Damn! Damn! Damn! Bas leaned against the brick alcove and his head dropped. The pain in his face and jaw were a dull ache now, underlying that in his heart. The cold sleet drizzle was lessened here in the trash strewn alley, the ice drops on his cheeks mingling with warm ones, the knife of betrayal and rejection buried deep in his heart.

His hand is on Roman's arm, his sight limited by one eye nearly swollen shut, his speech thicker through bruised lips and cheek. "Roman, you've got to help me! I don't have anywhere else to go."
Motya had told him he had to leave just this morning. Everyone in the family had started to turning him out. His friend looks at him, emotions warring. He turns his head back and there is his father standing there with a few other higher ups in the Mordvinov family. The man won't look at Bas.

Roman turns back to Bas. "I'm sorry, man. You've brought too much attention on us. We've grown fast too quickly. The police were already suspicious- watching us. And this?!" His voice grows heated. "What the hell were you thinking, attacking a cop in the middle of the day in front of everyone?

Bas shakes his head, trying to dispel the fog that seems to settle everywhere of late. His voice is weak, a whisper. "I don't know. Ever since that night at Kallisti's I feel like someone's following me. And he..."
. He drifts off. They don't know about his gift. Or hadn't. They wouldn't understand. That...cop? That was a cop? He had the power. It couldn't be coincidence. His voice becomes insistent. "Please, just let me go somewhere."


Roman shakes his head, not looking at his father. There is hard steel in the man's eyes. "I'm sorry Bas. Everything on the books is being watched. You're on your own."

The memory dispersed in his mind, leaving behind the dregs of betrayal and hurt. He remembered trying to go home. Already he could see his mom's house staked out. He'd met his brother in the culvert they used to hide in. He'd been brought in twice for questioning already. "This is bad," he told Bas. "They say your'e a terrorist. That you are dangerous. That you can do things. They showed..." The fear in his brother's eyes said that he was scared. It made Bas want to scream and call down fire and burn everything to the ground. His own mother and brother. He couldn't go to them.

Part of him understood. They were targets now, because of him. He clenched his teeth, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's up to you, now, ok? You take care of Ma. At least until this is over. You take care of her, you hear? No screwing around."
God was merciful, at least a little. His brother didn't flinch. Instead, he hugged him. Bas felt tears at the corners of his eyes. O God, why? Why have you forsaken me? Holy Mother, have I not served you? His brother's arms around him were sort of an answer.

The hurt and betrayal was mixed with love and concern. They would be ok. As long as he stayed away, they would be. Still, he had to go somewhere. His jaw clenched and unclenched, the sounds of traffic drifting through the alley, as he was remembering. Roman's words. On the books. Maybe it had been a clue.

He hit up Aurora and Nox's place. It was empty. He tried calling Nox but it went to voice mail. He texted. No response. The same with Aurora. He let himself in. They'd done some work on it. One of the rooms had a mural on the wall and for the fist time he had felt a glimmer of peace. He had laid on the bed for a while and must have drifted off. Whimpering had brought him out his strangely restful sleep. He went a closed door and opened it onto a very girly room. Must have been Aurora's. But he didn't have time to notice. A scrawny puppy escaped and bounded around his feet. He must have been cooped up for a while. His food and water bowl were completely empty and there were a few messes to clean up. Bas gave him food he found and some water but didn't bother with the messes.

He'd sat on the couch and the puppy had jumped up and sat in his lap. He just sat there. He could stay here. But for how long? Not on the books now. But how long to one of them remembered this place and told a particularly forceful cop. They didn't take kindly to those who attacked one of them. He couldn't stay here.

He'd cast his mind about. Sasha? No. Too airheaded and emotional. If she saw the news who knew what she'd say. Alex was a no go. She was a cop. He went through his other female friends until he found an answer. Tatyana, a dancer at Kallisti's. They were old friends, hooking up fairly regularly. One night, after, she told him her secret. She was hiding out, starting a new life. If anyone understood, it would be her. She would help him. His heart latched on to that hope.

He patted the puppy on its head. "I gotta go, guy."
He smiled weakly at the little dog, scratching it behind the ear. "I don't know where Aurora and Nox are but I hope they get back to you soon bud."
The puppy's eyes looked up at him with trust.

He got up and pulled on his jacket and then, checking to make sure there was no one outside, slipped out the door and made his way to Kallisti's, taking all the back ways he knew. He hoped she would help him.


Edited by Sebastian, May 6 2015, 11:11 PM.

Sierra had been too far gone from humanity. The wolf threatened to take over, but unlike her brother she would not succumb to it's call. She would return to Moscow, and to the initial reason for going there in the first place. She was without Snow, but she was certain the wolf lived on in the dream. She would see him one day, see him again.

The voices of the wolves grew dim as she neared the river that would take her into Moscow. It was the safest yet least traveled area she could manage. She would have to be careful for a few days. Until she could afford to replace her contacts. That was the thing about living in the wilderness. You'd lose yourself if you couldn't keep your bearings. Losing small clear things in the depths of the snow, well that was even worse. Down one contact it was odd to just wear the one. It's not like she needed them to see or anything, only to hide what she truly was.

Sierra was glad the weather was slowly warming up. The snow still was found in the shadows, but down by the river, the water flowed freely, at least in most places. Sierra stopped and sat on a log that had drifted to the shore from down stream. She would take in the last moments of the wilderness, the last bit of home and the wolves before tracking down the man who killed her brother. That snake tattoo biting its own tail was etched into her memory. She would never forget his Russian accent as he said, "He'll trouble you no more." It played out in Sierra's head like an old black and white horror show. She laughed at the thought and it could have probably been heard for miles in this open space. At least it wasn't the cry of a lost wolf.


Edited by Sierra, Apr 29 2015, 12:50 PM.

Elyse Andersen

Origin: Helsingør, Denmark

Occupation: Atharim Field Hunter

Age: 23

Psychological Description: Cunning and brave, Elyse prefers to plan things out rather than act on impulse, although in her line of work she has had to do so. Elyse is social and friendly and it is hard to find her without a smile on her face. When it comes to reborn gods, she prefers to judge them on their own merits, believing not all gods are inherently evil and need to be killed. She has a soft spot for wolfkin, even those who are lost.

Physical Description: 5'5" with an athletic build. Brunette with hair down past her shoulders. Eyes are golden, but are covered with hazel contacts.

Elyse was born into an Atharim family in Helsingør, Denmark. In addition to traditional schooling, she received education in the ways of the Atharim. Her mother was a researcher and planner, and her father was a hunter. The parents thought she would follow in her mother's footsteps, but they began to realize Elyse had an aptitude for hunting and moved her along that path. Her father trained her with firearms, knives, and crossbows. Elyse's parents worked as a team, and seeing them function this way made Elyse respect the importance of careful planning. She learned to utilize all resources available to her in her hunting experiences.

At age eighteen, the same year she received her tattoo, Elyse began having dreams. She passed them off as normal dreams, but began to worry when they came almost every night. The wolves were always there and she hunted with them, going after the creatures she fought when awake. Elyse didn't understand it, but it raised a red flag. She had read something about this before. It wasn't until she saw the golden eyes in the mirror that she put everything together.

Elyse found her coat and left, keeping her head down. Her immediate destination was a costume shop that had colored contact lenses. She could order more, later, but she needed them now. Her parents couldn't know about this - they were of a more conservative branch of the Atharim. She would be put down if they found out. Elyse went back home after getting the contacts and headed straight to their library. She began reading up on Wolfkin - they could sense wolves, talk with them somehow, saw them in dreams, and were a danger. Werewolf legends were based off of those that had lost their sanity, thinking themselves to be wolves. Elyse put the book away and then realized she could sense the wolves running through the woods outside of Helsingør.

The realization that she was wolfkin made her question some of the things she had been taught. Her parents had taught her wolfkin were monsters as were reborn gods. Elyse wasn't a monster though. She wondered if the gods were inherently bad as well. No, like her, they had the potential to become monsters, but there was a choice. Elyse had to make the right ones. The first one was whether to leave the Atharim or stay, but as she thought about it, leaving might raise questions, and in many ways she was on board with the Atharim's cause - to protect people. She would have to keep her secret and hopefully would find a means to help the Atharim gain understanding. The timing would have to be right for that to work.

For the next few years, Elyse continued as she always had, hiding in plain sight amongst those who would kill her if they found out. She hunted with them, and at least she never had to hunt another of her kind, she was uncertain of what would happen if she came across one with her father next to her. She got to get the basics of how to use her wolf abilities - the heightened senses often helped, but she had to hold back so her father wouldn't get suspicious of her. She even spoke to the wolves sometimes - calling her "Silent Fang" as a representation of her trademark silenced pistol and crossbow. It was the wolves that led her to the other wolfkin.

The wolves told her of him. A man had trapped him and put him in a cage. Elyse had no idea what the man planned on doing with him, but she had to do something. Elyse left home in the middle of the night and went to the location the wolves had shown her. She found the man, golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight, pacing around a cage that was too small for him. Elyse immediately felt pity. She was looking at what could be her future. The man was disheveled, and he looked up at her and growled as she approached. She sent images to the wolves questioning what had happened to him. The responses she got back were frightening. He wasn't a man anymore. He was a wolf now - not in body, but in spirit.

The wolf-man tilted his head in the gesture of a dog asking a question. Elyse didn't know if the wolves had told him that he was a friend or not. The gesture made the tears start. The wolf-man whined and pawed at the cage. Elyse felt sorrow instead of anger - there should have been somewhere he could have gone to learn - someone to help him, but there had been nothing. One thing was certain, Elyse couldn't let the trapper keep him. She pulled out her lock picking kit and worked at the padlock on the cage. It popped open and the wolf-man opened the door, using his nose instead of hands. The tears kept falling as he looked back at Elyse and then turned to bolt into the woods.

It was a few weeks later that her father and mother came over to Elyse's apartment and mentioned that they had noticed Elyse changing over the years. Initially Elyse was afraid that they had discovered her secret, but they just mentioned that maybe it was time for her to leave Denmark and see the world. Things were happening in Moscow, and the Atharim there could use one with her talents and skills. After some thought she agreed to go. She bid farewell to her parents and left for Moscow, hoping she would find people to work with there that might be sympathetic to her cause. The world was changing and the Atharim needed to change with it. She knew her life would be dangerous - more dangerous than it had been - but she had to try when the time was right.

Enzo peered across the table, through dim restaurant lighting to study the face of the woman with whom he shared drinks. She had the hardness of of a tragic life lining her features, which were otherwise lovely. Her high cheekbones cut like the edges of knives she carried in her boots. Strands of ash blonde hair were smoothed tight into a ponytail, pulling the skin of her brow taut. She held the cup of coffee firmly as though she intended to drink it like a shot of liquor. Enzo understood. Caffeine and adrenaline were sometimes an Atharim's greatest drug, but his mentor cautioned against stimulants. They made the mind itch and the skin crawl, he said. Corrado urged patience and study. Nothing less could track the call of a dreyken's song.

"Corrado Sabbatini was the Atharim's greatest living expert in the hunt for dreyken. Yet for the vastness of his knowledge, there remains so much unknown about their kind."
Enzo's pride for his mentor's life work was immense but as one of his pupils, he inherited a burden he was unworthy to bear.

Zuzanka tightened her jaw, disappointed. "So you cannot help me. Is this what you say?"
And Enzo's heart dropped into his stomach.

"No. I will do what I can. Se il vous plaît, tell me of your findings thus far."
He said as he took a drink of ice water. Zuzanka took a nervous look around the room. The light was dim, the booths high-walled, and the conversations quiet. "Don't worry. If one was in here, I'd know."


Her eyes narrowed. "They are not all street-stalkers."


He shrugged, "This is true. Some are incredibly wealthy and well-connected. The monsters of the tunels are easy to dispatch. The ones with brawny assistantes at their command are the ones to respect."
She scoffed, but Enzo cut her off with a look, "Oui, I say 'respect.' If you are to live through this mission, you must respect them."


She sniffed and crossed her arms, "Like Corrado?"
And with her snide remark, a pang cut through Enzo's chest.

He replied softly, "You do not know how he died. Please do not speculate on what you do not know."
Silence stretched between them like shadows.

Her hand laid across his, pulling his gaze upward. "I am sorry. I am short because I am frustrated. I will do as you say. Even respect the creatures that killed my sister."
A squeeze and she released his hand. He was glad of the freedom, but the sudden absence of warmth made his skin feel all the cooler. He took another sip of water. "Let's get started then."

My laptop has decided to be broken again. Trying to load any web pages results in a timeout "this web page is not available" page. My connection is fine because I can use my tablet fine. I'm stumped. Heeeeeeelp!

Continued from: Car doors



Late afternoon and thin streams of daylight made pale stripes out of the blinds covering the windows. They had been closed when he arrived, curtains also, like the occupant of this apartment had not been here in a day or two. Another property was registered to the name Thalia Milton, one in Old Arbat, but appearances in a residence always had more of a personal touch than commercial. In Old Arbat, also, the streets were more closely patrolled.

It was the personal touches that made Adrik Ivanov a valued contractor. For instance, as he scrutinized a wall of books, he plucked from among them a picture of another young girl that resembled Miss Thalia. A sister, Aylin, was a doctor in the city. All evidence suggested close family ties, but in Adrik's experience, even distanced relatives provided suitable pressure points for the shy of voice. But given Thalia's reputation, he doubted the girl would need additional coercion.

As night fell, his investigation of the small Filevesky apartment was fully complete and he retreated to a closet near to wait for Thalia to return home. Just another shadow among a room slated with shades of gray.


Adrik Ivanov
NPC goon

Scion Marveet
PPC



The smell of engine oil and exhaust fumes brought Scion back to his younger days. There was a time when the stoic patriarch of the Marveet empire tuned his own car. A man took a certain sense of pride of caring for his own property whether that property surrounded an engine block or if it were factories sprawling a dozen city streets.

Angel Taxi was a smaller venture in comparison to the world-wide behemoths beneath his name. Yet the company needed care and comfort just as any other. Tonight he strolled into one of several garages in Moscow. Angel was not the largest of its kind in the city, but it was useful. The thing that made Angel Taxi special was their discretion. They saved people in trouble, 'guardians' the drivers liked to joke, but only if they could afford to be saved. Personal angels weren't free.

Two important details led Scion to come to this particular garage on an otherwise fine evening. The hood of the car came into view - that of a Koenigsegg Agera, black with green bio-luminescent stripes - the car his son was driving when he disappeared. Positioned in the middle of the garage, surrounded by Angel Taxis - marked and otherwise - it waited for him.

Scion let his fingers graze the curve of the hood toward the driver's side door. The warmth of his skin left comet trails behind in the touch-sensitive paint. There were finger prints taken from inside this vehicle, but they were inconclusive. The human for whom they belonged did not exist in any network in the world, or so he was told. She existed, that was enough of a lead for Scion Marveet. He opened the driver's side door and imagined his rebellious son lowering onto supple leather seat, anxious to rip out of the city.

The second detail that brought Scion Marveet here this night was presented to him next. Three sets of footsteps shuffled across the cement floors. He let the weight of the door swing open as he turned to gaze upon the man charged with watching his youngest son the night he disappeared. Three months ago.

Scion clasped his hands behind his back, studying the man's face. "Your neck has healed?" He asked of the man. He balked, so Scion explained. "You were shot with a sedative, were you not?" The man grew visibly defensive. The two employees of Scion's whom escorted this man into his presence stepped aside, opening space up between them.

"Yes sir. I said before, many times. To your people, and to these... men." He replied carefully, but not so much as to hide the seething from his voice.

Scion considered a moment. "Now you will tell me."

The man explained the girl that he caught by surprise by Jaxen's car. He described her appearance and everything going dark. He'd hit his head, he'd discovered upon waking, and that he'd called in the event as soon as his mind cleared.

"As soon as your mind cleared? You caught an armed woman breaking into my youngest son's car on the night he disappeared and you called it in as soon as your mind cleared." Expression hardening, Scion's gaze flicked to the pair that escorted this man in here tonight. They stepped aside. Scion never entertained excuses.

Scion snagged the man's shirt in one balled up fist and with the other laid into his scrunched up face. He'd thought he'd left these days behind him, from the years he spent changing his own engine oil, but pride had new roles to play in his life. The man spun beneath the punches, but when Scion trapped his elbow behind him, the arm snapped with a little effort. The man screamed with satisfactory pain, but Jaxen remained unaccounted for, screaming did not bring him back. He brought the man back to his feet and hurled him toward the car. The dent in the three-million dollar Agera was nothing to Scion. No amount of money could replace his youngest child or soothe the nerves of his mother. Thick, trunk-like legs sent Scion's knee into the man's gut where he crumpled in front of the driver's seat, positioned between the car and the open door. Scion fisted his hair and sent that same knee up his nose. He fell back, limp and clutching his face with one hand. Scion stepped forward and slammed the car door into his skull.

Over. And over again. Until the door closed and the body fell away.

He stepped away, pulling a pocket square from his coat and wiping the sweat from his brow, spit from his mouth, and muck from his hands. He dropped it and one of his men offered theirs with which he wrapped knuckles weeping their slow welling of blood.

"What have you found out about the girl?" He asked, leaving the Agera and dead valet behind.

"She flew into Moscow air port on a ticket from the United States last summer. Your friends in government security services have facial matches from a number of different venues, most of them down town. There is a known acquaintance. Some young artist. We'll be speaking with that one next."

Scion nodded. Progress at last.



Continued at Shadows for the shy


Edited by Jaxen Marveet, Apr 19 2015, 11:27 AM.

Age: 32

Origin: Iceland

Occupation: Cop

Psychological description:

Erik is level headed as they come, slow to anger and quick to calm. But even with a mild temperament, the man can hold a stubborn streak a mile wide. His profession is taken very seriously, perhaps overly so. A chronic workaholic, often does he loose himself within the dedication to any given task, relentless to see things through. Erik is a good person, not with out a heart or compassion when the need calls for it. But he has a strong sense of justice, to him, the boundary between good and bad often end up black and white instead of gray.

Physical description:

Average of build, standing 6'1” with broad shoulders and tone muscle, the build of an athlete. Icelandic heritage is accented with steel blue eyes, a mildly pale complexion and short cut-well kept blonde hair.

Biography:

Erik came from an average family background, living with his father, mother and younger brother until he was old enough to start a life of his own. Heavy guidance from an early age helped influence those decisions however. Erik wanted, no...was EXPECTED to follow in his father's footsteps. To be a cop. Though it was a roll he easily fell in to. His younger years, he wanted to please his father and strove to meet expectations. So he never thought of doing anything else.

Not only did he meet expectations, but surpassed them. Completely dedicated to his work, and focused on nothing else. Long hours, and unwavering attitude got Eric far in his new carrier.

Then he met his wife. Love at first sight didn't exist, but it was damn near close enough. She was the only woman he ever dated, or cared so deeply for. They clicked, he adored her, was infatuated. She was sweet, kind, gentle, patient and funny. Erik became less of a workaholic with her around, because she held no expectations from him.

A few years after they were married, they had a child together and their little family was complete. A decent home in a nice neighborhood, proved a stable point for their daughter to grow up. Everything was perfect.

Then everything fell apart. His wife died suddenly. Erik was devastated, it was a heavy emotional blow, and he just wanted to just give up. But of course he couldn't, he had a child after all, responsibilities. So he kept on, and found some comfort in the distraction of work. Something to immerse himself in fully, becoming more so a workaholic once again to run away from his emotions. If he focused on something else he wouldn't be reminded of her.

The dedication to work did not go unnoticed, and eventually Erik was offered a better job opportunity that meant uprooting his broken family to another continent entirely. But Moscow would be a hard city to turn down, and it had promise of giving both himself and his daughter a far better life than Iceland could ever offer.

Alex sat at her computer in her new office. She had a picture of a grand piano sitting on her desk. It was the one she had at her place, one she actually knew how to play, but it sat dormant for years her other hobbies taking precedence over playing the piano. It had once sat in the home of some rich man, he grew tired of it and she purchased it for far less than it was worth.

But it was the article on the clog that had Alex's full attention. Sebastian was wanted, on the run. He'd attacked Ivan, a man she worked with. Alex knew that those two lives would cross paths one day, but this was far beyond anything she could imagine.

Alex knew there was nothing more than sex with Bas, but she did have a place for him in her heart, he was a relatively decent man despite his nature. But it was that nature that brought the Monster squad down on him now. Not only had he attacked a cop he had attacked one of their own. Sebastian was a dead man, if he didn't die in the fight, he would die in prison she was sure of it. He was not a good man. Decency had nothing to do with a personals moral boundaries.

Alex wasn't exactly sure what to do about this, she could easily profile Bas, she knew him personally, she knew some of the places he liked to go. But it meant his certain capture. But he'd hurt Ivan. This was definitely NOT a good place to be.

And Alex was almost certain that the Atharim would be in on this too, and how did you tell the men you worked with that you knew more than you could say, it could cost her everything including her life. Her half-sister was one of these monsters, she was one of them too for all intensive purposes, but the Monster Squad didn't think like the Atharim. But there was little definition of what they were here to do, capture not kill, but how long before that changed. Alex sighed.

Life was going to be sticky for the next few weeks. One way or the other something was going to happen. Alex just wasn't exactly sure how it was going to go down.

Chaos reigned at Izmailovsky Market yesterday as what appears to be a terrorist attack was carried out during the mid-morning rush. Two people are dead while more than a dozen, including a 7 year old boy, were injured when a man, identified as Sebastian Volodin, opened fire on shoppers in the market. According to police records, Volodin had been arrested numerous times, though mostly in connection with mob related activities.

The motive is unclear, but sources close to the investigation say that the attack may have been a preemptive strike on a new department in the CCDPD. What makes this attack all more the startling is the fact that, according to video captured by onlookers, Volodin appears to be using some sort of unknown energy weapon.

[video montage of recordings embedded in news report]

What you're seeing here honestly seems to defy explanation. The images call to mind those months earlier recorded in Jeddah, DV. In view of the press release given at that time, this new attack raises questions regarding the appearance of people with special abilities. Repeated inquiries from the Consulate of Communications have not been answered, though one source has admitted that the Executive Office of the Ascendancy took very seriously the possible threat people like this could pose, should the stories turn out to be true.

Lending credence to this and to the current belief that this was a preemptive terrorist strike is the fact that the attack appeared to be focused on Sargent Ivan Sarkozy, an officer in the CCDPD. A native Muscovite, Sarkozy recently was transferred to the newly formed Domovoi division of the CCDPD. While Domovoi officially appears to be a special response team for terrorist attacks, there are indications that its focus is specifically geared toward the danger that people with special abilities might pose. The unnamed source in the Consulate of Communcitions has stated 'the EOA is committed to the safety of people across all Dominances no matter how unlikely and that Domovoi is just one of many means the Ascendancy is using.'



Volodin's whereabouts are currently unknown, though all forms of surveillance are being used to find him. He is known to be an associate of the Mordvinov family, a group that has lately been under increasing scrutiny by police for money laundering, racketeering, and other activities associated with organized crime. The connection to terrorism is a new development, though, ensuring they will come under still more attention.

Sarkozy and the other injured were taken to the hospital and we have yet to receive word on their condition. If you see Vololdin, please contact the CCDPD at the number below. The CCDPD emphasize the extreme danger the man poses, however, so please take all necessary precautions.

[comments open]


Edited by Marcus DuBois, May 6 2015, 10:07 PM.