Shadowess

"I know you do," Kodi said to her gently. "And I don't doubt for a second that you can handle yourself. But, if I can help it, I'd rather not put you in a position where you have to. Understand? We have enough to worry about with trying to find Clem... I don't want to have to worry about you being in danger, too. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt." --- Kris had been about to answer her when she surprised him with a kiss. He froze for a moment, but as he realised she wasn't hurting him, he relaxed into the kiss while wrapping his arms around her. He could easily have lost himself to his desires there and then, but that would have cheapened his words to her. He wanted her to know that he genuinely saw her as a person and not a source of entertainment. So, he gently pulled back to look at her while caressing her cheek with his thumb. "You're welcome to stay here. Not as a prisoner. As my guest," he said to her while gently pulling away. He'd opened his mouth to say something else when the worst noise he could ever hear rang throughout his den. On the otherside of the hideout, Drake had returned from his duty of pickpocketing drunkerds along the high streets. He stumbled into the entryway and fell to his knees while crying out and then slammed his fist into the floor. He was shaking. His clothes were roughed up and torn in random areas. His hair was a mess, and he was covered in cuts and bruises. He was shaking from a mixture of rage and fear as his tears dripped onto the stone floor. His skin and clothes were specked with blood, not all of it his. As soon as he heard him, Kris teleported into the room and, for a moment, was so taken aback by the sight that he didn't react immediately. Then he spotted the telltale wounds on his neck, his forearm and his wrist. "Fucking leeches!" He seethed as he hurried forward and knelt beside Drake. "What happened?" he demanded. Drake didn't look up. Too ashamed to look Kris in the eyes. He closed his eyes tightly, more tears falling to the ground as he tried to talk, but the words just wouldn't come. Kris gave him a moment and then gripped his shoulders to make him sit upright. "Drake! Look at me! Breathe! Tell me what happened. Who did this? Where?" Breathing heavily, Drake opened his eyes and grimaced as he tried to regain enough composure to speak. "Th-they ambushed us, sir. D-down by the high street. We fought 'em off, but our magic didn't even affect them! They- they got Benny! They took him, and I couldn't stop them! I couldn't-! They-!" he half gestured to the bite marks. "I couldn't-!" his voice broke, and he looked in danger of breaking down completely. "Drake. Listen to me- Listen to me!" Kris said and gave the boy a little shake when he looked like he was about to lose it. "I need you to hold it together now. I'm going to get Benny back, but right now I need you to hold it together and tell me what happened." Drake nodded determinedly and caught his breath. "I didn't get a good look at them. They were moving too fast, and they were wearing masks. They'd swoop in, hit us and then they'd be gone before we could get a hit in. They pulled us into an alley. They kept toying with us. Mocking us. Said we were on their turf- but that's such bullshit!" "Focus!" "R-right. We tried magic. Benny put up a shield, but they passed right through it like it was nothing. I threw fire, but they blew it out like a fucking birthday candle! They said they were going to make examples out of us and tried to grab us. We fought with everything we had. They separated us. They-..." he placed his hand over the wound on his neck. "I managed to break free and made a run for it. I-... I couldn't get to Benny. There were too many of them. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Benny!" Drake broke down into sobs, and Kris watched him for a moment before getting to his feet. His boys being attacked so openly was concerning enough. Even more alarming is how these vampires had resisted magic, and it wasn't like Drake & Benny were inexperienced Tricksters. They were quite skilled for their age. More than capable of defending themselves, or so he'd thought. But there wasn't time for speculation now. One of his boys needed him. "Go with Blake and get cleaned up." He growled, barely containing his rage. Not angry with Drake, but at the nerve of the leeches who had so brazenly attacked their gang. Behind his tinted glasses, his eyes had a faint glow. "Lock the place down while I'm gone. I'm going to have a chat with our sanguineous neighbours," he added while moving his neck from side to side to crack it. --- "Sounds good to me," Oscar said while tightening his grip on the man as he struggled. "Quit squirming!" he said to him irritably. "I'm ready!" Viktor smiled widely. Thoughts of seeing his sister again filled him with hope. --- "I'm going to enjoy gutting you again, Lucy." Uriel* sneered at Lucretia. Not a fighter, Raziel moved behind her and continued backing away from them. Uriel*'s eyes darted around as he quickly realised he was outnumbered. But he didn't dare return to his leader without either one of Death's heirs or the prophet at the very least. Going back empty-handed would be suicide. He lifted his sword, and its flames brightened for an instant as he readied himself to fight them off. Hearing Jean's words caused him to laugh maniacally. "You think I give a shit?! I'm going to cut every last one of you down! Except you, Raziel! You're coming with me!" "Reapers, disarm and subdue him, if possible! I'm sure our King will have some questions for him!" Andi barked at the armoured Reapers. Each of them held scythes of their own. Not as large or grand as Death's scythe, but still as capable of causing serious damage. David, looking a little pale himself after having had a sip of wine earlier, otherwise looked as determined to bring Uriel* down as the others. Blood had dripped from his broken nose and coated his shirt, but he barely seemed to notice as all of his focus was on Uriel*. Hannes had also picked up a lime knife from one of the bars and had run over to join the fray. Tom, being a blood drinker like Hannes, Jean, and Shezmu, hadn't had any wine. So, unsure of what else to do, he stayed close to Nate. Outside, the rest of the party had floated onto the lawn. Hearing Dariel, Amelia struggled to her feet. "Like hell am I going anywhere." She said, sounding a little drunk, but of course, this was more from the effect of the poison in her system. She tried to march back inside but stumbled and fell to her knees as the world seemed to spin. "Fuck!" she seethed, knowing she couldn't fight in this state, but she also couldn't just leave. As a Queen, she had a duty to defend not only her people but those she hoped to build a stable alliance with. "Ash! The rest of our Royal Guard are drugged. I need you here!" she called out. She then racked her mind, trying to think of anyone else who could help them. Having been avoiding seeing him since his return, she had to steel herself as she brought herself to also call out, "Damien! I need your help!" Immediately, Damien appeared. He stared around their surroundings and then curiously at the gaggle of what appeared to be drunks strewn across the lawn. "Wow! Why wasn't I invited to this party?" He said with an eyebrow raised. Amelia looked up at him. Unsure whether to address her fury that he hadn't been to see her and her family since his return from Oblivion, or whether she simply wanted to get up and hug him. By the looks of things, her brother had an equal mixture of awkward feelings regarding their reunion. "I need your help." She breathed, trying again to get to her feet. Hopefully, by now, Ash would arrive so she could tell them both at the same time. She pointed towards the castle. "Rogue Angel. He looks like Uriel, but he isn't him. He's twisted. Wrong. And he's taking orders from someone. There's something bigger going on here, I just know it-" She paused when Damien grinned and held up his hand to quiet her. "You had me at 'Rogue Angel'." He chuckled darkly. "Leave it to me, sis." "We need him alive!" She barked after him as he began marching into the castle. Whether he heard her or not wasn't certain as he kept on walking casually without once looking back. Awkwardly, Amelia glanced at Charles. Wondering what he thought of her brother. Nearby, Robb had stumbled over to a nearby bush and began throwing up into it. "Ugh! It's like that night I got drunk in Vegas all over again..." he grumbled. "Lilly! I'm coming!" Bob yelled as he struggled to his feet and tried to run back into the castle. "Bob, get back here, you lunatic!" Sameal yelled after him. In the empty room, Azrael groaned in pain and clutched his wound while taking sharp breaths between his teeth. He could taste blood in his mouth as he lifted a hand to cup Death's cheek. Uriel*'s blade was famous for its destructive power. Like the weapons of many Arch Angels, and even like Death's Scythe, it was capable of not just killing, but also the utter destruction of the soul. There was no doubt in his mind. He was dying. More than that, he could feel himself coming undone as his very essence began to unravel. Tears fell from his eyes as he stared into Death's. Despair filled his voice as he wept. "No, it's not fair! Just when we found our happiness! We were just getting started!" Lilly's eyelids scrunched up for a moment before she opened them. Her head was pounding as she lifted her hand to her head. Completely disoriented for a moment, she looked up at her brother. "Raven?" She looked around, and her eyes widened as she saw Death cradling the gravely wounded Azrael. "Father!" she gasped. She saw the very edges of Azrael's physicality lifting, disintegrating. Falling away from him and vanishing. It was something she hadn't seen before, and for a moment she was mesmerised by the sight of it. But very quickly, the horror of what was happening to him sank in, and she gasped as she flung herself to kneel beside them. "N-no! What's happening? What's wrong with him? How do we stop it?!" Azrael looked from her back to Death sadly as he tried to hide his grimaces of pain. This was obliteration. Once the process had started, there was nothing that could stop it. Until only recently, coming back from Oblivion had also been impossible. It was the final death. The true end of an immortal's life. "Ch-children. Keep each other safe." Azrael choked out the words as he tried to hold back his tears. He wanted his final moments to mean something. He didn't want them to remember his fear or pain. Just his love for them. Even as his fingers began to feel brittle, he caressed Death's cheek. "Look after your father..." He strained to smile at him lovingly. "He's going to need you now more than ever. Be each other's strength." Lilly began to weep quietly. But even as she listened to him, she couldn't accept it. Stubborn as she was, she was determined to save him. She thought about how she'd healed Death during her training. She knew she was capable. Perhaps not strong enough and certainly not on her own. But she wasn't alone! She quickly lifted her hands over him and focused. "Lilly..." Azrael said softly with a sad smile and shook his head as if to tell her it wouldn't work. "No!" Lilly snapped at him. "I refuse to let you go! I refuse to believe this is how you end!" Her dark eyes became green, and her green aura began to envelope her. Then, as she willed it to help him, it sprang from her to Azrael. Enveloping them both. Even as it did, she felt her power would not be enough. If she continued, she would be destroyed along with him. "Help me!" she cried. "I can't do this alone!" Back inside the castle, the fight had already started. Andi's scythe had crossed with Uriel*'s sword. In one fluid movement, Andi had moved his scythe around in a circle to break his sword from his grip and send it across the room. As soon as the hilt had left its owner's hand, the sword's flames had died out. Immediately, Hannes had run to try to pick it up. But as soon as his hand wrapped around the hilt, an electric current shot through him and with an explosive bang, he was sent flying across the room. He struck the wall and was immediately knocked out from the force. The sword clattered back to the floor once more. As if it had its own sentience, it would only allow one person to wield it. Uriel*. Now disarmed, Uriel* ducked away from Andi and dodged the Reapers that tried to make a grab for him. He began running towards his sword, and David quickly stood in his way. David punched him across the face, making Uriel* grin. "That's all you got?" he asked as he spat blood on the floor. "I'm just getting warmed up," David smirked as he took off his suit jacket and tossed it to the ground. They exchanged blows. For the most part, despite the light dose in his system, David managed to keep pace with the Archangel. They blocked each other's punches, and each managed to get a good number of hits on the other. Just as David thought he was beginning to get the upper hand after knocking out one of Uriel*'s teeth, the Arch Angel growled, "Enough of this!" and pulled out a concealed knife that he used to stab him in the stomach. David gasped and groaned in surprise before falling to his knees. The burning sensation told him all he needed to know. Even the concealed knife had been made out of Angelic Steel. Grinning evilly, Uriel* had been about to aim the knife for David's heart this time when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. He hadn't felt strength like it, and pulling out of this hold felt immensely difficult. He felt the pain in his neck, quickly accompanied by the euphoric sensation and knew that the Blood God had managed to get a taste of him. This wasn't good for him. With blood came memories, and he couldn't compromise his leader's plans. Lifting his hand, he summoned his sword to him. It flew dangerously across the hall towards him, narrowly missing Lucretia as it flew. As soon as the hilt hit his palm, he gripped it tightly. Flames burst across it once more, and he jabbed the ball end of the hilt to the side of his head, smacking Shezmu's face and knocking him away. He turned rapidly while swinging his sword in a circle, catching a few Reapers along the way who had happened to get too close in that moment. They each fell, clutching their wounds and despairing as Azrael had been, as they each felt themselves coming undone. But they were not who he'd been aiming for, and just when he'd turned enough to strike Shezmu, he roared in frustration as the Blood God had already darted out of reach of his weapon. Seething and turning to see more of Andi's reapers attempting to surround him, along with Andi and Shezmu. His eyes darted to Raziel and Lucretia. Growing desperate, he teleported to them again. Distancing himself from the group and taking the small opportunity to attempt to try to grab the prophet again. He raised his sword, ready to swing it at Lucretia, when something hot sent him hurtling back. Coughing and feeling fresh burns to his face, neck and arms, he looked up furiously to see who had thrown the fireball at him. His eyes landed on Damien, who was grinning eagerly. His emerald green eyes glimmered as his red hair came alive with embers. "Fighting homicidal Angels... Now, this takes me back!" Damien laughed as he prepared another ball of fire in the palm of his hand. "The would-be heir to Hell's throne." Uriel* said mockingly as he began strutting over to him, gripping his sword tightly. Uriel* then smirked cruelly. "How did that work out for you?" Damien's smile slipped into a scowl, which only made Uriel* grin wider. Seeing this, Damien ran forward in a blind rage, throwing fireballs at Uriel* and barely dodging the swings of his sword as he got closer. If he wasn't careful, Damien could make a fatal error in his rage. It was only lucky for him that Shezmu's venom had slowed Uriel*'s reflexes and made his movements a bit more sluggish as he tried repeatedly to swing his sword at the cocky Devil. As they fought, for the moment, they both seemed evenly matched, and their fight could very easily go either way. --- "Clover, please be calm." Greta pleaded with her friend. "They didn't mean to pry. Let's just enjoy the day. You worked so hard to put this together!"

omg I got a bit carried away with my next post lol Had to stop myself to give someone else a shot at taking on Uriel* lol

Kodi smiled to himself as he lowered his eyes to the floor. He sat with her in comfortable silence for a moment before smirking and asking her. "So, does this mean I can start cracking dad jokes now?" He half-joked. --- Kris watched her with a frown. He had to wait for a moment before attempting to get to his feet, and when he did, he sat beside her on the bed. "But you are a person," he said simply. "I'm sorry if you've never been treated like one before. But you are more than just your body. You are more than what you can offer someone. You have a right to feel what you want. To think what you want. You have a right to your own autonomy." As he said this, his eyes landed on her bracelet, and he sighed, realising the irony of his statement. He hesitated and then reached over to unlock it. Without a word, he held the bracelet in his hand while watching her with a mixture of respect and caution. Hoping she wouldn't make him regret his decision. --- "I don't know where the CIA is." Oscar pointed out. "It's fine," Viktor said quickly. "This seems more urgent. I can see my sister once this guy is no longer a threat." --- Happy tears hung in Azrael's eyes as he stared lovingly into Death's. Unity grinned and, in the same male voice, they raised their arms to announce: "On this momentous day, the realms of Death and Heaven will be forever united as I declare this couple to be married!" Overjoyed, Azrael leaned in to kiss Death passionately in public for the first time. The applause of their family and friends reminded the couple that they, in fact, were not alone. But although Azrael's cheeks turned pink, he found that he couldn't stop grinning as he rested his head lovingly against Death's. Amelia whooped and cheered. Bob whistled excitedly. Lilly wiped some happy tears from her eyes between claps. Everyone in the room seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the moment. Except for Raziel, whose eyes were fixed on Unity. Raziel, who had begun to take slow, uneasy steps towards the back of the room as he observed Unity's eyes mist over for an instant and their smile slip into horrid surprise. "How?!" They gasped in an older woman's voice. "It can't be!" they said in disbelief, this time in the man's voice from before. Their eyes swept over the crowd in the throne room, landing on just a few faces as their features twisted into a mix of terror and confusion. "That's not possible!" Without any warning, a chorus of agonised screams erupted from Unity. All of the voices of the council combined into one awful cry. Then, just as suddenly, Unity gasped and blinked. The vessel had regained consciousness but had a terrified look on her face. "No... no, please. Please don't!" She broke into panicked sobs, begging something or someone that only she could sense. The entity that had attacked the council. "DON'T! NO-!" She began to scream, but then her eyes rolled back, and for a moment, she stood there. Limp and silent. Until, with a gasp as if coming up for air, her eyes rolled back to look calmly over the guests in the room. She smiled coldly. "Well, well. This looks like quite the party," they chuckled in a distorted voice. "Change of plans, party people. Your council is 'ahem' under new management. And soon, so will the rest of your little realms." "Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!" Amelia demanded. Unity's eyes moved slowly, coolly, to look at her. They stared for a long moment before smirking. "Because I can," they answered simply. "Oh, and I know of your little plan to close the rift. The thing is, doing that might upset my plans for complete domination, and we just can't be having that now, can we?" They lifted their hand and snapped their finger. In a flash, Uriel had teleported to the thrones and snatched Lilly roughly from her seat, causing her to cry out as his grip bruised her arm. "Lilly!" Azrael moved to separate them, but Uriel had summoned his flaming sword, holding it towards Azrael to keep him at arm's length. "Father!" Lilly cried out in a panic as she stared at the flames, which were dancing across the Angelic steel in front of her. It was then that Azrael managed to get a closer look at the long scar running down the side of Uriel's neck. A scar that Uriel had never had! "You're not Uriel!" he's gasped. The revelation had made Uriel* laugh maniacally. "No, I'm not your Uriel! He's been our 'guest' for several hours now." During the short distraction, David had teleported behind Uriel and attempted to pull him into a full nelson hold. As he'd felt David's arms, however, Uriel swung his head back to strike David's nose. Breaking it. Carol had attempted to run over but rapidly felt the room spin before falling to her knees. "Fucker! The wine! He's drugged the wine!" she gasped. As she said it, several more of the guests who had been drinking began to feel woozy, too. This included Amelia, Warren, Robb, Leandra, Bob, Atma and almost all of the Arch Angels in attendance. Now, being the only few to have had little to no drinks, a scuffle ensued. David attempted to pull Uriel away while Azrael tried to use the opportunity to get Lilly out of his grasp. He'd succeeded, but at the cost of Uriel's* sword piercing his side. Azrael let out an agonised cry as the sword burned his wound, effectively cauterising it. Then another pained cry escaped him as the sword was yanked back out, re-opening the wound as it went. Just as Uriel* grinned at his victory, his eyes widened to see the pendant around Azrael's neck begin to hover, glow and vibrate. A second later, Uriel* and David, who happened to be too close at that moment, were sent hurtling across the room as Azrael fell to his knees while gripping his wound. Lilly had also been close enough to have been knocked to one side. She hit her head on the edge of the thick throne armrest and fell unconscious to the floor. "Fool!" Unity snapped at Uriel* They looked around hurriedly towards Raven and saw that Shezmu had teleported to stand beside him and was glaring back intensely at Unity while saying to Death, "Get your family to safety, your Grace. Allow us to protect you." Unity growled, and then their eyes caught sight of Raziel at the back of the room just as Andi and a group of heavily armoured Reapers poured into the room to defend their rulers. "The prophet!" Unity snapped at Uriel* as they watched him hurriedly climb to his feet. "Get the prophet!" Uriel* bowed briefly at Unity before teleporting next to Raziel. Shezmu had hissed at Unity and grabbed her by the throat. "No! The vessel is innocent!" David shouted across the room as he struggled to get to his feet. This had caused Shezmu to hesitate, and seeing this as a weakness, Unity sneered at him. "Oh, don't worry, Blood God. She's not going to remember a thing!" In that distorted voice, Unity began laughing wickedly. Then her laughter turned to screams as blood seeped from her eyes, nose and ears until enough pressure had built up in her head that it exploded violently. Leaving Shezmu in shock, covered in her gore as the headless body slumped heavily to the ground. Coming back to himself as he heard Raziel shouting for Uriel* to stay away from him, Shezmu turned and glared at the traitorous Archangel. Seething. "Lucretia, defend Raziel!" he ordered. His voice was sharp and commanding. "Dariel, guide those who have ingested the drugged wine and the other civilians towards the back of the castle, away from the fight. Defend them and remember your training! Hannes and Jean, with me!" he said as he bared his fangs at Uriel* before marching towards him, ready to fight. In the corner of his eye, he saw David and Andi running over to join them and welcomed the addition to their little battalion. --- "Are you alright?" Layla asked, concerned. Greta frowned as she looked on. "This is a day of celebration. We shouldn't be burdening them with what cannot be helped." She said to Clover gently. --- "Alright," Sebastian said softly. He kissed Carter before pausing to admire the sight of him holding their daughter. Their daughter! It was an odd but fulfilling thought. "Come on, Stevie." "Can I pick out a teddy for her?" Stevie asked excitedly as he followed Sebastian out the door. Across the street, unnoticed by Sebastian and Stevie, a figure stood in the shadows between the houses. The figure watched the pair leave, then it stared at Carter and the baby through the window. By the time Carter would get the feeling of being watched, the figure would vanish.

Kodi smiled as he stepped in and sat on the corner of her bed. "I didn't mind it," he said to her warmly. "Is... is that really how you see me?" --- Kris watched her. He caught himself biting his lip and tore his eyes away from her chest. "Um-" he mumbled awkwardly while lifting one of his knees to hide a certain, swelling area. She'd caught him completely off guard by coming on to him so strongly that he had to take a moment to regather himself. Even as he spoke, he was battling a strong urge to pull her from the bed and pin her to the floor. "I won't lie to you. I find you attractive. All forms of you. But is this something that you want? Or are you coming on to me because you think it's what I want?" He looked back at her, and even with his glasses covering his eyes, he could barely mask his desires. "You're more to me than just your body, Violet. I want you to know that." --- Oscar tightened his grip whenever the man struggled. "That was too close." He said seriously to Leo. "He's more slippery than we thought." Viktor let out a sigh of relief once the man was in Oscar's grip. He didn't like the way the man had been talking and feared he might have been about to try to force one of them to turn him. "Who is this man?" he asked Oscar and Leo while staring at the stranger with a baffled yet wary expression. --- Azrael chuckled and rubbed the backs of Death's hands with his thumbs. "I guess we do as the humans do. Make some vows to each other and have someone official declare us to be married." He said, then looked around the room. "Unity, would you do the honours of officiating our wedding?" he asked. Somewhere near the back of the room, Raziel shuffled on his feet nervously as he watched. What he had seen earlier was beginning to unfold. Briefly, his eyes darted to Uriel, then back to the couple. "It would be an honour." Unity answered in a man's voice as the well-dressed vessel climbed the steps and then stood on the other side of the pair. "When you are ready, you may proceed with your vows." Azrael nodded to Unity thankfully, then turned back to look into Death's eyes. During this moment, to him, it felt like they were the only two in the room. "I swear to you that I will always love you. That I'll do everything I can to keep you and our children safe. That I will always be there to share your burdens so that you don't carry them alone. That I will forever be your confidant and advisor out of love rather than duty. My heart will always be yours and yours alone. From this day until my last day." --- "What? Oh, no. My Father is the king of the Lake where I was born. He is strict." Greta explained and then stopped abruptly while looking away from him. She didn't want to talk about her father anymore. "You keep mentioning her. What happened to her exactly?" Layla asked curiously. Greta looked at Clover uncomfortably. Gaia had been slumbering for so long now that no one could really remember the true reason she fell into her enchanted sleep. Some believe that Gaia was tricked into consuming something that made her sleep because she was notorious for having a temper, and that she was so enraged at humans destroying the world with their toxic gases that she was threatening to flood the earth again. Others believe Gaia chose to sleep, of her own accord, for reasons only she would know. This, of course, was enough to cause further speculation and differing opinions regarding why she would choose to do this to herself. A popular theory was that she had fallen in love but had her heart broken, and she had sought sleep to avoid the pain. --- As soon as the baby felt the bottle against her lips, she opened her mouth and latched on to it. Hungrily, she began drinking the milk quickly while occasionally stopping to breathe through her nose. The little gasping noise she made for each breath made Sebastian smile widely. "She's adorable," he commented. "Oh! The nursery! We didn't get a chance-!" he gasped as he glanced around the building. They had only just managed to get the repairs done from when the earthquake had knocked part of the building down. Between that and suddenly taking Stevie in, they hadn't had the time to finish putting a nursery together for Rose. "Ok, ok, Stevie can come with me to the store to pick up a crib for her. Will you be alright with her while we put it together?"

Kodi scratched his head. He hadn't the faintest idea of where to start with acting like a parent. But quickly, he realised he had been doing it without much thought for a while now already. He hesitated, wondering how to approach this, but then walked to Autumn's bedroom door and knocked gently. "Autumn? Can we talk? I'm not mad at you, I just- I just worry for you. Because I care about you." --- "Ah, that's right- Oh, hello Salem." Kris looked between the pair for a moment and considered that Salem would need to know about everything that had happened with Violet, and this would be best coming from Blake. "I'll give you two some privacy," he said as he turned to walk towards the door. "I expect you to practice what I told you while I'm gone," he called back before adding as he left the room. "And no funny business!" He was practically a parent to these boys, but the last thing he needed to deal with was a teen pregnancy scare under his roof. Especially with Auntie's granddaughter. He feared that, despite her age, the old woman would still be able to tear him a new one for letting something like that happen. He returned to his room to meditate. He used the time to think over everything that had happened recently. Where his former friend Ortiz might've gone. Part of him feared the Trickster might try to form an alliance with their current territorial rivals, the vampires. He thought about Violet, his revelation that an afterlife existed and what this might mean for his little tribe now. His newest addition, Blake, seemed to be fitting in but also seemed to have some deep-rooted anger issues that would take time to help him with. And then, of course, there was the unknown man who had reached out to him. The mystery of who he was gnawed at him relentlessly. --- Viktor was surprised by the stranger, having not seen him until now. Instinctively, at the sign of a threat, he'd bared his fangs at the intruder but didn't dare move in case Leo got hurt. "Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded, trying to mask the slight quiver to his voice. Behind him, he saw movement but gave away no sign as he watched Oscar trying to carefully sneak into the room behind the strange man. --- "All beings are capable of love," Hannes said to her as he & Jean moved to stand closer to Shezmu and his little group. Beforehand, Hannes had quietly pointed out to Jean that Shezmu was an old being who might still be used to old customs, such as corporal punishment of his subjects when they misbehave, and he'd worried something like that might happen to Lucretia under the old Blood God's care when they'd get home. They couldn't bring this up with Shezmu here, of course. So, they opted to keep an eye on them during the party and planned to discuss this with him when they'd all go home. "Duty isn't all there is to living, Lucretia." "Oh, I knew it! Such a pair!" Leandra gushed at the news as she hugged Life's side. Lilly beamed at Death and Azrael. "No way!" Robb grinned. "Did you guys know?" he asked Gabriel and Nate. "How romantic!" Atma sighed as she watched. Azrael was blushing deeply, but he was also grinning from ear to ear. Finally having the secret out felt so freeing, and being able to openly commit himself to the man he loved made this the happiest day of his life. He snapped his fingers, changing both his and Death's robes into wedding attire as he climbed the steps to stand by Death's side. --- "Ja, exactly that." Greta nodded to Nil. "But only during the day. Father demands that his daughters return to the lake before sunset." "It's not your fault. There's always one bad egg at any family reunion." Layla shrugged. --- Rose continued to fuss until her fussing turned to crying. Despite her genes, she was seemingly just an ordinary baby with ordinary baby needs. Sebastian had pulled the bag onto the couch and opened it to see what supplies had been given to them. It was then that he found the book about caring for vampiric children. "Hey, look at this." He said as he opened it. It was all written in German, but each page had a scrap of paper between where one of the vampires from the castle had kindly translated the pages into English. "It says for newborn babies of vampiric parents, blood is not required until they reach six months. So, I guess we just treat her like a human baby until then." He pulled out one of the bottles from the bag containing Patience's milk and handed it to Carter. "Maybe she's hungry?"

Kodi was too stunned to react immediately. By the time he did, he wasn't sure how to feel. Whether he should be angry at her for giving him an attitude or happy that she had called him 'dad'. "Did I just become a parent?" He asked, clearly still in shock as he looked towards Harris. --- Kris smiled a little but nodded without looking at Blake. His eyes had softened, knowing all too well how difficult it was at Blake's age to control his emotions, but he also knew that his boys needed to be tough to survive, which meant that they needed to learn quickly how to suppress any sign that an enemy could potentially take to be a weakness. "I didn't see anything." He said reassuringly. "Now, where were we with your training?" --- Elation filled Viktor at the news. He flustered for a moment, patting his pockets for his phone while also nodding eagerly. "Y-yes, I would like to see her. Just give me one moment." He said as he took out his phone to send a quick text to Bryce, letting him know he would take a little longer than expected to meet with him. --- Lilly smiled as she rose and moved to sit beside Death. She watched Raven with an encouraging look as he recited his oath, too, before joining them. This all felt like a dream to her now. As the ceremony wrapped up, the audience would turn to find the spaces behind them had already been filled with tables, chairs, plates, glasses, cutlery and centrepieces for each table. Reapers stood by each table, ready to wait on their guests. Azrael gave a supportive smile to the new Princess and Prince before exchanging a knowing smile with Death. This was the part where they would give their guests a surprise by revealing that this Coronation ceremony doubled as a wedding. --- Layla's heart lifted as Nil wrapped his arm around her and all but told Leanan that he was taken. She gave the other woman a victorious smirk. Leanan had rolled her eyes at Clover. For a moment, she held a disgusted, almost offended look as Nil chose to shake her hand instead of kissing it. With the same expression, she looked Layla up and down before turning her head away in a dismissive manner. "If you say so. But should you realise your worth, don't hesitate to seek me out. Afterall, it's not like this mutt can help you to unlock your true potential." "Alright, listen bitch, you can leave now, or I'll smack the hell out of you!" Layla growled at her. "Classy," Leanan commented coldly. "Fine, have it your way." She gave Nil one last smirk before vanishing. "Who the hell was that?" Layla asked, turning back to Clover and Greta. "She's a Fae, but not the same kind as Nil," Greta answered. "There are other types of fairies?" Layla asked in surprise. "Of course," Greta answered. "It depends on lineage. All Fae are children of Gaia. The fathers determine the type of Fae the child becomes. For example, Nil's type was once the most common because they had come into being when Gaia had taken human males as lovers. In time, like with Adam and Eve's children, those Fae began to breed to become their own race, hence..." She gestured to Nil, indicating that he is a very distant descendant of Gaia and humans. "But all Fae, even the ones who had once been most common, are now on the brink of extinction." "So what type is she?" "Devil lineage. The ones who make the deals to grow their powers. There are only a couple of those kinds left. Lea is one. They strike deals with mortals to make them rich, powerful, talented... but at the very peak of the mortal's success, the Leannán Sídhe consumes the mortal's soul to sustain herself... or himself. Lea was the firstborn, so she ended up being the one to earn the name of Leannán Sídhe from the mortals who encountered her first in Ireland. She has brothers and sisters, but they go by their own names; Leannán Sídhe is the name of their race." "What about you?" "Huh?" "What kind of Fae are you?" "Oh! I-I'm not a Fae. I'm a sort of mermaid. But specifically from Lake Mummel in Germany. I'm a Mümmlein." --- "And I'm glad that it was you who found me in that alley. This... all of this, it's more than I could have ever dreamed for." Sebastian said lovingly. "I can't imagine not having you in my life. This all just feels so right," Rose began to fuss in Stevie's arms, and the boy gave an uncertain look to Carter & Sebastian. "She might be hungry." Sebastian pointed out. "Or... tired? How do you tell when they're so small?"

I haven't played it for a while but my first playthrough was as a Slytherin too 😄 Just had to be Sebastian's bestie and may have had a little too much fun using the unforgivable curses on the goblins hahaha

I think I managed to make my most David-est character lol Albiet a younger version. He even ended up in Ravenclaw which is absolutely fitting hahaha

Hey, hope you had a great xmas & new year 🙂

STORY CONTINUED HERE;

"You might not be lost, but you are a kid," Kodi responded to Autumn in a firm tone. "In fact, I don't want you going to and from school alone anymore! If your friends can't walk with you, then one of us will drop off or pick you up. And no sneaking out of class to go to the mall, understood?" he looked back at Harris. "As soon as I find out anything, I'll let you know." --- John watched Adam leave, feeling helpless. He then looked back towards Clementine, just in time to catch her gaze before she quickly turned her head to look out over the fields once more. Bristling, John walked over to the doors and silently slipped out to join her. He carefully ensured the door was closed so that their conversation would be private before he moved to stand beside her. When he spoke, his voice was low so that only she would hear him. "I suppose you think you're quite clever." "Whatever do you mean, Angel?" "Save it. I don't know what kind of twisted mind game you're trying to play, but I will not tolerate it. Understand?" "Well, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black." Clementine sniped back. "What are you-?" "As if you're not using Adam for your own gain? Don't think me a fool, John. Or do you really expect me to believe that you're doing all of this just so you would be second in command of a new utopia?" "How dare you!" "You snatched me and dragged me into this! Adam, I can forgive because he's just been following your lead, but you, I have nothing but contempt for you! Just stay away from me!" Clementine moved to storm away, but John caught her arm, and his grip was tight enough to hurt. He leaned closer to her and whispered something that caused her face to turn momentarily paler. When he let her go, his fingers brushed the fresh bruising, causing it to vanish. He then stormed away from her, leaving her staring hard at the ground as her heart pounded in her chest. After a minute or so, she turned back to the fence to lean on it again. Her mind was racing as she gradually calmed down. After several more minutes, she silently returned to her little work station, more focused than she had been previously on creating the potion. --- Kris's eyebrows raised slightly when he saw the damage done to the punching bag. "Not bad, if you were intending to kill your target. If you want to hit hard enough to stun, knock back or knock out your opponent, you only need to use a fraction of your power." He said as he stepped towards him and got a closer look at the punching bag. He listened to Blake and took a moment to think through his answer before he turned to face him. "There isn't an easy answer to that question," he said thoughtfully. "Everyone you ever meet is going to tell you that life is black and white. Good versus bad. But the truth is, that's a lie. Life is one big grey area. You're not wrong to feel angry, Blake. You have every right to be. But you also know that Violet was being genuine in her apology. It's not about the mistakes we made in our pasts; it's about what we do to change and whether those efforts make us worth saving. I've made mistakes before. I've hurt people. Killed people. The majority of what we do here involves robbing folks blind. To any average Joe out there, that would make me a 'bad guy'. But then that would be glossing over the rest of what I've done with my life. For instance, taking in wayward trickster kids to give them a home. A sense of family. Protection. Do you get what I'm trying to say, Blake?" --- "Helena?" For a moment, Viktor forgot about his packing and threw the clothes that were in his hands onto the bed while he turned to face Leo fully. "Wha-what message? Has something happened?" His expression reflected his mixture of worry and shame. He never really stopped worrying about his sister, but he still felt guilty for the way he'd been brought up and what he had intended to do at the time. --- "Control yourself." Shezmu hissed irritably into Lucretia's ear. "Do not embarrass me further," he warned her. "We will discuss this when we return to my home." Atma smiled at Abaddon, but Death had spoken before she could reply. She decided they could always finish their conversation after the ceremony. A hush fell over the room when Death spoke, and all eyes fell on him. Lilly took a deep breath, and when called forth, she stepped into the centre of the room to approach Death's throne. Recalling the instructions Azrael had sent to her, she knelt before him and lowered her head in respect. "I, Lillian De Morte, do hereby accept the title of Princess and heir to the Kingdom of Death." She began, and although her voice trembled, she tried her best to say the words clearly enough for everyone to hear her. "With this, I accept the duty and responsibility to the Kingdom, its citizens and the Reapers. I swear to serve and protect the Citizens of the Kingdom of Death. I swear to guide the Reapers to Reap souls with compassion, peace, patience and understanding. Above all else, I swear to uphold The Balance by any means. May all present here today bear witness and keep me to my oath from this day until my last day." All the way through her oath, she had a look of pure concentration from trying to remember the words and not stumble on them. As soon as she was finished speaking, she let out a silent sigh of relief and glanced up briefly at Death with a small smile. This was the part where she had to remain bowed to him until he'd tell her to rise as his equal to sit beside him as his heir. It would be the same process for Raven. --- "There's a vampire here?" Layla asked, confused as she quickly looked around them. "Of a kind, but something tells me old Clover here didn't mean me." Came a velvety voice close to them. Layla turned her head and was surprised by the human-looking woman watching them as she leaned against a tree close by. She was breath-takingly beautiful. Vibrant, red locks cascaded over her shoulders. Her long green dress was complemented by the natural colours of their surroundings. Her eyes stood out by being vastly different colours. One eye green, the other brown, making her all the more memorable. "I am rarely invited to such gatherings. Can't think why." The woman said playfully as she stepped closer to the pair, but she only seemed to have eyes for Nil as she lifted her hand towards him with the expectation that he'd kiss the back of it. "You may call me Leanan," she purred. "Leanan Sidhe. And I can make all of your dreams come true." Layla felt blood rush to her face, and she rounded on Leanan, ready to say something out of jealousy, but someone else spoke before she could. Another human-looking woman. But this one smelled of algae and still had lake vegetation stuck in her messy, brown hair. Although she sported human legs, they were covered in moss-green coloured scales. A set of gills was on her neck. "You weren't invited, Lea. Leave them be." The amphibious woman said sternly. Layla noticed immediately that she had the faintest hint of a German accent. "Oh, Greta. Daddy let you out to play, I see." Leanan retorted and then sneered at the girl. "Don't stay up too late, now. You know how he doesn't like that." Greta bristled. She looked ready to throw hands. --- Sebastian blinked away tears as he watched them, and then he reached over to gently pat Stevie's back. "Now come and say hello to your little sister," he whispered to him with a smile. Stevie blinked at Sebastian before letting Carter go and wiping his tears away hurriedly. He stepped closer to Sebastian to get a better look at the baby, but as he did, Sebastian surprised him by pushing the little bundle into his arms. "But-!" he gasped, but Sebastian smiled and shushed him. "There you go, like that. Support her head, that's it. You've got her, big brother." Sebastian said as he carefully guided him on holding Rose properly. "I'm holding her, right?" Stevie asked uncertainly, but couldn't take his eyes off her. "Yep, she looks comfortable. Good job!" Sebastian said before standing and stepping closer to Carter. He brought his hands up to gently brush his tears away, all while smiling at him lovingly. This was a new start for all of them. Stevie grinned, and as he looked at the baby, he considered what this meant. He had been afraid that he might hurt her, but now his fears had been replaced by a determination to keep her safe. "Sister..." he whispered as the reality set in. Rose stared back at Stevie with the same intensity that she had stared at Carter & Sebastian with. Learning every curve and detail of his face. Stevie couldn't help but chuckle at her staring. "Hey, Rose. I'm your- I-I'm your... I'm your brother." As he brought himself to say it out loud, he felt in his heart that it was right, and with this realisation, his smile grew a little more. "And I'm gonna keep you safe. I promise. I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what," he told her confidently and then hesitated before planting a soft kiss on her forehead. Sebastian chuckled as he watched Rose's eyebrows knit together momentarily at the kiss before continuing to stare interestedly at Stevie.

The world was already chaotic with a secret society of supernatural creatures hiding their existence from humans to simply survive. Throw in the afterlife and alternate universes and you've got some realms in desperate need of balance.

Merry Christmas 😃🎄

"And who's going to watch Autumn?" Kodi snapped back. "We don't know what kind of psycho took Clem, so we need to be careful. Look, I only barely managed to convince the CIA to let me get involved with the search, and I'm a cop. No way they'd let a civilian get involved! You're just going to have to trust me on this." --- "I am-! I am taking you seriously." John scoffed, and he took a step towards Adam. He lifted his hands to gently grip his shoulders. "You are strong!" he said gently, and then his eyes darted back to the back of Clementine's head. "Did she say something to you to make you think you're not?" he asked protectively. --- Smirking, Kris stood back to watch Blake for a minute or two without alerting him to his presence. He silently observed his techniques before stepping forward. "Tuck your thumb over your fingers when you punch, not under." He said as he approached. "And if you focus a minute amount of your energy, you can land your hits harder. Also, aim to strike with your index and middle knuckles." He stopped, now standing off to Blake's side, and he nodded to him. "Try it." --- "I would like that very much," Helena said shakily as she turned her head towards Allie's voice and reached out for her hand. Tears hung in her eyes, but she held them back, knowing she'd be able to tell Allie all about her brother and her worries for him while they relaxed. "I guess I'll be going too. You can still always call me or Leo, if you need to talk." Oscar said to them before vanishing after his beloved. --- At the sound of Leo's voice, Viktor had paused. He'd been in the process of packing a bag in his bedroom. As much as he'd hoped Leo would be his tutor when he'd been turned, Leo's job had meant Viktor had more often than not been left to figure things out on his own. Thankfully, in the early days after his change, he'd bumped into Bryce, who had proven to be far more reliable for teaching him about himself. Becoming close to Bryce in the process had been a surprise to him, but not an unwelcome one. Of course, he didn't hold Leo's frequent absences against him. He had saved his life, after all. He'd even given him a place to stay. But now he felt it was time that he moved on and lived his own life... with Bryce. With a sigh, he finished shoving more of his clothes into the bag that was on his bed before calling back. "Yeah... I'm here." --- "I'm anxious and shy, too," Atma admitted. "I know I don't look it. I'm terrified of being here where so many people know me, but I don't know any of them..." She offered him her hand. "But with you, I don't feel so nervous." Carol continued to glare at Lucretia as she muttered into her wine glass. "Well, I don't bloody well forgive the bitch." Amelia was tense, but she, too, was glaring at the Angel the entire time. "Smert?" Bob chortled, earning him a swift elbow to the ribs from Lilly. "What? What I do?" "Which is why, more than ever, it is imperative that a suitable successor to Raguel's role be chosen, your Grace," Cass spoke up with a short bow to Death. "To tighten our ranks and avoid any future diplomatic errors," he glanced around the room briefly. "But our Archangels will have their chance soon enough to vie for votes. Today is yours and your heirs," he gave one more bow out of respect and to signal that he'd finished speaking. David glanced from Cass to Uriel. Cassiel was known for being quite charismatic and a bit of a smooth talker, but he'd half expected Uriel to have taken this opportunity to say something along similar lines. When he looked over, he was surprised to see that rather than being annoyed to have been beaten to the punch, Uriel looked as if he couldn't care less. In fact, he seemed very relaxed as he was leaning against the wall near Carol, watching everything unfold casually while sipping his drink. Was he really so confident and arrogant to think that the job was already his? Lilly looked from Cass to Azrael and then to Death, knowing the ceremony would begin as soon as Death gave word. She had butterflies in her stomach as she tried to mentally recite her oaths before she'd be called forward. "I can do this..." she whispered to herself nervously. "Good." Shezmu praised Lucretia with a small nod as she returned to him. "It's a start." --- Layla was fascinated by their surroundings and these creatures that welcomed them. She stared at the little picnic, feeling like she'd stepped into a storybook fairy tale. She smiled at Nil before looking at the food. When she'd been human, she would have loved all the vegetable dishes, but since she became a werewolf, her appetite had shifted to a more carnivorous diet. Which, unfortunately, made the vegetable dishes far less appealing to her. She decided to turn her attention away from the food but found herself staring at the creatures again in pure fascination. --- Sebastian took Rose into his arms and couldn't help grinning as his eyes landed on her tiny face. "Hello, little one!" He whispered as he cradled her to him. He then turned his head to watch Carter talk to Stevie. Stevie smiled a little as Carter ruffled his hair, and he playfully batted his hand away to try and fix his hair again. He thought about what they said and what they were offering him. Overwhelmed with emotion, he flung his arms around Carter and sobbed quietly. "Thank you."