Re: Hope's Battle [Private/Mature]

[Scylothia]

"Well, now that your libido's been taken care of, you won't have my good looks distracting you, so we can discuss our situation a little more civilly." Kai said, stroking her hair. "I need a way to get back into Artemis's temple without anything going wrong, and you need a way to free yourself from the hiefer bitch's crede. It seems we have a slight situation on our hands."

Deluge paused at the question. He'd been in hiding so long that he'd learned to be dodgy about any inquiries into his identity. So, for now, he compromised. "...Let's juust sey tha' I'm the lest of en ancient end mythic rece, alrigh'?"
He wafted the scent up to his sharp nose again, and proceeded to lead them down the cross-country route the daemons had fled upon.
Dianna had taken to flight again, easily keeping silent pace with the two males.

She was met at the door by Natzaa, and he looked at her sadly. "....I suppose all I'll say to you is all you'll have ears for: I'm sorry, and take care of yourself out there, child."
He wasn't in view very long as he slipped back into the shadows. "...You mean more to me than you know; maybe one day you'll realize that."

[tigresswarrior]

"your good looks? Now that's funny," she teased with a smirk. "I can get you in, right under their noses," she stated, watching him. "I can create illusions, make people see what isn't there, or make people not see what right in front of them." it amused her, making people feel like they were going crazy, as she often played such tricks as she was growing up. It wasn't until she got older that she didn't use it to trick people or her own amusement, but to use it when she really needed it.

[silverwolflady]

Angelus shrugged at his response, following him easily at a lazy lope. sounds interesting.. i am sure Mirage would like to hear it too.. she is of course.. a bit rare herself.. being a hybrid and all though those are not uncommon.. its what she is a hybrid of that is uncommon.. and she will skin me alive if she so much catches me doing this. he looked up at Dianna now, almost wanting to hear her voice in his head again.

Mirage gave a slight gasp as he turned around quickly and nearly dropped a few things, never in her life had she had anyone get the drop on her, but her own father managed to do just that.. Frowning at his words and the sad note in his voice she scowled.. '' oi. get back here and explain that. '' she hissed, trying to keep calm so as not to wake her mother, stalking across the room where she had spotted him before he disappeared , she managed to follow him. '' sorry for what? .. and i would seriously choose your words wisely and i am not a child . geeez. i am well over twenty.. definitely not a child. ''

[Scylothia]

"oh really, now?" The foxen youth teased. he leaned foreward and kissed her neck. "Sounds good. I suppose we should work out the particulars another time--sun's coming up, well, it is here; and I reckon we both need sleep." he offered her his hand.
"Are you ready to head home?"

Deluge said little else, intense and hot on the trail. So, it was Dianna that broke the silence. "So, tell me, why are you in that form? Seems sort of difficult to prowl around Orleans looking like a wolf."

"I've said all I need to. And no matter how old you will become, especially now," he said, in the shadows and moving away. "you will always be my little girl, despite how you feel about me." And with that, the jackal said no more.

[tigresswarrior]

Nadi smirked at him, and took his hand, feeling rather sleepy, and also a bit sore, in a good way. "mm I'm ready to go home," she replied, lazily, and stretched a bit. "You are still bad for stealing from her."

[silverwolflady]

angelus sighed. she just asked the one question he hated. glancing up at her feathery form he shrugged. *long story... short version.. something horrible happened and now i am stuck. unable to shift back. trust me i have tried. *

Mirage glared at the spot where her father had been feeling a wave of guilt and now depression hitting her. guilt for how she made him think on what she thought of him. depressed because he just so coldly reminded her of her current state and how she got there. she really hated all men at this point now. and was cursing the day the fates decide its her turn for a mate. Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat she turned her back to him before a tear could betray her. which said tear was now running down her cheek. *traitorous body*. feeling miserable now she headed for the door. ."thanks for that one dad. and here i thought you wanted to get along"

[Scylothia]

"Oh I never said I wasn't." Kai said, taking her hand and flashing her home. He scoope her up in his arms, and placed her on her bed. Leaning down, he tucked her in, and gave her a kiss before saying, "Forgive me for rutting and running, my friend, but we're technically supposed to be enemies at the moment." He nuzzled her a moment, then rose and left--saying nothing about the black rose now in her grasp.
"I'll see you around, my friend."
The young thief slipped out of her window, and worked his way down into the narrow alleys of the city. He resumed, reluctantly, his full human shape before pausing and casually slipping away into the crowd. He followed the flow of people across town to the low rent district, and into an abandoned boarding house where he'd been staying.
The bow wasn't here; he'd hidden it well away from the city. However, other, less valuble items he'd pilfered were stashed here. Where they had been it was already sunrise, but here it was still night, and he was feeling a bit tired.
He attended to his toiletries, then just as he was lying down for the night, he felt a stinging hot burn in his right hand. "What the--!" he growled, flicking on the lamp and hastily glared down at his hand. The bayou was home to some nasty insects and if one had just bitten him, he could be in serious trouble, even for a FaeFox.
"....what... the hell?" he muttered, inspecting an exotic marking that had appeared there in his aching palm. Then it dawned on him what it was, and what Nadi was, and what it meant.
"oh no, no no nononono no....." he said, a level of panic rising within.
He got up, got dressed, and headed out into the street, uttering a colorful stream of curses.
He looked intently at every beautiful woman he passed on the street, but... nothing. He slipped into a bar that he often haunted, where he'd scored many of his ladies. But... again nothing. He tried this all night, but, nothing, absolutely nothing sparked his libido into life.
He sighed, and made it back home an hour before dawn, and fell asleep, fully dressed, and slept heavily. Things had just gotten very complicated for him.

Dianna clicked her beak. Deluge was a few yards ahead, scouting out the daemons' day old trail. She landed on the wolf's shoulders, and hopped up to his head, leaning down to look at him in the eyes, tilting her head upside down. "We'll have to remedy that, won't we, Angel? I may have an idea that may help you."

It was then that Natzaa came up beside her, and took her hand into his own. "I do wish to get along."
He gave her a hug, then spoke softly once more. "Follow Angel's trail. I have a feeling he's up to no good. Probably tracking down those bastards for you."

[tigresswarrior]

Nadi smiled softly as he flashed her home and carried her to her bed. It was sweet of him to tuck her in, but it did annoy her that he wasn't going to stay. Her gaze shifted to the black rose in her hand, then glanced back to him, watching as he slipped out her window. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, and started to drift off to sleep, when she felt a stinging, burning pain in her right hand. Gasping, she sat up, and looked at her hand, staring with horror as the exotic marking appeared on her palm. She rubbed at it, this couldn't be happening, she couldn't be tied to Kai. The fates were cruel, and had terrible timing. Those who were hunting her would probably hunt her harder now, especially since Kai was a Fae-Fox, and she already had mixed blood. "Damn it."

[silverwolflady]

Angelus stopped in his tracks again as her pretty little head popped into his view after she landed on his head, blinking in surprise his blue gaze watched her , ears twitching in curiousity at her words. remedy that? , pretty little thing, i been trying to do that ever since this stupid thing happened. how in the hell do you plan on fixing it? he was definitely intrigued now, glancing at Deluge he began moving again, not wanting to get left behind as he continued on.

Mirage froze when he grabbed Natzaa grabbed her hand, turning to him she prepared to give him another verbal lashing , but once again , he shocked the hell out of her by pulling her into a hug,only thing she was able to do was automatically put her arms around his waist, habit from when she hugged either angelus or Nadi, then he made her feel even more guiltier by his words, before hearing him speak of angelus. '' gah , its Angelus, not angel, .. he is not a woman you know.. '' grumbled, before frowning.. '' wait.. what do you mean follow him? .. oh that idiot.. '' now she was pissed at Angelus and planned on kicking his furry hide when she found him... glancing back at Natzaa she sighed, trying to keep her nasty snippets to herself for once.. '' thanks for the umm.. tip... mind letting me go now? this is starting to feel... awkward. '' .. awkward was just the nicer way she was putting it. she had a few other choice words she would have liked to say but right now her time was limited.

[Scylothia]

The next evening, after some careful thinking throughout the day, and some getting used to the idea, the young thief slipped into Nadi's room. Tucked under his arm was a package of things.
He sat and watched her sleep for a bit, hoping that he remembered enough about her for this to work.
A moment later, he sat at the ead of her bed, enticing her into conciousness by holding a fresh, warm beignet beneath her nose.
"Come to now..." he said softly. "I have plenty more to share."

~~~

"'Pretty little thing'? You flatter me, good sir. But yes, I do have a thought. Tell, me have you looked at the fundamental causes of your situation? It seems to me that the reason you're stuck in this form is because, for whatever you witnessed or did, you have yet to forgive yourself. Your body seized up into its feral state as a response to 'fight or flight', and it's you and you alone who is holding yourself back."

~~~

Natzaa smiled, and released her. "Arty's left you in my charge, instead of sending you to Acheron. So don't do anything foolish, alright? Good luck. I'll have a breakfast ready for you when you get home.
"Your favorite." he promised, then left her to her own devices, putting a kiss on the sleeping Victoria's cheek as he went to his own room.

[tigresswarrior]

Nadi had eventually fallen asleep, nothing she can do about what the fates did. Her dreams were troubled, it usually didn't bother her that she was being hunted, but now her dreams were filled with what would happen when she gets discovered that she's mated to a FaeFox. Eventually her dreams drifted to beignet's, and she thought that was weird, and slowly she started to wake up, the scent of beignet's filling her nose. It took her a moment to realize it was real, and her eyes opened, a bit startled. Kai came into focus, and she sat up, eying him cautiously. "Kai!"

[silverwolflady]

he gave a wolfish grin at her first few words i speak the truth, i am sure your friend over there would agree on you being a pretty little thing.. hmm? he gave a grunt at her next words, the pain of losing his sister came up all over again so he lowered his head and just followed deluge for a while. just keeping silent before his gaze went to the bird again. i do not know what your talking about.. i am not blaming myself for anything. he of course was still denying it even if in his heart and mind he did blame himself.

she snorted as she eyed him once he let her go. '' good luck? have you forgotten where i come from? i don't need luck.. and hey its not my fault trouble finds me. '' mumbled before perking up at the sound of her favorite breakfast, but didn't say anything as she eyed him, men... so eager to please.. lord help me if the fates are that cruel to me... shaking her head she headed out of the house and did as she was told and followed angelus's scent, which lead her all the way back to the park. she found the spot where she had been killed, no necklace in sight though which meant someone must have picked it up.. Keeping up a good pace though she continued on following his trail. picking up others as well. a bird of sorts and something or someone else that smelled so much like.. well.. ireland, she loved that clean smell. It was fresh and pleasing.'' damn angelus, who the hell did you find this time?"

[Scylothia]

He chuckled warmly in his velvety tone, and bent down to kiss her forehead before breaking the beignet in half and tapping a dollop of the cream cheese filling onto her lips.
"Evening, my friend." he said, pulling her pillow--her head still on it--into his lap as he scooched closer. "How was your day?"

~~~~

"Oh, Angel, you're not being honest." she said, clicking her beak. "That's something else we'll need to remedy."

Deluge stopped, and dropped to the ground, army-crawling a short way and looking down from the small hill onto another part of the area, where the daemons were taunting another victim.
"Kep et daywn." he warned his comrades.

[tigresswarrior]

Her gaze watched him, studying him, a bit uneasy by his attention, and him being there, waking her up. She would have been angry, except he distracted her with the beignet, and she licked at the cream cheese filling he tapped on her lips, and then he had to pull her head into his lap. This... romancing stuff... seemed so weird to her. "You sneaky bastard coming in and distracting me with beignet's." she stated with minor annoyance, not really a morning person, though he did soften it by getting her favorite. "Don't tell me you're only here to because of this?" she rubbed at her marked palm.

[silverwolflady]

he gave a slight grunt, narrowing his eyes at Dianna, wondering how the hell she knew he was lieing. blinking at Deluge's words he qent quiet and slowly moved over to him, of course keeping low to the ground to keep being detected as he looked over the small hill to see the daemon's tormenting another person, this one truly human and losing their soul. Grimacing he slid a look to Deluge. thats them alright, the one in the middle, the taller one. he is the one that dealt the killing blow..

Mirage moved silently through the park , she was quick to follow the trail and her long legs where quickly eating up the ground. the wind was making it a little harder to keep on the trail though since she was still in her human form, she did not want to shift yet though, that would mean losing most of her weapons.

When she felt she was getting closer she took to the tree's, again moving as silent as a snake as she came up upon her friend who was laying next to some huge beefy looking man. he caught her attention easily but she forced herself to look away as she spotted the bird on Angelus's head. what the bloody hell is that?... geez i am going to kick your arse Angelus... she narrowed her eyes at her friend before looking up ahead and seeing the group of daemons. eyes widening she had to tense her body up to keep from just shooting out of that tree and going after them, the human it looked like was no longer able to be saved, but the human's soul.. if she killed the one who had taken it, she could save the soul. Already her mind was going into battle mode.

[Scylothia]

Kai leaned down and gave her a kiss. "Well, no, but it does play a part in it. I'm here because I want to see my friend, and because I feel the need to apologize for leaving you high and dry last night. It's just that we're supposed to be enemies at this point in time."
He massaged her shoulders as he cradled her head in his lap. "It appears.... that we have much to talk about, does it not?

Dianna scoffed at Mirage’s remark, and nipped her newfound friend’s pristine white ear, then took off. ”Pfft, I suppose I’m no longer wanted here. Have fun.”
And with that, in annoyance and in some anger, the pretty barn owl took off, and flew away, putting great distance between them and flying back to the city.
Deluge sighed. …Women… he thought. He didn’t understand what Dianna’s problem was, until he caught scent of Mirage, and looked up into the tree, smelling nothing but female. He caught his breath, and he could feel his loins stir, but he disregarded it. The days of dragonslayers were long gone, but he was too used to hiding what he is to give in easily.

[tigresswarrior]

This was too much. "I don't need excuses or apologies, it didn't matter that you left," she told him, annoyed that he was even bringing it up. She sat up, getting creeped out by him massaging her shoulders, and shoved a hand through her hair. A bit frusterated, she pushed to her feet, she stalked toward the bathroom, grabbing the comb and brushing it through her hair, a bit angerly, not angry with him, but with the situation.

[silverwolflady]

Angelus gave a wolfish grin as his new found friend nipped at him, he kinda liked her. fly well little dianna.. i will see you soon hopefully. she was a smart ass but he liked that about her. glancing at deluge and sniffing the air agian he gave a huff, too many damn scents and it was confusing him. and the wind was not to his favor either.

Mirage narrowed her eyes at the bird as it took off, shaking her head she sighed as she slid a look to the two men now below her.. her friend Angelus would get his butt kicked later, the other one. she had no idea who he was, and she didn't like unknown men near her friends.. even if he was handsome. She allowed her gaze to stray over his body slowly , her eyesight picking up on every piece of material on him, including to her delight , as a plan formed in her head, a shiny bit of weaponry hooked to his hip.

my my, this little piggy has something i like. Not wanting to waste any more time or risk being discovered already, she sprung into action , using her inhuman speed as she shot out of the tree, landing right between the two, which ironically scared the hell out of Angelus who literally jumped three feet into the air. she even heard his heart beat faster. within a second her gaze went to Deluge just as her hand shot out, snatched the weapon from his waist and shoved him onto his side, giving a slight salute, unsure if he could see it before she grinned and sprinted off towards the group.

Angelus squeaked as Mirage of all people popped out of no where, nearly giving him a bloody heart attack before she sprinted off.. mirage wait!!!. damn it. he turned to Deluge gave a slight snarl, not at him, just the situation. catch her, she is newly changed and if she dies again she is doomed.

Mirage was already to the group, her speed had gotten faster as she broke the group up, her talented fingers already worked the blade of Deluge's unique weapon out and had it buried into one chest of the daemon, watching him burst before she threw two throwing daggers at two that tried to rush her, both burst into golden dust, souls of the night being released, she was shocked by how well she was doing, how clam her mind was as she ducked and turned and struck , anticipating every move of the deamons till there was only one left. The on that killed her, she narrowed her eyes as she spotted the necklace she had lost , now around the daemons throat.. '' i will take that back after i rip your bloody heart out. '' growled low, watching him circle her, this one, she knew not to rush, he was smarter then the others curious how that happened but she could easily see the cunning in his eyes.

[Scylothia]

Kai sighed, silently cursing the fates and thier meddling attitudes. They couldn't just make it simple, could they? Oh hell no.
So, as he watched her walk away, he changed the subject. "Remember wat back when, when we were kids and we caught that crab down at the shore, and it nearly ripped my finger off?"
He looked at the scarred webbing between his middle and index fingers, on his right hand. "And the whole time the tide was washing in, and I was so paranoid that an army of crabs was going to come out of the water and attack me?"

~~~

Deluge offered a mumbled but colorful stream of curses, first at being jumped, then at having his primary weapon--which shared a surprising connection to him, hence it's odd hooklike shape, a flat blade harder than any metal still known to man, and that never lost its edge--stolen so effectively. He never let his guard down enough for that.
But, sure as hell, she'd done it. "Who the hell wos tha'?" he growled, keeping his voice low.

When Angelous snarled at him, he snarled back. "The unnleh theng we cen do for 'er is stey out ov her wey."
But, as he watched the battle, for some bizarre reason he couldn't understand, he felt the urge to get down there and help her.
But Deluge was no fool. When he saw her square up with the one in charge, his spine tingled, and he knew she'd be in trouble, and he growled. "Looks like we ned a distraction..." He looked at Angelous's white tail, just swishing away, and got an idea. "Thes mey steng a lettle...." he said, then jumped up and came back down, jabbing his foot down on the wolf's tail, his full weight behind it--and his ears covered.

[tigresswarrior]

Nadi smiled as he brought up the crab story. She slowed down her brushing, it was so angry on her hair. After a moment, she set the brush down and tied her hair back, and went to him. "you were such a baby, but I bandage you up," she told him, with a smile. The memories she had with him were good and seemed to always relax her.

[silverwolflady]

Angelus turned his gaze back to Mirage giving a slight grunt to Deluge's question on who she was. that is Mirage, my friend. . .. surprises me she got the drop on us. including you. he twitched his ears, hearing deluge do something behind him before hearing his words. whats that? he barely got the chance to look behind himself and see Deluge take to the air and then come back down full weight and all, on his tail... he gave a loud yelp before it went high pitched even more into a very loud and painful howl.

Mirage jerked a little at hearing the howl, wondering what the hell that was but she was less surprised by it , than the daemon as she watched him completely jerk around, shocked and surprised, grinning she struck then, slamming into his back and pulling his head back. '' big mistake'' she barely whispered it into his ear, hearing his shocked gasp before she brought the blade up that she had stolen from deluge and raked it quickly across the daemon's throat, grabbing her necklace in the process before jamming the blade into his chest, forcing its way through the chest plate and piercing his heart. she watched his eyes widen before he too died in their usual golden dust way.

slowly relaxing and closing her eyes just as the sky's opened up with one of its famous unexpected rain showers, she lifted her head up to it, allowing the droplets to run down her face and wash away the dirt and grim before she looked down to her necklace. the clasp, thankfully wasn't broke, it just had given in to when she yanked it off the daemon. she took a moment to put it back into its place before slipping it around her neck once more and tucked it under her shirt. '' mmm i feel better now. '' and she did, only problem was now she knew she had to start working for the heifer goddess..

glancing around and wondering exactly who had done the howling she tucked the stolen blade into her shirt, careful not to harm herself with it as she effectively hid it and stalked back to where she had seen Angelusl's and his new friend, giving a low growl of frustration as she spotted him'' oi, angelus i am going to kick your furry hide,.. what the bloody hell where you thinking chasing after them? .. '' she slid a look to deluge then easily dismissed him as her gaze went down to Angelus who just gave her one of his famous cocky wolf grins. '' thats not gunna work on me pal. your in trouble.. its the leash for you again..'' she scowled, though she was teasing on the leash thing as she knelt down in front of him and slid her fingers through his thick fur, lightly kissing his nose. '' you scared me today you know.. don't go around stealing my revenges.. now whose your buddy?" now she slid her gaze up to deluge again , this time giving him her attention.

[Scylothia]

Kai chuckled, smiling. But though he was tempted to pull her closer, to breathe her in, but he behaved and kept his hands to himself. "Heheheh, yeah, and I was bawling for twenty minutes until my mom came and took over."

~~~~

"...Deluge. Me neme's Deluge, Mess Mirage." The gorgeous man with the stark blue eyes turned to the wolf. "Eh, sorreh abou' ye tail, lad. Et'll be jest feine."
Then, in a very ballsy move, Deluge took Mirage's hand into his own and kissed the back of it.
"A pleasure to meet you."

Watching from a tree a few yards away, Dianna clicked her beak.

[tigresswarrior]

Nadi chuckled and sat beside him, a bit relaxed now. She took a beignet, and ate a little of it. "such a momma's boy," she teased, playfully. Just talking seemed easier than the seducing and romancing.

[silverwolflady]

Angelus closed his eyes enjoying the kiss from her that she planted on his nose before glancing to deluge and gave a snort. yea right.. just wait.. i am gunna tail Dianna you abused her new friend. he teased before tensing as he watched what deluge was about to do. dude i wouldn't do that if you want to keep your balls.

To late Mirage already reacted, he had taken her by surprise when he took her hand and planted a kiss on the back of it, though her hand felt warm on the spot his lips had been, still , she hated surprise and she reacted instantly , yanking her hand from his and grabbing his wrist , yanking him forward and used his momentum against him as she turned him around and twisted his arm behind him, pushing it up into a very painful position.. Leaning forward and slightly had to stand on her toes to reach his ear she gave a slight growl.. '' lets just get one thing straight here little Deluge... i do not like surprise touches and i do not like others touching me without permission.. '' she had to hold off from closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, he smelled good, and now she knew what that fresh scent was back on the trail before she spotted them.

her grip loosened a little however as her thumb now stroked his wrist where she could feel his pulse.. it was odd, she rarely liked anyone by the first meet but apparently she was liking him a little, '' just remember that .. wouldn't want to hurt your pretty little self now would we?"

Angelus tried not to snicker as he laid down now before looking up into the tree's. oh little dianna .. wanna come join?

[Scylothia]

The young fox grinned. "I always have been. Never knew my father, though my mom told me many times he was a legendary thief, a master of tactic and of cunning;"
He massaged her shoulders, his eyes gentle. He was only in his human form at the moment, but he was debating transforming. He always felt more comfortable and relaxed in his true skin.
"...They were only together a couple of weeks, my parents, before he moved on. He was only there long enough to service her season. And that's all she really wanted him around for, and so, well, here I am." He paused for a short while, just rubbing her down, before he spoke again.
"I don't begrude him for it, though. He treated her well, from what she's told me. I think she remembers those weeks very fondly."
He smiled. "I hope, maybe one day I'll cross paths with him."

~~~~~

Deluge was caught off guard, certainly, by Mirage's brutal assault. But he simply 'tsk'ed and used a series of inhumanly swift and surprisingly powerful moves he quickly forced a reversal of her grip. Scottish though he may be, he'd spent time in the East. He tusseled her around, back and forth--even rolling the both of them over poor Angelous once or twice. finally, he got the drop on her, pinning her belly down on the ground, using a hold that forced almost his entire body to lay upon hers. Then it was his turn to whisper into her ear--his arm and shoulder aching from her earlier grip on him.
"Trust me, my lovely Dark-Huntress, there is very little even your kind can do to hurt me."

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