him, and after checking that everything was in good order, tidied up and packed away what he could.

Sullivan sat down on the floor and crossed one leg over the other, resting his head on his left arm, which was in turn rested on his knees. His red eyes seemed to shine with a curious and almost predatory light, like the eyes of a lion that had just spotted a new type of prey it had never seen before, but looked very, very tasty and easy to catch.

The investigation would begin soon. Until danger strikes, a shepherd allows his sheep to roam freely, and watches from afar. Those that wanted to take charge would step forward. He would stay a the back, and intervene when it became necessary, which, given the pattern of events so far, would probably be any time now.

 

[Monster Guy]

André Bellamy
Aphrodite Descendant
Myth Club HQ

After all the club members arrived, Daniel asked Anima a question after looking through her notes. "Anima, what's this about you, André, Derek, Alain and Deepak being gods?" It sounded interesting at first, but then it became a discussion about investigation about a sinkhole somewhere. André did not join the Myth club to be a detective. Let the professionals do that.

"So, who wishes to join Anima in her investigation?", Daniel then asked all the other members.

Alain was the first to answer. ".. No?"

André's face lit up when he found out he had the option to refuse. André decided to voice his opinion on the matter. "Mon ami, the last time I went on this 'investigation' my limousine burned to the ground, and my driver died... I am not going to take the chance of something else bad happening..." Besides that, he had something else he wanted to do. He, along with the other members of the club had developed magical powers on the night of the anniversary, and André wanted to test his abilities somewhere, and have a little fun while doing it. So, he pulled Derek by the wrist, and walked up Alain. "Well, since the three of us are not going on this... investigation, why don't the three of us go out together?" He didn't bother waiting for either of his companions to give a reply. He was going to take them out whether they wanted it or not. It was no fun going out at night alone! "Très bien! I will pick you up tonight!"

That Night
The Club

"We have arrived!" André said as his pink limo pulled into the parking lot of the club, and the three boys stepped out of the limo. André had changed into a different pink dress that was appropriate for a club. He took his two male companions with him by the arm, whether they wanted to be their or not. Getting inside was easy. He didn't even need to tell the bouncer he was a famous movie star. All he had to do was bat his eyes, and flirt a little bit, and the guy was more than happy to let the pretty lady, and her friends into the club. André couldn't help laughing out loud at how easy that was.

Once they were inside the club, he couldn't help but notice that the music was loud, and the lights were flashing multiple colors. There were lots of people dancing on the dance floor, and other people were sitting around drinking their fancy drinks. André smirked, and confidentally walked to the bar. He noticed that as he did, both men and women in the club suddenly stopped what they were doing, and turn their heads to stare at him. He knew the reason why, and he giggled at the thought, and blew some kisses to random people. Once he was at the bar, André took a seat, lifted up his pink sunglasses, and waved for his friends to join him. The bartender immediately went over to serve the attractive lady. In the best female voice he could do, André ordered himself some fancy pink wine. The guy went off to fetch it, and didn't even bother to check if André was 21.

André's club look.

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Alain Irving
Dionysus Descendant
Myth Club HQ​

"Mon ami, the last time I went on this 'investigation' my limousine burned to the ground, and my driver died... I am not going to take the chance of something else bad happening...", andre replied after Alain himself had declined running around in the dark, potentially getting themselves into danger again. He seemed somewhat eager that they didn't have to join, and Alain understood that. He himself was very tired, and just wanted to go home and go to bed. "Well, since the three of us are not going on this... investigation, why don't the three of us go out together?", Andre then said, referring to himself and Derek. "... Whet?", Alain said confused. Was he about to get shanghaied again? "Très bien! I will pick you up tonight!", Andre then said determined. Tonight huh? Oh well, still plenty of time for him to get in some hours of sleep.

That Night
The Club

"We have arrived!", Andre said. Once again, they were sitting in one of those pink limousines, and although they were in a totally different setting, Alain was a little unnerved by what happened the last time he was in a limo. He had been briefed in by Andre, and learned that they were going out to a club. That made it a lot more appealing to actually join in, as Alain was certain that they were going shopping or something else boring instead. He had managed to get in a few hours of sleep after the geek club meeting was over, and felt motivated to join the others. It would be good for him to get his mind off all the weirdness happening lately, and a god party always turned around his mood for the better.

Andre was dressed in yet another overly pink outfit. A bit too formal for the place they were going to, in Alains opinion. He was still wearing his normal attire, and knew well what kind of dress code places like this had, He'd only been there a few times before. He had brought his fake ID, just in case, but the guard up front just let them in once Andre flashed him a bright smile. Loud music ans flashing lights; Alain was home. Andre proceeded to head over to the bar, while Alain found his way to the dancefloor, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

 

[TheSequelReturns]

~ Quinn Kingsley - Arachne Descendant ~
- Super Myth HQ -

"Yeah. Especially since one of my brothers were one of the people who got injured," Anima said in response to Quinn's earlier question. Even if you somehow missed the frown, Anima's tone was a far-shot from it normal cheer.

That's right, she knew Anima's folks were Catholic, but she hadn't known this was their church that had been damaged. She made a mental note to kick herself for that later, when she got her foot out of her mouth.

"Oh..., I'm sorry." Quinn said with honest sympathy, "I didn't know." Quinn asked the usual follow up questions, spending the time waiting for the others to arrive by making sure that Anima's family was okay.

The rest of the meeting was rather uneventful, except for one little detail. Something Daniel mentioned about Anima's notes. Something about the Nekomata from last night referring to them as "gods"? Was that simply the monster's way of recognizing their superpowers or was there some deeper meaning to it? Before Quinn could ponder this any further, or sneak a peek at that paper, a wild Kitai appeared next to her. And to think she wasn't even in the tall grass.

"Hi, Ms. Quinn, what are you..." Kit's question trailed off when he looked down and saw the papers littered throughout the table. Quinn noticed he was sporting his ears and tail today. Kitai picked one of the papers up and looked through it, his ears suddenly becoming droopy. Quinn tilted her head questioningly.

"I heard about this on the news." Kit said slowly, "Dad was called in to help out with it..." his voice trailed off, losing strength. With his ears all droopy like that, he looked like a sad little kitten. There had to be some way she could lift his spirits.

"Hey, it'll be okay Kit. If your dad is there to help, he'll be getting people out of there. They'll leave us to get to the bottom of this... possibly literally, and deal with the things normal people can't." Quinn had to admit, she had surprised herself with that one. Was that the reason? "Maybe that's why we have these powers... to keep people safe..." Quinn mumbled to herself.

She quickly looked up to see Kitai looking at her. No doubt he heard that with his cute little kitten ears. Great, there was some real trouble going down and she was sitting here having superhero fantasies. Quick Quinn, act natural. Distraction inbound.

Quinn held up a finger to Kitai and slung her bag over into her lap where she unbuttoned the front flap and started digging. She hadn't taken it out last night so it should still be in here... ah, found it! Her hand raised triumphantly from the bag holding a little carefully folded piece of paper. "Here, you can have this." she passed him the paper, knowing that when he unfolded it he would see the sketch of his sleeping fox form she made last night.

The meeting was soon called to order, and Quinn naturally volunteered for the expedition to the sinkhole. There was no way she was going to pass up on an adventure, especially not one where her powers would actually be at home.

-+-+-+-

~ St. John's Church - Later that Night ~

Quinn felt like freaking Spider-Man. Or would it be Spider-Gwen now? Either she supposed. She had escaped her house this late in the evening by turning in early (not abnormally early of course, no need to arouse suspicions), then forming a web rope with her powers and rappelling down the side of her two-story house. She later used the same trick to scale a large brick wall on her way here. Spiders or not, she was starting to love these powers.

Instead of her usual leather shoulder bag, she had brought along a small and lightly packed backpack this time. With a flashlight, a little red emergency light she could clip to her belt, plenty of spare batteries for both, two water bottles, and enough fruit gummies and candy corn to last a month, she figured she was pretty prepared. After the group gathered a short distance from the church and easily dodged the guards, Daniel was quick to set up some ropes and harnesses to get them all down there. It was probably a good idea to get in the hole before one of those guards decided to poke his head in here. As much as Quinn wanted to, she didn't use her web rope to rappel down the side of the sinkhole, instead using one of the harnesses. It felt more like a failure than it should have.

This sinkhole was massive though, and how it appeared so suddenly without any sort of earthquake or rumbling was quite the mystery. Perhaps they'd find what caused it down here in the dark. The only question left was wither or not it was something they wanted to find. Or maybe it would find them.

The group continued further into the tunnels, not much talking so far. Quinn wondered if the others could feel that tension in the air, as if the first noise to break the silence would be forcefully ended. Passing the other tunnel entrances didn't help. The dirt giving way to pale green stone didn't help either. The longer Quinn was down here, the less it felt like a hole and the more it felt like a tomb. Or a lair. A hunting ground. Okay, now she was freaking herself out. She only hoped she wasn't shaking. Daciana was here to poke fun at it, and her rival eternal Sullivan was as well. And he was looking as chill as a frozen penguin in a hammock. Guess he had her beat on the nerves scale today.

"The air is old here. Her Grace should turn back." a tiny voice projected from her backpack. Naturally.

Antoinette, what did I tell you about sneaking into my bags? Quinn sent back. Anyone watching her would see her randomly frowning while eyeing her backpack from the corner of her eye. You could get hurt hiding in there by yourself without telling me.

"I'm here too my Lady." a slightly more masculine but still tiny voice said.

Quinn mentally face-palmed. And you brought Zippy? He's like a month old, this is too dangerous. At this point, she didn't care what one month in spider-years equated too.

"Her Grace shouldn't travel alone. We shall watch over you." Antoinette said.

"And I'll help!" added Zippy.

Quinn actually face-palmed now. Just what were those two expecting to do? They were like the size of tic-tacs. Just... just don't get smushed. Quinn sent back in defeat. This was going to be a long night.

--------

OOC: As a helpful tip, the spiders talking in quotations can be picked up by anyone with the appropriate animal-speak skills. Quinn's italicized spider-speak is more like telepathy though.

 

[Andydemon]

Kitai "Kit" Hayashi
Kitsune Descendant
Super Myth Club HQ

"No, not really," Anime answered in response to Kitai's question with her face in her hands, until she lifted it looking worried, something that Kitai found unusual coming from her, not to mention worrisome. "I was there when the sinkhole happened. My eldest brother got hurt saving me. He's fine, but in the hospital right now."

At that point, Anima and Kit noticed someone in the club house that they didn't recognize at first, but hearing his voice told Kit that it was André, leaving Kitai a bit dumbfounded as he hasn't seen him crossdress before, nor was cross dressing in general something he was accustom to seeing, at least not in real life. Lanaya, Alain, and Daciana also arrived, albeit in less showy fashions.

"Hey, it'll be okay Kit. If your dad is there to help, he'll be getting people out of there. They'll leave us to get to the bottom of this... possibly literally, and deal with the things normal people can't." Quinn told Kitai after he expressed that his father was called in to be on-site after the sinkhole incident, he then heard her mumbling, "Maybe that's why we have these powers... to keep people safe..."

Kit looked over to Quinn about to ask her, "You think so," but then relented from doing so when he realized at the volume she spoke in he likely wasn't supposed to hear her, but did anyway thanks to his heightened hearing capabilities, something he knew not everyone in the group possessed.

Quinn then appeared to have something on her mind until she raised a finger in front of Kit and started digging into her bag. Eventually she pulled out a piece of folded paper, which she handed to Kitai telling him, "Here, you can have this."

"I...I can? What is it?" Kitai asked as he accepted it. Curious, he began unfolding the paper until it was revealed to be a sketch. A light gasp escaped Kit's mouth when he realized that the drawing was of his fox form seemingly asleep. "You...drew this for me? Thank you, Ms. Quinn! I promise to take good care of it!" Kitai said happily as a smile appeared on his face and his tail swung back and forth energetically.

After the exchange, Kitai listened as Anima and Daniel discussed a certain matter that was also mentioned in Anima's notes that were littered throughout the table. Namely something about several members of their group, including Anima herself, being gods. Kitai was shocked upon hearing this notion, but was also confused about the fact that other members of their group, including him, were excluded. Then again, Kitai had already likened his and Kaede's abilities to that of specific yokai. If one can be a god, then it should stand to reason that one can be anything else from mythology too, right? It still begged the question, however: How did they all come to have powers in the first place?

Kitai also went onto listen as Anima talked about some aspects of her abilities that she's experienced both last night and since, as well as what happened with the nekomata she encountered last night while Kit was helping out in the fight against the ghostly gunman. He was particularly interested in what she said about seeing individual emotions, but more importantly, that she can see through lies. It left him to wonder if Anima could see through his illusions, and if so did they appear transparent to her as they did to him, or were they this aquamarine cover that she mentioned. It was certainly something he wanted to ask her about just to be sure.

Amidst her explanation, Anima also mentioned someone named Percival while gesturing to a spot next to her. Though Kit couldn't seeing anything there, he could definitely tell there was some kind of presence there, the same presence he felt at the barn that seemingly helped fight the ghostly animals back then.

Regardless of his curiosity, Kit remained silent throughout the entire explanation until Daniel asked, "So, who wishes to join Anima in her investigation?" Some of the members agreed to go, while others refused. As for Kitai, he had made up his mind.

"I...I'm going with Anima. If something caused that sinkhole, then it could hurt more people if it isn't stopped, and...." Kitai went on to lower his head and grab his wrist in front of him as he continued, "My father's near the church right now. If there's any chance that something could happen to him, then I....we have to stop it!"


That Night

After the meeting, Kitai went back home to wait until it was time to head to the church for the investigation. In the meantime, he hid Quinn's sketch in his nightstand drawer for safe keeping until he could get a frame for it. At around 9:30 PM, as Kit was getting ready to leave, his phone went off, prompting him to check and find out that it was his father. Relieved to know that his father must be okay if he was calling him, Kit pressed the answer button and brought the phone up to his ear saying, "Dad?"

"Hey there, kiddo. How are you doing? I hope your day hasn't been too lonely while I've been gone." Alex said to his son.

"It's okay, I spent the day with my friends." Kitai told his father, decidedly avoiding details he didn't want him to know about.

"I see...Well, It's good that you have someone to hang out with while I'm away, I'd hate to hear you were all bored and alone all day..." Alex stated before telling Kitai, "Listen, Kit. I'm afraid I'm gonna be away longer than I thought. They want me to patrol the church grounds tonight. I'm not sure why or how much longer I'm gonna be away, but it is what it is...Sorry, kiddo."

"It's okay, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?" Kitai asked.

"I'm sure we'll get to see each other in the morning, Kit. I promise, but for now try to get some sleep, alright?"

"I will, Dad....Good night." Kitai finished before hanging up. He hated that he had to lie to his father about going to bed when he was really going to the very church his dad was patrolling, but it was something he had to do. With the time for him to meet up with the others creeping ever closer, Kit locked his bedroom door so his father wouldn't come in and find him not there in the off chance he got home first and headed for the front door. Casting an illusion over his surroundings so that no one would even see the door open much less see him walk out of it, Kitai exited the house, locked the front door, and then turned to the direction he was about to head off before shifting into his fox form and speeding his way over to the church.


St. John's Church

Once again in no time at all, Kitai found himself at the church the sinkhole opened up in and met up with the group that volunteered to join Anima. Once he found them, he shifted into his 'human' form, though unlike at the clubhouse he used his illusionary powers to make himself appear completely human, with normal human ears instead of fox-like ones, and no tail. He also had his hood on like he did last night, so all the others could see were his mouth, nose, and one of his eyes, as the other was covered by his hood.

Once Daniel had arrived with climbing equipment, the group snuck into the church, Kit breathed a mental sigh of relief once they were inside, and was glad that neither of the officers they snuck past were his father. After they got inside, Kitai let his illusion fade revealing his ears and tail once more, as well as the holes in the hood his ears went through that were also hidden by the illusion, as he approached the sinkhole and looked down. Doing so made him wonder if he could climb down on his own, but showing off that way was against his nature, so he waited until Daniel placed a harness on him and sent him down, prompting Kit to quietly thank him before heading down.

After the entire group made it down the sinkhole, they noticed a large tunnel connected to it, which they all began to walk into. As he walked with the others, Kit opted to stay in his 'human' form since there wasn't much point in being in his fox form aside from the speed, and with him having no idea what was beyond the tunnel and with how dark it was, sticking with the others was the best option, as much as he wanted to run down the tunnel and confirm as soon as possible whether what was on the other side was something to worry about or not. Instead he was content to just conjure a couple of blue flames and send them ahead of the group to light the way farther than Anima's flashlight could reach.

Shortly after they began walking, Kitai thought about his father patrolling the church grounds once again, causing him to grow concerned about his safety as he walked alongside Anima with his ears flattened against his head to indicate his currently worried state of mind as he asked her, "Hey, Anima? Whatever is down here, if it really caused the sinkhole, you don't think it'll attack again and hurt more people up above, do you?"

Whatever Anima's answer was then and there, later on Kitai began to hear unfamiliar voices nearby, prompting him to give a surprised gasp and look around until he noticed Quinn with her head turned and her gaze seemingly fixed on her backpack. It was then that Kit realized that the admittedly small voices were coming from her bag and it didn't seem like everyone was hearing them, peaking his curiosity. "Did...you bring pets with you, Ms. Quinn?"

 

[AzerWrath]

Lanaya Ur-Kaldr
Enkidu Descendant
Elish Manor

Evening-Night dream transition

The skies grew dark with wariness. The light glowed with a soft cool. Alone in his room, Lanaya laid himself down. The gentle sheets of his bed did little to soothe the mysteries that clouded his mind. His life was strange, and his fate unknown. There was much he wanted to learn and know, but no fruit which bore an answer. If he had followed Anima, maybe it would be different; but nothing moved him so. It was an interesting prospect, yes, but one that came with a foreboding though; Death.

It was a topic Lanaya knew not of, for he had studied the way of Life instead. To live as a person, to live with people, to live for people. His ways of thinking were archaic, to say the least. There was something about him that was perplexing, that drew others to him, yet that very thing was what made them distance themselves from him. A paradoxical entity, one with the likeness of Humanity. It was almost as if Lanaya was a doll, given the gift of intelligence. He struggled to understand others, and others struggled to understand him. All he knew was that whomsoever wanted to understand him was worth being called a Friend. And his path would always be aligned with theirs.

Books littered his bedside table, scrawled with notes, handwritten and quick. They were organized neatly, but the content was not. Lanaya wrote his train of thought, and it had no stations to stop at. Endlessly, they were about the origin of himself; his personality, his appearance, his lineage, his parents, his homeland, his powers, and his end.

Death was a concept which Lanaya could not comprehend fully; your life extinguished, but your mark left on the world. It is human nature to forget, and would he be forgotten as well?

The leaves of the forest shook with a great pleasure.

The wind howled it's love.

The earth whispered of the stories long gone.

Lanaya saw himself running through the forest, following the rhythm of the rain, the drops that fell from each leaf, towards an endless field. He obeyed nothing but the instincts that welled up inside of him. They would build, build, and build! Forming cracks and lines, trails that paved the way for unknown strength. He saw himself seep into the earth and be reborn. His body that of a doll, one made of mud. His limbs thick and smooth, crafted by a master sculptor, one too strange to be called mortal. His hair was the branches of a tree. One which shone with every light in the night sky. His body of earth would run, and run towards that endless field.

What prevented him from facing Anima? Truly finding out what was the "Death". Why could he not feel the specter in front of him? Why did he not join them on their quest to discover the truth? Did he fear? No-

Within his body, gradually becoming unable to move, his consciousness focused on only one thought.

He wanted to Live.

Not "I don't want to die." Slightly different from "I want to live." He simply desired, from pure instinct.

A single bolt of lightning struck the endless plains, and the boy awoke from his slumber, clutching tightly to his chest "The Dreams in the Witch House".

That Night

Rising up, Lanaya tossed the book towards his bedside table. It landed perfectly, the spine of the book pressed up against the dim lamp. He turned, and got out of bed. The doorknob seemed heavier than usual, but Lanaya paid it no heed. He opened the door, and stepped out.

An all too familiar face greeted him. Wolf bowed her head, greeting her master.

"Good evening, Master. Your guest had woken up an hour earlier, but I decided against coming to get you." She looked up, smiling softly. "I know how much you like to dream.'

Lanaya returned the smile, reaching up and ruffling the maid's hair.

"Tell Ember to get dinner ready if Kaede wants it. I assume you girls have eaten already?" The boy said, as he walked past Wolf. "Yes, Master." She hummed, turning and following Lanaya closely. The maid handed him a simple blue t-shirt right before he would go down the stairs.

"Remember to put a shirt on." Lanaya would reply with a sigh.

Earlier, Kaede was one of the few that wished not to join Anima in her investigation. Lanaya had offered her to come to his home; it was rather far, but she could rest there instead of going back. Interestingly, she had agreed. The journey back was not eventful, but upon arrival at the mansion, the greetings were.

Ember and Akumu, two of the four maids came to greet the duo. They had expressed much joy in their Master bringing back a friend; Kaede being female was just a plus. Lanaya however, headed straight to his room after bringing Kaede into the mansion. He closed the door and slept till the evening. Wolf, the head maid was more than aware of Kaede's state with just a glance, and set up the guest room for her to rest as well.

I mean, the girl was considerably tired.

She had woken up before Lanaya though, right when it was time for dinner. Ember would be Kaede's personal guide, showing her around the rather spacious manor. She left out the top floor and the basement, though. The mansion was four stories high, with Lanaya's room being the entirety of the third floor. The Library encompassed over half of the second floor, with the guest and maids rooms taking the rest of the space. The first floor was fashioned similar to a modernized European-style house. Large sofas adorned the middle of the room, facing a large black table. A few book shelves were at the back of the living room, with one still empty awaiting new arrivals. A single, colorful book was on the table, it's title "Overlord". A rather thick novel in Japanese.

Windows laced the sides of the room, showing the gardens to the left, fields and eventually the forest to the right. A large ornate stone fireplace was burning, but making the room comfortably warm. Paintings of animals, mythological and real were hung upon certain parts of the walls, their dark, wooden frames blending with the dark red wallpaper and grey marble floor. There were a few lamps here and there, but most of the light came from above. There was a small dining hall, contrasting the large living room. Lanaya never wanted to eat at the table, so there was no need for a big dining hall. The kitchen on the other hand...

The red-head (Ember) was ecstatic to have someone new to talk to, brimming with happiness, she lead Kaede around and showed her everything there was to see in the rather unique mansion. Lanaya walked down the spiral staircase, heading towards the sofa where he would slump down and sigh, fiddling with the pen he unconsciously brought down with him.

Ember would soon bring Kaede to the living room, and leave her there to go fix up Lanaya's room, since he woke up.

The boy gestured for Kaede to take a seat, then tossed his pen onto the table.

"Sorry for just leaving you. I was pretty tired. At least you got some sleep yourself. Thanks for coming to accompany me. The maids seem to love having someone new around as well. How's everything?"

 

[Vern]

Kaede ‘Maple’ Shonozaki
Nekomata Descendant
Elish Manor

Kaede sighed and lay herself down on the nearest couch she could find. Lanaya had invited her over to his house earlier, and she had accepted, if only because she didn’t feel like returning home, and thought that going to someone else’s house would be a welcome change of atmosphere. She had been sleeping for a while, but now that she was awake, she took the time to look around the guest room she had been given. The mansion was large, and was sure to have unnerved her if she hadn’t been used to living in an equally large one. Of course, that one was a lot more modern, especially when compared to this one’s rather… archaic design.

It seemed like they rarely got visitors here, and all the maids were quite excited to see her appear. What was with all those maids running around anyways? Did this guy have a maid fairish or something? Well, it could just be that he’s really old fashioned. let’s go with that.

The maids had left her to rest, and she woke up a while later, inside the empty room. It was filled with books, and she halfheartedly walked over to inspect the shelves, browsing through the ridiculous amount of material there. She recognised some manga she had read a long time ago, as well as several books on Japanese mythology and folklore. It was already pretty clear to her what she was - the signs were just too obvious. Cat ears, a tail split into a fork down the middle, ethereal fire. She would have to be an idiot of she didn’t recognise these characteristics as the characteristics of a Nekomata, a cat yokai - the same as the one they were attacked by the other night. She had tried to do some research into Nekomata once, to get some deeper info beyond what was common knowledge for someone who lived with a myth geek, a genius, and was herself Japanese, but every time she did she felt like one of those stereotypical wolf cubs wondering why the world was so against them due to their genetical makeup, and it was a pathetic feeling. The world was cruel, people were delusional. Deal with it..

The powers of the others, however, were more difficult to decipher. She had yet to find a plausible creature that Sullivan could be, and couldn’t really be bothered to check. After all, whatever the heck he was was none of her business. Lanaya, too, was a mystery to her. There was something wrong with that guy, something that made him even stranger and interesting than normal human beings, who, in the end, amounted to nothing more than slightly more intelligent monkeys with a superiority complex. Sighing, she picked up a volume of manga (still in the original japanese) she hadn’t read for a while, and began to flip through the pages like she was examining some ancient artefact.

A maid came into her room - a redhead named Ember, who seemed to be quite happy to have someone to talk to. Kaede grinned as genuinely as she could manage to and followed her out of the room. She had been more interested in the manga, but thought that turning the maid down when she was looking so enthusiastic about it would be bad manners on her part. Luckily, the sleep had restored her energy, and she was able to act as good-natured and happy as she usually did, bouncing around the room asking questions and generally making good conversation.

The maid seemed to take a liking to her, and began to drag her around the house, showing her the library, then the living room, then Lanaya’s dwelling. Overall, the entire mansion was a pretty well-done affair. A little bit too archaic for her, but every man had their own tastes. After they finished touring the house, Ember made a point to show off the gardens and the nearby forest to her, and then left her in the living room in order to go and clean up Lanaya’s quarters.

Turning around, she saw that her host had already slumped down on a sofa and was gesturing for her to sit down. Seeing now reason not to, she sat herself down on a chair across the table, in order to face Lanaya. He tossed the pen he was fiddling with onto the table, in a manner that reminded her of the way her supposed brother would often toss small objects around when he was bored. After a small period of silence, he spoke: "Sorry for just leaving you. I was pretty tired. At least you got some sleep yourself. Thanks for coming to accompany me. The maids seem to love having someone new around as well. How's everything?"

“Everything’s A-OK,” she replied easily, deciding that she didn’t trust Lanaya enough to let down her guard around him. He was an unknown, a variable, and what was unknown or ever-changing was at the same time dangerous. Especially if it was a human with human wants an desires, although she wasn’t particularly sure about the latter part. In situations like these, it was usually best to steer the conversation away from herself and towards the person she was talking to - people enjoyed talking about themselves, and she did not. It was a win-win situation. She glanced around the room, then decided that it would be a good idea to ask him some questions, putting on a playful and curious tone. “I’ve been wondering ever since I came here, but how many languages can you speak? Do you live alone?”

 

[AzerWrath]

Lanaya Ur-Kaldr
Enkidu Descendant
Elish Manor

“Everything’s A-OK,” Kaede replied rather easily, as if accustomed to the rather intimidating (for newcomers) house. She followed quickly with a question. “I’ve been wondering ever since I came here, but how many languages can you speak? Do you live alone?”

"...I see..." Lanaya muttered under his breath. He expelled a long sigh, stretching his body. He noticed that Kaede changed the topic, wanting to stray away about talking about herself. He reluctantly accepted the attempt, but tried to phrase his words to somehow involve her. Out of everybody in the club, her personality was the most... Interesting.

"Proficiently? One. Only English." Lanaya had adored other languages and had studied them quite a bit. Having full grasp on a language though, was a completely different story. "I read around 12 different languages. Speaking them is a different thing. I've not really studied to converse, but rather to just read. That is to say, I can say simple sentences and respond to simple questions. Like, 'What is your name?' and so on." Lanaya didn't look towards Kaede when answering, merely staring at the fireplace.

He shifted his gaze slightly to one of the paintings on the wall, then to another, and another. As he did this, he replied to the girl. "As you can see, I live with the maids. They were assigned to me by my guardians, and have taught me everything I know. It's comforting, having people around me. I do enjoy alone time, but having energetic company makes me happy as well." The clock struck 9:30, which meant that the rest of the club were either out... Clubbing, or investigating the sink hole. Lanaya didn't feel much concern, but took a mental note to maybe call Anima up later on. From what he saw the other night, they could fair for themselves rather well. They probably won't be needing him nor Kaede.

Considering the time, Lanaya looked towards the kitchen and snapped his fingers. From the far corner, a head poked itself out of the door. Ember's long, red hair was a stark contrast from the brownish background. Quickly, she ran to Lanaya's side, brimming with joy. Lanaya lifted his hand up, and she responded in kind by lowering her head. With a few ruffles, the boy was satisfied. "I'm hungry. Bring something for me, whatever it is." He looked over to Kaede, inspecting her closely. "Maybe something for her as well, whatever suits her." He nodded to himself, eyes closed. Ember quickly readjusted herself, facing Kaede. With a smile, she bowed and went on her way. The maids have been living with Lanaya his entire life; they knew his entire routine, catered his meals to suit his tastes. They had learnt to understand others with a glance, and it showed; Just by looking at Kaede, they understood her in a way Lanaya fundamentally could not, due to the way he was raised. The boy could understand motives, human nature, hidden implications... What he could not understand was what it meant to be "Human", or "Personality" that made everyone different. The maids were the part of Lanaya that he was missing.

Soon enough, Ember was back, a bowl of soup in hand. Casually handing it to Lanaya, she knelt next to him as he took the bowl from her with one hand. The other again ruffling her red hair. Once he had enough, the boy removed his hand and Ember would be on her way again. He drank the soup without utensils, gulping it down in large mouthfuls. It smelt like onions and cheese. He was done with it rather quickly, and finally got up, placing the bowl on the table before walking off.

"Feel free to explore, talk to the maids, whatever. Have fun tonight, or just relax and throw your stress away. Once you're done with everything, come to the basement. I'll be there later."

Lanaya gave Kaede a soft smile, before walking up the stairs to his room.

"I want you."

He said, rather quietly.

 

[Sketchie]

----☾----
Lexa Valencia
Artemis Descendant
Office Building besides St. John's --> Sinkhole
----☾----​

Lexa leaned against a wall, biting her lip. She was excited to be here, she really was. It was just... a little weird without Derek. He did get her into this club after all. She felt out of place here, most of these people didn't really know her at all. While Lexa was unable to attend the day's earlier meeting, she got all she needed to know from Derek, who actually went. It sounded intriguing, investigating a sinkhole. Though, perhaps Derek would be more suited to something like this, he being the human light bulb he was.

They COULD be going off into the sinkhole now, and Lexa was itching to do something. But, Daniel was late. Which was odd, she didn't know the kid well, but she did know that he was always on time. Lexa closed her eyes, pulling her crazy hair back into a pony-tail. Deep breaths. Talk to others. She got lost in her mind for her moment, before Anima caught her attention.

"All right, let's get in."

Lexa opened her eyes. Huh. Daniel had showed up. How had she blanked out for that long? Weird. She followed Anima close behind, into the church. She waited for Daniel to set up his equipment, and quickly harnessed herself up. She stepped into the tunnel, looking around. The tunnel was huge, and it didn't take night vision to see it. She heard Anima once more once everyone was down. "All right guys, let's go."

...

The tunnel kept getting bigger and bigger, sinking into the earth, joined by other tunnels of varying sizes. But one thing was clear, there were also a lot of tunnels connecting to this one. But... none of it was dirt. It was hard, concrete, and an odd shade of green.

There were also no signs of life.

Well, not entirely. She could hear little voices coming from... somewhere. "The air is old here. Her Grace should turn back. -- I'm here too my Lady -- Her Grace shouldn't travel alone. We shall watch over you. -- And I'll help!" The voices were as clear as day with advanced hearing, and coming from... oh, her. Yeah, she was that girl on the archery club, she knew her. Quinn? Yeah, Quinn. She was pretty, too. Lexa hopped over to Quinn, looking up at her with dark eyes. "So you've got animal friends too, huh?" she said with a smirk, "I've got deer, what about you? Somethin' small? Spiders? They seem to really like you, my deer don't call me "Her Grace" and "My Lady." I should really talk to 'em about that..."

----☼----
Derek van Velde
Apollo Descendant
The Club
----☼----​

Derek could not take his eyes off André the entire drive to the club. André had changed into a different pink dress that was appropriate for a club, and, well, Derek was starting to regret wearing white skinny jeans. He had a tight, navy t-shirt on, a dark contrast to both André's ensemble and his own usual color pallet. While he had to admit, he did prefer André dressed as his assigned gender, he was still as captivating as usual. But so, so out of reach. He still felt dizzy when he saw him, he craved the touch of his lips.

Dammit, Derek, pull yourself together. You're too gay for your own good.

"We have arrived!" André said as his pink limo pulled into the parking lot of the club, and the three boys stepped out of the limo. He took his two male companions with him by the arm, and Derek took it willingly. He felt a surge of protectiveness, ugly, gross, crushy protectiveness. Gods, this was torture. He looked away as André flirted with the bouncer, allowing them in without even checking IDs or anything. André laughed. Damn that stupid, beautiful laugh.

The lights were loud and the music bright. Derek was home. He felt his spirits swept away with the beat, his inhibitions melting in to the flashing lights. André smirked, and confidentially walked to the bar. Both men and women stopped to stare at him, but it wasn't just André, and Derek could tell. He felt their gaze too. Suddenly it dawned on him -- he really could have his choice of people here, couldn't he? As long as he and André weren't after the same person. André took a seat at the bar, lifted up his pink sunglasses, and waved for his friends to join him. Derek sighed, shoving his feelings aside. His body was drawn to those he could have, his heart still set on someone that he wasn't sure was attainable. He watched with disdain as the bartender fawned over André, before walking off to fetch something.

Derek waltzed to the bar, strength in his stride. He took a seat next to André, flashing a dazzling smile before turning towards the bar. He felt uncharacteristically unhappy, in the kind of mood to get uncharacteristically drunk desite hating alcohol. No, he wouldn't do that. That was a bad idea. No, André would have to suffice. While he kept his head towards the bar, his eyes were on André, full of desire. He knew he didn't have to hold back, André probably wouldn't protest if he started kissing him then and there. Derek bit his lip, turning away. This was a bad idea. All of this. He should just leave now, go find some other woman, and drown his sorrows with a clean fade to black. Ugh. That was also a bad idea. Why did he sign up for this, again? That's right. He didn't.

 

[TheCharredDragon]

Salazar Daniel Drake
Sagramore Descendant
Tunnel System

The tunnel,was, to say the least, rather unsettling. True, he knew there wouldn't be much life in a tunnel like this. But the size was unbelievable and then the walls and ground quickly changed to a pale green almost concrete substance. Whatever it was, it must've been what's keeping up the tunnel in the first place. If this was really through dirt, he was sure the tunnel would've collapsed in no time. That still begged the question: what did this?

He for sure wished it wasn't that bad.

Daniel adjusted his glasses and looked behind him with his flashlight. Nobody was following them so far, which was good. He had decided to stay near the rear, where Sullivan was also strangely, to do just that. When he turned to look forward, he heard the conversation up ahead. Kit asked Anima if she thought whatever they were looking for could hurt people. He frowned. He could guess the answer, especially since Anima paused in her steps and took a moment to answer.

She sighed. "That's exactly why I want to check it out," she said.

He couldn't help himself from sighing as well. This was getting worrisome. Thank goodness not all of them weren't affected too much by it. Particularly Sullivan, Lexa and Daciana. He still didn't like Sullivan though. He knew what arrogance can lead to. And once again, as soon as his thoughts shifted on Daciana, he sneaked a glance at her. Her confidence was made him helped him be a little more braver right now. And he was truly glad she was here.

He was soon snapped out of his thoughts when there was a sudden shush from Anima and she said as quietly as she could, "Quick! Get to the side!"

As confused as he was, he did as asked, going against the left wall of the tunnel. He could see Anima was breathing heavily as she looked past a corner. Daniel was worried about her and so softly made his way to her side. It was only when he was there when he understood. His jaw dropped and he pointed the flashlight towards the ceiling.

There was a sleeping wyrm around the corner.

...

Anima Maria Juarez
Anubis Descendant
Tunnel under Church

A giant mole like creature she expected. A giant lizard she expected to see. Heh, even a giant spider was something she thought she'd see. Okay, she was close with the second, but this, a wyrm? Even if it didn't have super tough skin, which she highly doubted, it would still be difficult to do anything to it. It was huge. Maybe not sauropod, AKA long necked dinosaur, huge, but it easily dwarfed them seeing as it, well, is maybe a foot or three from the ceiling.

"Uh... Any bright ideas?" she said.

Then the worst thing happened. Daniel came up from behind her, startling her.

And she dropped her flashlight. Loudly. Very loudly. With a clank.

She froze. Well they were dead. But after what felt like hours, nothing happened. She blinked and she picked up the dropped light and pointed it straight on the wrym's face. It was looking at them and it was tilting its head like a curious dog. Anima found that absolutely adorable. So she went straight up to it.

"Anima, what are you doing?!" Daniel said in a sort of shouting whisper.

But she didn't reply. Instead, she stood in front of the wrym. Their eyes made contact for a while. Then she proceeded to pet its nose.

"Anima!"

It leaned into her touch, but seeing as she was small and it was so big, it bumped into her. Anima held onto it and chuckled.

"Oh, that's a nice wyrm," she said like she was talking to a dog. Then she looked to Daniel. "Aw come on, Danny, it's obviously not bad. Which is a good thing. That means it was probably just tunneling around or something and didn't know there was something really heavy above it."

It eventually went back a little but not too far that her hands stopped touching it.

"See?"

Anima wondered why Daniel had that flabbergasted look on his face.

...

In the distance, Lanaya would faintly feel the presence of the ancient serpentine.

...

Meanwhile, at the night club, as André and Derek sat at the counter, someone else sat near them. Specifically, she sat at Derek's empty side. It seemed to be a young woman, probably at best the bare minimum legal drinking age. She was wearing rather casual clothes, just a simple white shirt and blue pants with a red jacket over the shirt. She looked around a bit nervously, almost as if she was scared to get jumped on at any moment. That was until she saw André. She blinked and a look a recognition passes on her face.

"Wait, are you...André Bellamy? The actor?" Whether he confirmed it or not, she still continued, whatever her previous worries gone. "I-I-I'm sure you get this a lot, but I'm a pretty big fan of yours. I actually wanted to get into movies thanks to you. Though, uh, not as an actor."

Though he might not care too much, there was something "familiar" about her.

Then she noticed Derek. "Are you his friend? It's nice to meet you," she said, holding her hand out.

If Derek did shake her hand, he'd get a vision. A vision that seemed to be from her point of view.

...

Gotta hide. Gotta hide. HAVE TO HIDE. That was all I thought as I dodged another blast of lightning. I heard some swearing behind me but I paid no attention, running as fast as I could. At least, until I heard one of my pursuers say,

"Mark! Get her!"

And then the man with a mask not unlike a bite mask on a dog and a blue suit came into view. My eyes widened at the spear in his hand. Oh no. It was poison tipped. I barely dodged it as he swung the spear at my shoulder. Damn it. How was I going to get away? I couldn't keep runnjng forever. Then an idea popped into my head. It would have to do. I hope he wouldn't get hurt badly.

Just as Choker was about to strike again, I shouted, "Aithon! Phlogios! Konabos! Phobos!"

Fire burst in front of me, startling my pursuers. From the flames four light brown stallions appeared, each with a gold bridle. When the flames disappeared, they huffed their noses. Fire came out of them. I took my chance and fled, silently thanking them for holding them off. I needed to find a hiding spot though. Somewhere that would be hard for them to find my scent in. I looked around, and then I saw a nightclub. That would have to do, even though I didn't really like the thought. Hopefully, my smell would be hard to pick up with the other scents.

I snuck inside, easily passing the guard. Though I felt bad at that. I didn't really like breaking the rules, but I didn't have the time to get checked. Not that I have an ID with me in the first place. I just really hope they would lose me. If they came here and destroyed the place because of me well...I guess I'll just turn myself to the police, even if they don't believe me and think I'm insane...

...

If not well, hey, it's not like he knew that he would get a vision from touching her.

 

[Monster Guy]

André Bellamy
Aphrodite Descendant
The Club

Derek took a seat next to André at the bar, but Alain didn't. Alain had gone off to dance by himself. André thought it was rude to go off on his own when he was his guest. They would have all gone dancing together. What's more, André couldn't help noticing that Derek look upset for some reason. That was strange, he seemed like he was in a good mood when he got here. At this, André tilted his head and frowned. André placed his hand on Derek's shoulder, and spun him around to make eye contact. "Oh, Quel est le problème, mon ami?" André asked concerned. "This is not the time, or the place to be upset..."

André glanced over Alain, who was still dancing amongst a crowd of people, then back at Derek, and smirked mischievously. "Watch this!" He blew a kiss, and a flurry of pink hearts hit some of the people near Alain. Suddenly, some woman next to him approached him and started flirting with Alain. "Well, hello there handsome." She said as she boldly put her hand down his shirt.

Then, a second girl pushed the first girl out of the way. "Back off bitch, he's mine!" She shouted as she played with Alain's hair.

"Nuh-uh, I saw him first!" The first girl responded, as she slapped the second girl. "Find your own hottie!"

While the two girls were fighting over Alain, someone else threw themselves at the blonde boy, and made out with him. A guy this time. "They're both idiots. Let's get out of here and get some alone time." The guy said while putting his hand on Alain's rear.

André couldn't help bursting out laughing at the sight of Alain's new unwanted harem. "Ah, l'amour! It makes people do silly things, non?"

"Wait, are you...André Bellamy? The actor?" He suddenly heard a female voice ask. He looked up, and saw an attractive, though simply dressed young woman sitting on Derek's other side. She must have been a big fan if she was able to recognize him when he was all dolled up like this.

André grinned. "Oui mademoiselle!" He answered as he took a bow.

"I-I-I'm sure you get this a lot, but I'm a pretty big fan of yours. I actually wanted to get into movies thanks to you. Though, uh, not as an actor."

André giggled, and then the woman noticed Derek, and started talking to him. Just as the bartender came back with a glass of pink wine for André. "Here you go." The man said. André couldn't help but noticed he sounded a little lovesick as he spoke.

André took the drink, swished the glass around in his hand, sniffed it, then took a sip. "Très bien! You got just the kind of wine I wanted! Merci beaucoup!" André kissed the bartender on the cheek, and a big goofy grin appeared on his face. André giggled again, as he took another sip of his drink, turned his attention back to the young woman and Derek. He couldn't figure out why, but there was something familiar about her... "Mademoiselle, what is your name?"

 

[Schade]

=-------------------~♚~-------------------=
Alain Irving
Dionysus Descendant
At the Club​

As Alain mingled with the crowd at the dancefloor, he suddenly heard a loud voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Irving has entered the building!", the voice said, followed by the cheers of the crowd. "huh.. Guess i'm expected.", Alain said to no one in particular. This happened every now and then. Due to his newfound powers, every party he went to turned into some sort of legendary event that the bards would be singing about when he was long gone. The big announcement only made the crowd happier, and the dancefloor much, much livelier. He liked this kind of setting. Sure, he should probably try to include Andre and Derek, as he saw them sitting over at the bar, looking somewhat bored. Eh, he'd drag them in later. The party was just getting started.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a woman in her early 20's danced her way over to him. "Well, hello there handsome.", she said flirtatiously as she put her hand down his shirt while following the rythm of his dance. This was also not unusual. People tended to suck up to the life of the party. She was fair-looking, with brown, wavy hair. She looked like the kind of girl that would spend all day at a library studying to be a doctor or something. She was probably here with a friend.

"Back off bïtch, he's mine!", another woman said angrily as she entered the stage. She looked familiar. Alain was certain he'd seen her before. She was blonde, dressed ilke bad decisions and reeked of booze, and a perfume befitting someone who just came back after spending way too much time dolling up at the bathroom. Like the first one, this one also couldb't keep her hands to herself, and fiddled around with his hair as she tried some weird sensual dance that totally broke off from the rythm of the music.

"Whoa, easy there, sister." Alain said and loosened up from the two arguing ladies' grip. They followed as if following some sort of weird magnetism with him being the center. He was used to it, but it did often create a bad atmosphere for the dancefloor. Besides, something felt fishy about their behavior.
Alain was then grabbed and turned, and found himself in a hefty makeout session. This time with a guy. "They're both idiots. Let's get out of here and get some alone time.", he said. He was a bit taller than Alain was, one of those typical jock-types, with ridiculously buff physique, blonde short hair, and one of those college jackets that screamed "look at me, I'm in school". Okay, sudden and totally not un-wanted as this was, he knew this guy. This guy was straight like un-cooked spaghetti. And as much as he liked the attention, Alain knew something was up. In the distance, he saw Andre was laughing his makeup off, while Derek looked somewhat uncomfortable. "So that's how it is.." he said with a smirk. He'd have to remember to dropkick Andre in his face later.

Never without a plan though, Alain quickly recovered, and pulled the brunette with him as he ran over to the DJ booth, signaling for him to borrow the mic real quick. His little army of fangirls(and boys) were close to his tail at all times, and the brunette in his arms looked like she would faint from pure bliss. Getting to borrow the Mic, he proceeded. "Hia, everybody! Nice to see so many lively faces here tonight! To celebrate us having a good time, my good friend and associate, Andre Bellamy, have taken it upon himself to buy you all drinks for the remainer of the evening!". His drowned in the cheer from the crowd, and some amongst them started whispering in to each other. Probably shouldn't have outed Andre like that but. Eh, he was used to it. Besides, he's not the only one with flashy powers.

Moving back to the dancefloor, Alainw as greeted by hugs, kisses butt-groping, more hugs, more kisses, more butt-groping, unexpected makeout-sessions from more of Andre's victims etc. The bar was overflowing with people now too. At least Andre and Derek wouldn't be bored after this, although he suspected Derek might find it uncomfortable. But the scheming had gone on for long enough. He was still in the stage of mastering his.. mass hysteria power. after having used it in a few parties, he had come to understand it. It was a form of mind control through vivid dancing, and he was pretty sure he could use it on command now. Besides, it never fails to liven up the party. Just gotta do some concentrating, throw in some sweet moves.. aaand, yeah, he felt it happening. It was an awesome feeling, and he grinned, and everyone around him grinned, and they started dancing, and the music turned up and history was about to be written.

 

[Vern]

Kaede ‘Maple’ Shonozaki
Nekomata Descendant
Elish Manor

"...I see..." Lanaya muttered under his breath. It may have been too quiet for a normal person to hear, but Kaede's super-hearing picked up on it easily. Perhaps she had been a bit too obvious in trying to redirect the conversation somewhere else. She ought to work on that.

"Proficiently? One. Only English. I read around 12 different languages. Speaking them is a different thing. I've not really studied to converse, but rather to just read. That is to say, I can say simple sentences and respond to simple questions. Like, 'What is your name?' and so on." Lanaya continued, in response to her earlier question. He didn't look at her, staring into the fireplace behind her instead. He continued to talk, his gaze shifting around the room but never meeting her own. Was he trying to avoid her eyes? That was suspicious in itself, and this whole thing reeked of some weird plot. It wasn't exactly like him to invite her over to this giant mansion without any prepense. "As you can see, I live with the maids. They were assigned to me by my guardians, and have taught me everything I know. It's comforting, having people around me. I do enjoy alone time, but having energetic company makes me happy as well."

Kaede nodded and muttered a little 'M-hm', although she was busy scanning the boy's face for any sign of unease or other suspicious emotions. Her senses were on high alert, and she could feel the back of her scalp tingling. Either something was wrong, or she was just being paranoid. Lanaya asked the maids to bring them food, and it was Ember, the red-head that had showed her around the mansion, who answered his call.

"I'm hungry. Bring something for me, whatever it is." He looked over to Kaede, inspecting her closely. "Maybe something for her as well, whatever suits her." There was something in that gaze that made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, but she hid it well, and with a good-natured smile, turned to Ember to ask if they had anything Japanese. The maid returned a while later with food for both herself and her host, and quickly withdrew from the room after the meal was delivered. Lanaya had some sort of soup that Kaede couldn't recognise, but it didn't matter. She was more concerned with the ramen that had been handed to her, along with two very nice-looking chopsticks. Seeing that Lanaya had already started drinking from his bowl, she didn't hesitate to dig in, and finished the bowl in two minutes or so.

"Feel free to explore, talk to the maids, whatever. Have fun tonight, or just relax and throw your stress away. Once you're done with everything, come to the basement. I'll be there later." Lanaya said, getting up and setting his empty bowl down on the table in front of him. Kaede's mouth twitched in a genuine grin at the strangeness of that statement. There was something unusual in this guy's speech patterns, like he wasn't exactly aware of how to speak 'normally', a technique that Kaede had perfected a long while ago, through a long period of very serious study. I mean, one would have to be a little abnormal to ask a girl his age to 'join in him his basement'.

Lanaya gave Kaede a soft smile, before walking up the stairs to his room. Kaede watched him turn with apprehension, expecting some sort of follow up and at the same time knowing that given her host's previous speech patterns, she probably wasn't going to get any. Lanaya, however, did not disappoint.

"I want you." He said, rather quietly.

If Kaede still had any of the miso soup in her mouth, she would probably have spat it out, if only because he managed to say that with a completely straight face. Luckily, she had downed the last drop a few seconds ago. Instead, she instinctively sprang to her feet like someone had stabbed a needle into her back on a pressure point and pulled it out in the same instant. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out, at least not before Lanaya left the room. She stood stock still for a bit, pondering what she just witnessed and heard, before slumping back down into the chair she was seated on earlier.

What was that about? What he had just said was completely out of character, and Kaede wasn't sure if he was even aware of the... er... subtle other meaning it carried. In fact, she knew nothing about this guy. He was an enigma to her, and that made it hard to figure out any sort of plan of action. She got the feeling that he saw through her act, and it unnerved her, made it difficult for her to take any sort of really important action without putting the security of the mask she had so carefully constructed to risk. She sighed and leant back, twirling her long, unkempt hair around her finger. Whatever happened would happen, and Lanaya was strange, different from normal people. She couldn't predict his actions, so there was no point trying to think up a plan. Besides, she was curious.

Kaede rolled to her feet and headed out of the living room, looking for the stairs that would take her to the basement. She already knew her way around the mansion, there was no point wandering around it aimlessly. If Lanaya wasn't there yet, she could wait.

 

[AzerWrath]

Lanaya Ur-Kaldr
Enkidu Descendant
Elish Manor

The mansion was large, yes, but Kaede, having been brought around the place already, found the entrance to the basement rather easily. Hidden behind a few bookshelves was the trapdoor. A small note pinned to the side of one of the bookshelves hung rather endearingly.

"Don't spend all your time in there!" With the drawing of a silver-haired chibi-esque girl. It was Akumu, the only maid with silver hair in the mansion. There was also a much smaller but thicker line of text, written in cursive.

"Arrows sharpened, Rocks sliced. Improvement of target trajectory: 72%. Minor increase in range. No change on stress developed while in creation process. Will be cleaned in 24 hours."

Even further down...

"Will teach Master how to talk to girls."

One could only assume only the most elegant of the Maids would have such neat and old handwriting. Wolf.

With the trapdoor unlocked, Kaede would descend... Lanaya of course, wouldn't be in sight.

It was dark, with a faint glow in the distance. Kaede quickly climbed down the ladder, her feet touching the... Floor? She would feel the floor having a strange, bristle-like texture. Soft, spongy, yet... Made of tiny hairs, almost like a fluff. When Kaede had fully entered the basement, the lights turned on. In a flash of brilliance, the darkness was replaced with a strange emotion.

The basement was constructed in such a way that it resembled a completely natural cavern. Rock walls cover every angle, and they seemed to stretch almost twice the width of the house itself. Their marble surfaces reflecting little of the light that illuminated the underground. There were walled-off sections, built using the exact same rock as the sides, but polished and carved straight. Almost like the center of a labyrinth, Kaede could see from almost all angled but behind her. A single path would lead Kaede into the center of the basement, around walls and rooms. Aside from this lone marble path, moss grew through the rock, making it seem like a garden in the midst of a cave.

In the far right was a greenhouse, functioning with electric lights. Water flowed through pipes from above down into it. A Hydroponics station. Beside it, a rustic, wooden hut-like structure with the pipes entering through the side. Animal cages littered at the back, all new and unused. To the far left, a variety of plants growing, ranging from tropical flowers to temperate berry bushes. Kaede would eventually continue down the middle path, getting her feet off the moss quickly.

Away from the greenery, through the walls, came the medieval. Bookshelves lined the walls, each one coming from a different region of the world. German books, Irish books, Egyptian books, even Japanese ones. Kaede could barely understand the complex kanji. "Legend", one of them said. Statues littered the hallway, each of them rough, depicting certain mythological creations or beings. They weren't made by a professional, but seemed to be... Carved out of water and time. As if the forces of nature itself had formed these statues. To the sides, an open door that lead to an Archery range. Another that lead to a gym-like area. Another that showed some sort of small medical room. One that contained training dummies. The amalgamation of different cultures and professions... It was so strange, so surreal.

At the end of the hallway was a small area with nothing. In the middle of the marble maze was a single patch of grass. Just large enough to have 10 people stand on it. A single table at the end of the wall, covered with notes. Lanaya had been researching hard about himself; about all of them. They were notes about each and every one of his club-mates. A few names were circled.

"Anima, Unknown." Does the prospect of death make me feel fear? No. This is not fear. This is... Remembrance? A soul. How would you describe a soul? Do I--

"Sullivan, Unknown." Hostile intent? His presence brings a fiery aura. Unsure of meaning, but brings nostalgia... Happiness... And desire for battle.

"Andre, Unknown." Strange. Unable to register emotions. I feel more like a doll than a man. Jealousy? Highly unlikely.

"Daciana, Unknown." Feels like home.

"Kaede, Unknown." Hiding something. Easiest to interact to; feigns humanity? I cannot fathom.

From the notes alone, Kaede would learn that Lanaya was raised very, very differently than everyone she had ever known. He wanted to know about himself. What he was, and what changed him. Why he was so different than others, and why some people just felt odd to him. The girl would soon find the last, and most recent piece of work written. And this time, it wasn't by Lanaya.

"Registered emotions: Happiness, Sadness, Guilt, Love. Master is continuing to learn. Master has shown incredible self-sacrifice. Will record more observations."

The cursive handwriting gave it away.

...

Footsteps behind her.

The boy, dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt, black dress pants and shoes appeared before Kaede. He threw on a black vest, and smiled at Kaede. The smile, however, seemed to convey more of a melancholic feel than a happy one.

"Time's short. We should go soon. There's something different in the direction of the... That place where Anima wanted to go to. I feel something, and it's best if we head there soon. We have some time to talk, if you want, before we leave."

Lanaya walked forward carelessly, eventually past Kaede and sitting on that chair that faces the solitary table. Kaede was beside him, and the boy would pack his notes.

"These are about all of us. Fate works so strangely, but I can never once figure it out. I'm sure there are a lot of questions you want to ask. Tell me." Lanaya looked into Kaede's eyes. One of the few times he did tonight; and this time, not for observation, but...

One of longing.

 

[Samayouru]

Christine Lefévre/Adriana "Ana" Vasile
Persephone Descendant/Vlad the Impaler Descendant
Heading Towards the Church​

Christine had never been afraid of the dark – in fact she was quite fond of it. Sure, the sun was magnificent for her plants, but there was nothing quite as nice as gazing upon the stars and the moon, as bright as a pearl. Ana, on the other hand, did not. She kept close to Christine as they walked down the street, heading towards the church. Graveyards were always bad news to Ana – graveyards meant dead bodies, and dead bodies meant things like zombies and vampires. But still, the sinkhole had drawn her attention and she wanted to see it for herself. “Are we almost there, Christine?” she asked, tugging her friend’s overalls with a shaky hand.

Christine put a hand on Ana’s shoulder, patting it gently. “Almost,” she replied. “Try not to worry about zombies – the dead are buried about six feet under the earth, so they won’t be able to hurt you.”

The church itself didn’t look all that special – but the sinkhole stuck out like a sore eye. Keeping hidden from the guards, Christine noticed that there didn’t appear to be an easy way down. “The others must’ve gone ahead without us,” she mused and flicked a glance to Ana. “And I doubt I’d be able to climb down myself.”

Ana stepped forward. “I’ll go,” she said. “I can fly – I’ll go down and get someone to help you down.” And with that, the little girl dressed in pink vanished, and a large bat took her place. She flew down into the sinkhole with a few swipes of her wings, following the sounds of faint voices with her sensitive hearing. It wasn’t too long before the scent of people surrounded her, and she changed back – wincing slightly as she hit the ground. Clenching her teeth and fighting back a small cry of pain, Ana dusted herself off before calling out into the darkness: “Hello?” followed by: “Can anybody hear me?”

((OOC: Sorry it's really bad and I ended up vanishing for a while! Thanks for giving me an opportunity to get back into the RP, Charred!))

 

[Andydemon]

Kitai "Kit" Hayashi
Kitsune Descendant
Tunnel System

Anima sighed in response to Kitai's question and told him, "That's exactly why I want to check it out." She did have a point. She couldn't possibly even know what caused the sinkhole, much less whether or not it'll strike again, unless she found out what it was, if anything. That's why they were all down here in the first place.

In the matter of the voices coming from Quinn's bag, whatever her answer to Kitai's question was, Lexa also chipped in about the voices, reminding Kitai that she was able to understand animals like he could. When it came to light that Quinn had brought spiders with her, Kitai gave a light gasp and his ears perked up in response. He wasn't fond of spiders, but he wasn't afraid or disliking of them either, even being bitten didn't bother him too much as bites never did anything to him, not even leave an painful bump or a bad itch as they would a normal person, something Kit always attributed to his fast healing ability.

Once they had made it a certain distance within the tunnel, Kitai began to hear something further in, which he figured out was breathing, heavy breathing the likes of which he had never heard before. Hearing this made Kit gasp once more as the blue flames he had floating ahead of the group vanished.

Before he could say anything, however, Anima shushed everyone and told them to get to the side of the tunnel, which Kitai did immediately as he went up to the left wall along with Daniel. He let out a whimper as he grew more fearful by the second, and it wasn't until Daniel pointed his flashlight at it that Kit saw what it was, a sleeping wyrm.

Seeing such a creature made Kitai gasp once again, only he restrained it so that it came out quietly so he didn't end up waking the beast. However, that amounted to little as Daniel spooked Anima, causing her to drop her flashlight, which woke the wyrm. As soon as he saw those eyes opened, Kitai quickly got down into a crouching position as he grabbed his hood and pulled it over as much of his face as he could with his ears flattening themselves against his head and his tail wrapping itself around him as if to shield him from attack. Kit stayed that way shivering and whimpering in fear until he noticed that the creature hadn't attacked them yet, and what's more Anima even began talking to it.

Hearing Anima talking to the wyrm made Kitai relax a bit as he stood back up and looked to see her going so far as to touch it, with no visible aggressive response whatsoever. Being brought to believe that they were safe, Kit also approached the wyrm. As he did so, he wondered if this really could've been what caused the sinkhole. He expected something aggressive, something that might've even purposefully caused it, but nothing like this. Growing more curious about the creature, Kitai began to wonder if it could speak, and if so would it speak in human tongue, or in the language of animals that only the likes of Kit and Lexa would understand? In the end, there was only one way to find out.

Seeking to have his questions answered, Kitai stood in front of the creature, next to Anima, and took his hood off, revealing his face in its entirety as well as the fact that his fox ears were real, and reached out to the wyrm with one hand telling it, "H....Hello, I'm Kitai. Do you have a name? What are you doing down here?"

Whatever the creature's response, if it spoke to him and it was clear that the others couldn't understand it, but he could, then Kit was ready to translate anything it said to him for the rest of the group.

Regardless, Kit also heard a sound coming from behind them from the way they came. A familiar voice calling out for anyone who could hear it. Hearing this caused Kitai's ears to turn back and forth slightly as he turned his head to look back in confusion over what he just heard.

 

[TheCharredDragon]

Salazar Daniel Drake
Sagramore Descendant
Tunnel System, Lair of the Beast

This was starting to get ridiculous. In front of the was who knows how big snake with a dragon head, and it was apparently trying to nuzzle Anima.

"Hey! Careful, guy. Or girl. I can't tell," she said.

Anima then decided to climb on it, which she had a hard time doing with her flashlight in her hand. For a second, Daniel could've sworn he saw the creature, wyrm from what Anima said, look worried at Anima doing that. But thankfully, she reached the top of its head without too much trouble, a huge grin on her face. She looked around from her new vantage point before patting the beast.

It hummed when she did that.

Daniel shook his head. This wasn't the time to get dazed from this. They had more pressing things to worry about.

"If that's true, then, um...uh, what are we going to do with...it?" he said. "It might, you know, happen again, if...it...stays."

Now Anima stopped patting its head and hummed in turn in thought. The wyrm looked like it was confused why she stopped but didn't seem upset about it. After a few moments, Anima jut shrugged.

"I'm not really sure. Maybe we could get him--her, whatever it is--out of here? Maybe we can have her--him, maybe--live in the cliffs? I mean, nobody really goes there."

Daniel tried very hard to suppress a very bad memory. He succeeded, for the most part. He still flinched at the mention of the cliffs.

"Maybe...?" he said as he looked to the others, almost silently asking them if they had any ideas.

Then he blinked at the sound of a voice. Because of this, he didn't quite catch what Kit said as he went back to the entrance of the tunnel their entered here and saw another club member.

"Ana? What are you doing here? Are you all right?" he said, going near her and checking to see if she was injured or anything.

...

What happened was that after Anima stopped patting the wyrm, Kit talked to it. It blinked, seemingly surprised it was able to understand his words. But it looked like it smiled.

"Oh, hello there. It is nice to meet you Kitai, and your friends. I am Lily. That was the name my human gave me," she said. Then she frowned. "I... My human wanted me safe so he made me sleep. I think that was a long time ago. Everything smells different. I don't smell or sense my human anymore..."

To everyone else, it sounded like she was grumbling, ending with a sad whine.

...

At the nightclub, the young woman was shortly distracted from whatever Derek decided to do as André addressed her. She blinked. She hesitated but seemed to come over it.

"I'm Marti. Marti Geriro," she said.

She blinked when she heard the announcement of some random patron. Apparently, he knew André too and had just outed him. She looked in the direction it came from and saw Alain.

"Okay..." she said, not too sure what to make of the current situation.

...

While that was happening, Christine would hear voices coming up from below.

"...light up there."

"Huh, there is."

"Can you get us up there?"

"Sure can!"

Some mumbling was heard before a ladder suddenly appeared, which Christine could see. Then two people climbed up from it. They looked around, confused at finding themselves in a wrecked church. This changed into surprise when they saw Christine. Both were girls. One looked looked about as old Ana. She was blonde and dressed in blue, even wearing a mask covering her mouth, with a white trenchcoat. If Christine payed attention, she could see she was wearing a brown string necklace.

The other one, however, was easily recognizable to Christine.

"Christine? What're you doing here? Are you here by yourself?" said Hansel, the current leader of the Super-Myth Club who's obviously not in New York where everyone thought she was.

Whether or not she answered, the blonde girl then jumped back down. A few moments later, she said,

"Hansel, I think your other club members went down the tunnels."

Hansel eyes widened and opened her mouth but then shut it, likely realizing the age of the mystery girl and stopped herself.

Then she said, "Caliburn, can you track them?"

"No. The ground turns hard in the tunnels."

Hansel quietly curses before she goes down the ladder, apparently forgetting about Christine. "All right, I'll make something to track them."

As soon as she reached the bottom, if Christine looked down, she would see her club leader writing something before saying, "Summon!" A poof sound echoed as a dog, a blood hound specifically, appeared by her side. She told it to track the smell on the footprints. After it did, it went inside the tunnel. Hansel followed after it. So did the other girl, "Caliburn", too. But not before she summoned a sword that then started glowing.

Even up where she was, Christine could hear Hansel shout, "NARF better not get their hands on them or I swear I'll tear them to pieces!"

 

[Sketchie]

----☾----
Lexa Valencia
Artemis Descendant
Tunnelly Tunnels
----☾----​

Before Quinn could respond to her, Anima's voice cut through the crowd. "Quick! Get to the side!" she hissed. Lexa followed accordingly, jumping to the side. She didn't need to strain to see what Anima and Daniel were looking at. There, sleeping calmly, was a large dragon. Yeah, yeah that might be kinda bad. But it was sleeping, so maybe...? Oh wait, no, Anima dropped her flashlight, now it was awake. But that didn't seem to be a problem as Anima calmed the beast with a touch of her hand. Lexa watched in awe. Can we do that..? she thought, We do seem to have a connection to these kinds of creatures. Can we... walk to it?

She watched as Kitai an up to the dragon, taking off his hood. Lexa quickly followed behind, placing a hand on Kitai's shoulder. Kitai was what, thirteen? Thirteen and shorter than she was. If anything happened, she didn't want the tiny kid getting hurt. "H....Hello," he said, reaching out his hand, "I'm Kitai. Do you have a name? What are you doing down here?"

Also Anima decided it would be a good idea to climb on top of the wyrm, and Daniel did not. A club member had showed up, distracting the group. Then... it spoke. Or rather, she spoke. "Oh, hello there." Her voice filled the cavern, though maybe it was just for her and Kitai. Did Kitai knew she could hear it too? "It is nice to meet you Kitai, and your friends. I am Lily. That was the name my human gave me." Lily frowned. "I... My human wanted me safe so he made me sleep. I think that was a long time ago. Everything smells different. I don't smell or sense my human anymore..."

Lexa tightened her grip on Kitai's shoulder, rubbing it with her thumb. "How long have you been asleep?" she mumbled. She looked up at Lily, a certain softness in her eyes. "I'm sorry you can't sense him. I know how it feels to wake up, and someone you're connected to is gone." Mimicking Kitai and Ana, she raised her hand to the dragon. "My name is Lexa. Are you okay? Do you remember what was happening when your human made you sleep?"

Her mind was focused on Lily, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that a certain sunshine boy was in distress.

----☼----
Derek van Velde
Apollo Descendant
The Club
----☼----​

Derek jumped as he felt André put his hand on his shoulder and spin him around to face him. "Oh, Quel est le problème, mon ami?" André asked, concerned. "This is not the time, or the place to be upset..." Before Derek could get a chance to respond, André glanced over at Alain, who was having fun times... elsewhere. "Watch this!" he smirked. He blew a kiss at the people near Alain. Derek watched in horror as several people started groping Alain, their voices dripping with honey and hormones. His eyes immediately darted back to André, his face pale. "Ah, l'amour! It makes people do silly things, non?"

He wanted to say something, but once more, he was interrupted. "Wait, are you... André Bellamy? The actor?" He spun around, looking at a young woman on his other side. When did she show up?

André grinned. "Oui mademoiselle!"

"I-I-I'm sure you get this a lot, but I'm a pretty big fan of yours. I actually wanted to get into movies thanks to you. Though, uh, not as an actor." The young woman turned to him, sticking out her hand. "Are you his friend? It's nice to meet you."

"Yes, I'm--"

"Mademoiselle, what is your name?" André said, cutting Derek off once more. Derek closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm Marti. Marti Geriro," she said.

From the loudspeaker, he could hear Alain offering everyone drinks under André's name. That's fair. The noise got louder, the lights intense and harsh. It began to overwhelm Derek, but no. He had to stay calm. Deep breath. Don't take the shot you've been offered, even though that seems like the best idea. It's not.

Derek ran his hand through his hair, raising his eyes to meet Marti's. "Hallo, liefde," he purred, "Sorry for the interruption. Mijn naam is Derek, it's a pleasure to meet you, Marti." He took her hand in his, and lifted it to his lips, giving it a sweet kiss. Suddenly, his vision went black, before being cut through with a flash of light.

----

Derek couldn't see where he was, it was too dark. But he could hear shouting, yelling, and he felt fear wash over him. Was this someone else's emotion? But who? A flash of lightning caught his eye, and his attention was turned to the young girl. Her. She was running away from... someone. Someone right behind her.

"Mark, get her!"

The man had on a blue dog mask. He wanted to reach out and protect her from the spear in his hand, but he felt frozen. No, this was only a vision. The girl barely dodged it, slipping out of the man's grip.

"Aithos! Phlogios! Konabos! Phobos!" she shouted, as fire burst in front of her. From the flames came four stallions. The stallions overtook the men, huffing with fire and some sort of godly fire. He watched as the girl fled, and felt dragged along with her to... to the nightclub. She slipped into the nightclub unnoticed. Derek followed her, watching as she found the two boys sitting at the bar. Damn, was he really that attractive?

----

Another vision, huh? She's not safe. It seemed as though not a moment had passed, her hand still on his lips. He put her hand down, as his other hand went to her cheek. "You're stunning," he said, his own voice now dripping with honey and softness, masking his concern. He stood, taking Marti's hands in his and helping her onto her feet. He glanced at Andre, mouthing an apology before turning back to the girl. "Follow me, love." He swept her off her feet and into his arms, taking her to one of the small, back rooms. It was tiny, but enough they could still exist comfortably. He threw off his navy shirt, putting it on the floor beside him.

"If anyone asks, I'll tell them it got a little hot out there," he said, a friendly glint in his eyes. Derek's smile faded as pulled Marti close to him. "Stay close to me, they can't find you here. I promise." He lifted her head so his eyes met hers. "Who's chasing after you? What do they want?"

 

[Monster Guy]

♥ André Bellamy
Aphrodite Descendant
The Club ♥​

"I'm Marti. Marti Geriro," The woman said.

André nodded, swirled the glass of wine in his hand, and took a sip. He still couldn't place where he had heard that name before...

"Hiya, everybody! Nice to see so many lively faces here tonight! To celebrate us having a good time, my good friend and associate, André Bellamy, have taken it upon himself to buy you all drinks for the remainer of the evening!" He heard Alain shout on the loudspeaker. André sipped his drink once again, and laughed out loud. He found himself not caring that Alain had just outed him to the entire club. He had plenty of money anyway, he could afford to buy a few measly drinks for some potential new friends.

The club atmosphere suddenly got more intense, as more people filled the dance floor.The noise got louder, the lights got brighter and more flashy, and André just couldn't help grinning. He felt the urge to join the others on the dancefloor. As soon as the DJ started to play one of his favorite songs, André got out of his chair, went up to the DJ booth to borrow a microphone, and broke out into song.

Spoiler: Applause!

"I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong
To crash the critics saying, "is it right or is it wrong?"
If only fame had an IV, baby could I bear
Being away from you, I found the vein, put it in here

I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause

Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)

Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch!"

As he was singing and dancing to the music, he made his way through the crowd of people. Every now and then, gently caressing the face of an attractive person he saw. Clubgoers were watching him, and cheering and applauding with delight, much to André's enjoyment. The young movie star was enjoying himself so much, he didn't even notice Marti and Derek taking off.