Midsummer Shadows

[Mangaholic]

Malduk’s emotionless words, ridiculing the tenacious teenagers who still refused to cooperate, earned him a glare from the spiky-haired blonde, before the girl declared aloud her compliance to go along with them, though she didn’t forget to add that she wasn’t doing for the world but, in fact, for herself.

 

“Well if you’d just let me actually finish my words… Before you started throwing unnecessary words around and accused me of being selfish, I’d already decided to stay.” Her face betrayed no emotion whatsoever as she went on. “Not that I care about the world and all,” – she made a point to emphasize the word ‘not,’ – “but because of what he said.” She jabbed her finger at the white-haired teen who had been carrying the other blonde female. “I figured, even if I were to go back home now, I’d still look like a total freak. There’s no way that I’m going to explain this to my friends and family, and it seems like the lot of you is my best chance at an answer and perhaps normalcy. But you know the saying, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough gets going?’ Yeah. For your information, I’m not ready to die yet. If you won’t promise me my safety, I’m going to make sure that I stay safe myself, no matter what I have to do.”

 

The corner of Brunor’s mouth twitched in amusement at the girl’s final words. “How is it bad for us if you’re capable of making sure you won’t die?” he inquired innocently. “It would be bad for us if you didn’t. You can’t expect us to watch over all of you twenty-four seven.”

 

That was true, for sure. In fact, the old man had a feeling that he wouldn’t last too long in this oncoming war, though he wasn’t exactly sure what made him think so. It was probably his old age, as well as the fact that so many people had already died, that pestered him with such trepidation. By the time he had finished speaking, however, the blonde had already called her family and was currently conversing with someone on the other end of the line, meaning that she probably hadn’t paid any heed to his honest words.

 

He didn’t care at all, whether the girl heard him or not. It really didn’t matter. What did was that they both had managed to reach a compromise that suited both of them, or at least a tiny bit. Now, all there was left was to convince the stormy-eyed female, Varianne, to tag along with them as well. He glanced at her, just as she broke free of her solemn thoughts.

 

“What did the lot of you want with my father?” she demanded, in a harsh, bitter tone that reflected her indignation at their attempt to capture her father.

 

Brunor honestly didn’t know how to reply to such a question. He wasn’t exactly sure how the Council managed to track down the bloodline of Jonathan Addelane either, but it was obvious that Addelane had been hunted for the latent fey and Umbralatronis blood that ran through his veins. Now how to break that to her without making it seem like we’re making fun of her again…

 

He was saved from having to conjure an explanation that would satisfy the hot-headed Winter girl, much to his relief. After all, guessing from the girl’s absolute refusal to believe that their steeds had actual wings and whatnot, he was certain that she would take the entire explanation of the Downworld as an insult on her behalf, being as seemingly narrow-minded as she was, and the resulting conflict would probably drag the time all of them were stuck there even longer.

 

"Well, if we're going to leave, let's go, and the lot of you should stop your pointless chatter. If you want answers then come. If you're too afraid, then leave," taunted the silvery-haired girl who had come along with Kiril’s pegasi.

 

Brunor’s relief evaporated. Here we go again, he thought wearily, correctly guessing the effect that the teen’s mocking words would have on Varianne. He began to wonder if they would ever manage to get out of Forest Park before the sun set beneath the horizon. With all these hot-headed teenagers who didn’t seem to know when best to hold their tongues, such a prospect seemed almost impossible. I’m getting the feeling that the prophecy was meant for the others, and not for us, he thought sarcastically. These kids will probably end up destroying the whole world instead. But then again, what do you expect? They’re all hard-headed sixteen-year olds who probably don’t know anything about life whatsoever. It’ll be a wonder if they can even survive together in a room for one night without throwing themselves at each other’s necks.

 

He sighed, feeling too exhausted to bother intervening with the fiery taunts that were being shot back and forth between Varianne and the silver-haired girl who had started it. Behind the two girls, the other hybrids had already begun marching into the larger of the two carriages, as if they knew what they were expected to do. There’s a surprise, he noted mentally, rising an eyebrow. They actually didn’t put up a fight. Still, he didn’t say anything, though he doubted the hybrids would have been able to hear him over Varianne’s vicious shouting anyway.

 

It was when the short-haired female resumed her taunts that another faint noise caught Brunor’s attention, as well as that of the other two Umbralatronis adults, whose faces were lined with derision and exasperation at the two arguing girls. It may have been too quiet for mundanes to pick up, but being what he was, Brunor was capable of hearing such a soft sound.

 

He turned to face the newcomers, as he guessed that newcomers were the source of the sound of footsteps treading heavily through the grass. He was in for a shock.

 

Limping toward the two carriages were a pair of teens - a tall, livid boy and a much shorter, much prettier girl. Brunor didn’t pay much attention to details. What caught his eye was the tremendous amount of blood and mud that they were covered in, especially the boy. Considering how bloody he was, he seemed to be in a worse condition than the unconscious blonde. Besides, if the blonde had been knocked out during a fight with Kiril, the injuries that she suffered were probably from the recoil of her own powers, and not so much Kiril’s. Brunor didn’t think that Kiril would be so stupid as to inflict a mortal wound upon one of the supposed “saviors.”

 

What sparked Brunor’s curiosity the most was the question asking how in the world the boy had managed to find himself in such a terrible state. It definitely wasn’t one of the Umbralatronis, for sure. None of them would have injured a hybrid that badly, with the exception of that raven girl, of course. It can’t be the demons nor the faeries. Warlocks? Werewolves? Or something else?

 

Brunor wasn’t sure how to respond. The haughty, arrogant expression carved upon the boy’s bloodless face made it obvious that the boy wasn’t going to willingly accept any pity or help. The girl seemed easier. She had a trusting, innocent air about her, and naiveté danced in her stunningly green eyes.

 

“Why would you come here for help? The exit’s definitely not here.” That was the question that chose to leave Brunor’s tongue. Not ’Are you okay’ or Do you want us to help you?. But really, he didn’t know what else to say, and he was certain that the Indian girl had dragged the boy over to the carriages in search of help.

 

There was hardly any chance for the bloody pair of teenagers to voice their opinion of his peculiar question. Varianne’s high-pitched shouting skimmed the end of Brunor’s words, and it was some bewildering pang of trepidation that forced Brunor to tear his eyes from the newcomers and look at Varianne.

 

”What exactly makes you think that I’ve decided to come along?” Varianne fumed, her snowy-white eyes flashing icily. She took several steps backwards to show that such a decision was the last thing on her mind. ”I only came to find out about my father. Now that I got the information I wanted, why should I stay with a couple of lunatics who just like to jump on the bandwagon. Really, I don’t want to be stuck with loud-mouthed people like you.” She whirled on her heel, her inky blue hair fanning out behind her. ”Well, now I’m really out of here.”

 

When she had turned around, her eyes were still fixed on the silvery-haired girl, probably to watch whatever expression was spreading upon the Storm Fey’s face. As a result, she didn’t notice until it was too late that she had walked in Tristen’s steed.

 

Already annoyed with Varianne for declaring the pegasi “mutant horses,” Arod’s temper flared easily. His jet-black wings, previously folded neatly against his side, flew open, thrusting the Winter girl with such a tremendous force that she landed near the silver-haired female’s feet. She hardly had the time to utter a cry when she hit the grass.

 

She twitched, but otherwise didn’t move. Arod snorted, throwing his silvery head up in annoyance. The two black pegasi stood frozen, watching intently, and anyone who knew them well enough could see the approval flickering in their eyes. The silver stallion trotted up to Varianne’s side and prodded her roughly with a hoof. He snorted again, as if to say that she wasn’t as tough as she made herself out to be.

 

All of this happened in a flash, and with the arrival of the terribly injured teenagers, the Umbralatronis had too much on their mind to properly react to the situation.

 

Brunor glanced back at the Indian girl, still supporting the seemingly arrogant boy. His commanding words came in a hurried rush from his mouth. “Girl,” he began, knowing how rude he sounded, but not bothering to think of what else he could call her. “Get him over in the bigger carriage. We’ll tend to him once we get back, and you as well.” His eyes flickered at the pale boy. “And really, don’t try fighting. Show us that not all teenagers are idiotically defiant for once.”

 

He didn’t wait to see how the girl, or the boy for that matter, would respond. He quickly walked to the motionless Winter hybrid’s side, lifting the girl up easily in his arms, despite her weight, and smacked the silver stallion’s nose. “Don’t end up as rash as your master, Arod,” he warned angrily as he made his way to the smaller of the two carriages, in which sat the unconscious raven girl and the other Dark boy who had been so suspiciously concerned with Rhiannon.

 

Arod merely tossed his mane in the wind, showing that he didn’t really care. He sauntered up to the newcomers and circled them, keeping his distance as if he were afraid that they would dirty him.

 

As Brunor threw open the door of the smaller cart, Miranda made her way to the front of the larger, more comfortable carriage, while Malduk headed to its back. He peered in it, observing its contents. “You, Snow White!” he barked gruffly at one of the hybrids. “You don’t belong in here. Get to the other one. The faster you do, the sooner we’ll be able to take care of your girlfriend.”

 

Assuming that those two kids will immediately agree to go, Brunor thought, without much hope that that was possible. He carefully placed Varianne beside the raven girl, who still looked pretty dead, with the exception of the faint rise and fall of her chest. Their families will be wondering where they are soon, he thought with a tiny pang of sadness. He stepped back and waited for the white-haired boy to join in with this sullen flock.

[Odio]

Gordon was caught off guard by man's surly attitude. It was obvious who he was talking to. He bit back a rude reply. These people were so strange, there was no way of telling how they would respond. He looked at the others around him, down at 'his girlfriend,' and then stood up, crouching a little in the carriage, to keep his head from bumping the roof.

 

"Well, I guess that's my cue," he said to his fellow trapped teens. He sidled out of the carriage, careful to avoid bumping into Malduk. He wasn't the most sensitive of people, so it didn't really hurt his feelings that Malduk had called him Snow White - he thought it was pretty funny, actually - but he had a hard time being bossed around like that. He didn't say anything, though, just took it all in stride. He nodded at Greg and the other last hybrids that were still making their way in.

 

When he approached the smaller carriage, he noticed that it was mustier, older, dirtier, and just plain worse in every way. This one seemed much more like a prison cart than a carriage. He walked up to the door, which was standing open, and leaned in past Brunor. Inside there were two unconscious girls, and a young man who had apparently been spray painting. Gordon smiled for a moment at the paint, but when he saw the dark-haired raven girl, he stopped, and looked around at the Umbralotronis. Had they done this? A cold fear washed over him (and spread out from him slightly - he didn't notice). This was getting a little too dangerous for his comfort.

 

Nonetheless, he couldn't back down now, not after all this. He took the first step into the cart, hesitated, then hurried in before he changed his mind. He wasn't sure where to sit. He didn't want to sit next to either of the unconscious girls, and this other fellow didn't seem very friendly. He took a deep breath and sat down next to the bloody unconscious girl, Alina. He noticed feathers lying on the ground. He wondered why he was stuck in this one, that was so much worse than the other one, and he began to doubt that he wanted to see what lay on the road ahead.

[lilyice]

As Kathy sat back and made herself comfortable, awaiting Gordon’s reply, a gray-haired boy at the other end of the cart spoke up. Even though he was sitting, Kathy could tell that he was much, much higher than her. Well…isn’t everyone, though? an annoying subconscious voice piped up in her head. Once again, Kathy had to be brutally reminded of her own short figure, even though it was obviously unintentional by the other party. She scowled slightly at herself before turning her attention back to the boy. Kathy noted that he had pleasantly shaped eyes, and a sliver of silver could be seen around his neck. With a great interest in jewelries, the blonde couldn’t help but wonder what hung at the end of the chain.

 

The gray-haired boy said that his name was Mark, and also expressed an interest in the unconscious blonde girl on the ground. Turning her head back to Gordon, Kathy listened as he gave a response. “You know, I’m not really sure what happened. I was walking through the park, minding my own business, when I heard some people talking, and it sounded like they might be arguing or something. I walk up, and I see this weird guy with a sword stab her, and then a bolt of lightning shoots out and they’re both knocked out! Light-bright over here saw it, he was there. I don’t even know why they were fighting. I’m not even sure I believe what I saw.” Speaking the last few sentences, Gordon made a gesture to Glow-Boy off at the side, emphasizing his point.

 

Kathy could only stare wide-eyed at the unconscious girl as her mind processed all this. She knew the weird people had weapons. She knew, somewhere in her heart, that they could and would wield them and use them without a single thought. But faced with the reality of a casualty by those weapons, Kathy was, again, having second doubts about these people. However, she thought she’d heard wrong when Gordon said that a bolt of lightning shot out. Lightning? From where? For God’s sake, lightning doesn’t just appear out of nowhere! Wait. Lightning…? A memory nagged at the edge of her mind. With a startled cry – too quiet for anyone else to hear, – Kathy’s mouth opened slightly as realization dawned upon her. My dream! The electricity and lightning…that came out of nowhere… Her mind swirled with endless questions. What did this all mean? As she was about to ask Gordon to elaborate on the scene he witnessed before, a sharp female voice interrupted them.

 

“The heck are these guys now!? Were we not enough freaks that we need to add to this an albinos, a kid with huge eyes AND a walking glowstick!? Gosh! What was your ancestor man!? A light bulb fearie?!”

 

A green-blue-haired girl stomped passed them into the carriage and sat herself down in another corner, glaring contemptuously at them all, with the exception of an unnoticed (by Kathy) boy that was silently balled up in the same corner. What the hell is her problem? Kathy glared back, too frustrated to answer. She had already formed a well-thought retort about how she liked her eyes, thank you very much, when yet another voice interrupted, this time from the outside. God are you people never going to let me speak!??! Or what?! her glare turned to the scarred man who barked something at Gordon from outside the carriage window.

 

Gordon didn’t appear to be insulted by what the man had said, but Kathy could see that he was holding it in. With a dignified nod to them all, he stood up, stooped down to avoid hitting his head on the top of the carriage door, and walked out towards the smaller cart. Only then did Kathy realized that the scarred man must have ordered him to the other vehicle. It was a shame, really. Gordon was humorous and much more friendly than some of the people here, especially some of the girls.

 

Resting her elbow on her knees and her chin upon her fists, Kathy watched the teen’s departing back. As she looked outside, she was met with the sight of two newcomers, that she was sure she’s never seen before. A sickly-looking, but very tall, boy was leaning heavily on a petite, pretty girl, who had an air of innocence around her. The boy was bleeding as well, and looked absolutely seething to be in this situation, whether it was requiring the help of a girl or facing this group of unknown adults. Kathy didn’t particularly care. She wondered if there would be more people coming. Just how many of us are there going to be? People better not be arriving anymore. Any more crowded than this, I don’t think I can handle it. A resigned sigh escaped the blonde’s lips as she turned her gaze back to the duo. There goes my normal, ordinary, regular, average, unexceptional, and what-have-you afternoon.

[MURDERcomplexx]

He sat amongst the crowd of teens, awkwardly silent beside their chattering voices. Resting back against the splintered wood, he began to peel the hoodie off, finally bending to the whim of summer's heat. The skin which he uncovered was almost literally covered in scars of various degrees, from near invisible scrapes, to the prominent jagged scar that ran from his thumb and ring finger, up into the sleeve of his shirt. Without thinking, Breckin ran a finger down the pink line and shuddered from the sensitive jolt that wormed its way up his arm.

It was getting later by the minute. The blond glanced up into the sky to see the sun just barely inching its way west. At the rate they were going, they'd never make it by nightfall.

He heard a yawn almost disturbingly close to him, and finally snapped from his dazed state of mind with the realization that the yawn was his.

"What... in all hell... are you doing you freaky snake!"

 

"Another pleasant addition to a wonderful day, if I do say so myself.

Breckin turned his head to the new foul mouthed twit, raising an eyebrow with contemptuous distaste. Was it possible for any of them to speak without yelling? His head had begun to throb at that point, and with the situation unfolding the way it had been, made for an irritable Breckin at an ungodly hour.

Of course, he could have simply turned and ignored her. He'd been doing quite well so far. But, of course, it just wasn't enough for her. She had to pick fights with the rest of them. And for what?

One could see the vein twitch in Breckin's forehead at her glow stick comment.

 

Pushing back the bangs that obscured his glittering irises from view, Breckin locked eyes with her and felt himself holding back a feral snarl.

"Grow UP."

He said nothing more. Again, Breckin turned his head away from the idiot girl and proceeded to gaze out the open doors, losing enough focus so that he'd hardly noticed when Gordon had left with the stranger.

Edited April 8, 2010 by MurderMayhemxx

[Skarx]

When one of them spoke up, the light bulb guy, she only gave him a nice side smile. She needed to grow up? Maybe, it would do her good to going a few centimeters after all. She then decided talking to him may get her boredom out of her, he seemed to have some energy to sell.

 

"Oh. Did I vex you? I'm terribly sorry for wounding you ego here. No really I am. Also give me a few more years and I should have some more growing up made by then. You know, a couple more centimeter if I'm lucky?"

 

She then sat a bit more comfortably to have a better view at him. He seemed to have some scars. She wondered where he had gotten them, but thought it may be nicer not to talk about them.

 

"Funny thing though you don't seem much taller than me. What a nice change from all the huge one that are stuff in this smelly cage with us. What's your name anyway bright guy?"

 

She noticed the white guy going out and into the next cage. She had seen those who went in that one. Poor bunch. Probably has some much less liked fearie blood in them. She found it awfully unjust that they were getting it much harder on them for something they had no control over. They loathed their bunch but those guys had it a bit worst. She wondered how Alina was going. She had received a rather bad beating. Taking her eyes out of the other cage she looked back at mr.glowing.

[MURDERcomplexx]

Again, with the attitude. Breckin snapped from his dazed state a second time, scoping the carriage. Confusion flooded his expression for a moment before realizing that it was Gordon that had left, and as quickly as it had come, the question upon his thoughts had dissipated.

"Oh. Did I vex you? I'm terribly sorry for wounding you ego here. No really I am. Also give me a few more years and I should have some more growing up made by then. You know, a couple more centimeter if I'm lucky?"

He bit his tounge to hold back a laugh. Ego? Hardly. Nevertheless, her sarcasm was...amusing. A small smile crept upon Breckin's features.

 

"I meant this hostile nature we have towards each other is a bit much. From what these strangers are telling us, it seems like we'll be stuck together for a while. So instead of being at each others throats, why don't we all calm down and get to know one another? We're all in the same boat. Waking up with freaky changes to a bunch of weirdos with swords who do...that."

He paused for a moment to gesture to the bloody unconscious girl on the ground. While turning back to her, he noticed that the girl's eyes had wandered off for a moment in thought. But she soon came back attentively, with a comment about his relatively tiny stature to boot.

"My name's Breckin. I heard a couple others introduce themselves, but I never got your name. What is it?"

Edited April 8, 2010 by MurderMayhemxx

[Skarx]

Sophia smiled when she heard Breckin's answer. He was a calm person and not so easy to get angry it seems. She knew she was been really hostile here, but just could not help it. Not enough space for her bubble, threats, transformations, more confused and weird teens adding to the place and the fact she knew her life was pretty much done for.

 

"Hostile aren't I? I didn't know I was gonna be "stuck" with everyone for long. Means they have plans for us that should not include... early death then. Good to know."

 

When he said everyone should calm down she frowned.

 

"Tell us something we don't know. I know I am usually not a person people like, but I believe this situation would normally make a lot of people a bit less... tolerant or so. I for one need more space and a better knowledge of the situation. They tell us nothing and treat us like the pest!"

 

She then closed her eyes and tried to calm down a bit. Breathing long and deep breath a couple of time. Each of them getting her calmer than the previous one. When she opened back her eyes and looked at Breckin again she was as calm as she could and went on.

 

"My name is Sophia. Remember it if you like I don't care. Do... you know what your power is? By your skin it would be something related to light in a way or another. I know some have experienced their inherited power already."

Edited April 8, 2010 by Skarx

[MURDERcomplexx]

Light..

Breckin lifted his hand to his face, watching the sparkle that caught off the sun's rays and cast a spectral colored shadow on the wooden carriage wall. His hunch had been right; it seemed they all now possessed a strange power. What his was though, remained a mystery. Breckin hadn't felt any triggers to strange, other than observing the girl's electric (at least he thought so) power fly through Kiril.

He spent several more moments focused on his hand, as if waiting for the latent power to explode forth on his own. Still, Breckin knew better. That girl's power had been triggered by anger, and he was not one to anger pointlessly.

His time would come.

"A better explanation would be appreciated, definitely. I've been asking things since I got here, and all I get is some beat around the bush explanation, like I'm supposed to just throw all caution to the wind and trust who I'm with. And as terrible hosts they are, they seem terribly desperate...and they do have weapons."

 

Breckin glanced the carriage door, catching sight of Gordon stepping into the smaller, darker carriage. Just the look of the inside gave him chills. Dark and desolate, almost like it was evil. What was the point of separating them like that? There was plenty of room to fit Gordon in with them, wasn't there?

"I haven't gotten my power yet, but most likely soon. I'm in no rush. I'd much rather be home with my family right now. This is just too much."

His mind flashed to the others back home. They'd be worried about him. He'd been gone for a long time. A shame cell phones aren't an amenity for the homeless. They would have come in handy.

Edited April 9, 2010 by MurderMayhemxx

[Skarx]

Now much calmer Sophia listened to Breckin. Which was in some way far more calming then she would have thought. She noticed him looking at his hand and he seemed to focus, but since nothing happened she ignored it afterward. Maybe he had tried to use his power, if he had any, to see what it could be.

 

"A better explanation would be appreciated, definitely. I've been asking things since I got here, and all I get is some beat around the bush explanation, like I'm supposed to just throw all caution to the wind and trust who I'm with. And as terrible hosts they are, they seem terribly desperate...and they do have weapons."

 

Huh. He had a point, they did seem rather desperate, which didn't help he feeling any better about what they would be used for.

 

"Desperate huh... Yeah they don't want to answer us. Maybe it's because we would do all we could to escape if we knew what it was. Maybe cause they don't think we have enough value to be told. I believe they said they would explain later on..."

 

"I haven't gotten my power yet, but most likely soon. I'm in no rush. I'd much rather be home with my family right now. This is just too much."

 

She smiled to him. Sincerely. She could understand his desire to be away. Who would not? She does not care a bit about her power if that means she could be back to her life and safe and... maybe she would try to be less *y with strangers. But, she was stuck here and there was nothing she could do.

 

"Maybe not all of us have powers you know... or at least not as obvious as miss thunder. We can count ourselves lucky though... I don't know what the others in that cart have as faerie type in their blood, but the Umbralatonis clearly loathe them for that. Huh. I bet they know what every single one of us have as faerie blood type. "

 

She didn't know what to do really, talking was the only option in the cart since they were about to leave the area. What would be waiting for them? She closed her eyes and tried to focus to see if she could sense what her power was. To have some kind of signal or hint. But she abandoned when all she could think about was the school pool.

[MURDERcomplexx]

"Umbralatonis...so that's what they're called?"

Breckin let the foreign words roll off his tongue slowly. They tasted of...a bittersweet mix. As strange as it sounded. But it seemed like the ones Sophia had been with, told her much more than Kiril or Emilia had told them.

Again he let his eyes drift toward that cart, and again a shiver wormed its way down his spine. So the 'undesirables' went into the creepy cart. Still, Breckin could only wonder why. Gordon seemed like a likable enough boy. Was the power they had within them influential to behavior? Perhaps they would all eventually become power zombies?

Breckin stopped himself before shuddering. A silly notion at best.

 

...but Sophia had mentioned faeries. An image of a tiny pixie like woman with wings manifested in Breckin's mind, before flying off as quickly as she'd come.

"Faeries like those?"

No, too typical. With what they'd experienced that morning, Breckin was prepared for anything but what he expected.

"So we've all got faerie blood? This is all pretty much news to me."

Curiously watching Sophia (who he now felt much more comfortable being near), Breckin brushed strands of hair away from his eyes, doing his best to ignore the pointed tips that unfamiliarly touched his fingertips.

[Skarx]

Breckin pronounced the name too. It was a ridiculously long name in her mind, but maybe it meant something. As a silence then formed when the boy looked at the other cart with the less lucky ones she pulled her leg up to her chest crouching in a ball to help her not be too scared once more. She felt safer that way, not that it would actually help if one of those thugs decided to use their swords on her. She would be minced hybrid then. At the idea she had to fight off the tears that she had been able to stop by been so mean to everyone. Anger could hide it well, but now she didn't feel like being such a brat anymore. Some of her sea green hair fell in front of her eyes as if to remind her even more that she didn't look anything normal anymore. Breckin's voice scared her out of her thought as she quickly turned to him again.

 

"Huh!? Wha... Oh... sorry. Yes we're all faeries hybrids. At least that what the thugs said. Maybe that not it at all, but we clearly aren't completely humans now aren't we? I mean... some of us could easily go back to society without any problem but others simply can't anymore. Look at Greg" She pointed Greg. "He can't go back at all, look at me too. Hair colors mean nothing now since it can easily be told that it's colored, but what can I do with a blue skin? A rough blue skin at that it was only pale this morning, but now it's darker. Even you, you glow in the light we would all end up in a circus at best or in a lab if not killed on sight..."

 

She glared at her arms and hands.

 

"Curse all this. Before most of you guys came in we discussed about the faerie blood possible. It would probably be something like... elements, Sen is a plant or something like that faerie he can speak to them and they answer back. Though that seems to be much of a bother now since he can't block them. Maybe you are a light or sun faerie type."

[Odio]

Gregor had been staring intently outside, as if the scene outside was rapturous, or as if he was daydreaming. Really, he was listening to the conversations around him. He was good at listening, and good at staying unnoticed. He was seated on the same bench as Breckin, by the door, the same seat as before, except now he was right next to Shira. Also, thankfully, this time he wasn't shedding. It seemed like his new skin was harder, like scales or armor or something. He tap-tapped a finger to a beat but then it made a rather odd clacking sound, so he stopped.

 

He took note of everything that was being said, with great interest. The part about the faerie blood caught him off-guard. He'd heard a couple people mention that, but until now, he hadn't believed. It seemed just as likely as a pegasus, though. He pursed his lips, thinking to himself. This was strange, indeed. So the plot thickened. This was a racial thing then. He thought it very notable that the pale boy had been sent to the other carriage based on his bloodline. Were they criminal bloodlines? Or maybe there would be more transformations, and they were separating us to protect.... Who? To protect themselves? Or to protect us?

 

She pointed at Greg.

 

Greg heard his name and looked around. "Don't look at me," he muttered. But then, he did just that. He looked at his hands, and felt the wings that were hidden in his back. He thought about them, and felt them sort of shudder under his skin, and he shivered. What was he? A demon, or something? He felt a grimace of self-disgust creep onto his face, and he consciously blinked it away. He calmed himself, and thought about how he'd been feeling hot-blooded, and he remembered the strange dream from the night before. He thought of keeping silent, but he decided to share with the others. They were all in this together, and who knew what they would do them? This Sophia, as outrageous as she might be at times, had a good point - they could be thrown in a circus, or tossed in a lab, or killed. Greg felt like a rat in a trap.

 

He coughed a little. "I think, well, I think I might be a - an earth faerie, of some sort." He felt so ridiculous saying it outloud. He glanced back at the doorway. Malduk was standing just outside. Greg wanted him to walk away, so they could talk in private without their captors hearing them.

[Kira1]

Danni just rolled her eyes at the other girl's reply, not really caring if she was coming or not. She watched as the girl backed up in the pegasi and one snapped its wings open, creating a huge gust of wind. It took all the will power that Danni had not to laugh at what had just happened. It was too good seeing the girl get knocked down like that, especially after the way she had been arguing with Danni.

 

She was distracted from what she thought was justice, when two others approached and one seemed to be hurt. There was an order for the two newcomers to get in the carriages from one man, before he headed to the carriages himself, picking up the girl that had been knocked to the ground.

 

Without saying anything, Danni just went inside the bigger ((or smaller, I don't know which one she should go into...)) carriage with the others, sitting down in an empty space. It seemed most had moved into the carriages while she was distracted by the brat who she began to argue with. Danni just hoped that not all of them were like that one. Though, she wasn't going to deny that she was just as mean. Most of the time Danni just kept her mouth shut, and did what she wanted to do. In this scenario where they wanted all these teenagers to come with, Danni had to wait for them to all come if they were going to leave.

 

Maybe things will be all cleared up once they got to...well, to wherever they were going.

[MURDERcomplexx]

"So we're all now elemental faerie creatures eh?

Breckin leaned up against the wall of the cart, draping his arms across his knees. In that hunched position, he stared at the dried blood on the unconscious girl's wounded foot and frowned. A severe wound like that sitting exposed? He didn't want to imagine about the infections that could fester from it. But the blood appeared to finally be clotting, and without antiseptic, there appeared to be little he could do.

 

He lifted his head to look at Greg, the scaly boy she had pointed at. Out of all of them, the change seemed to affect him with the most severity. Breckin immediately connected him with the boy who had sprouted wings outside the carriage. Sophia's change was equally as startling. Blue skinned? Even Breckin's sparkling appearance could never earn them a place in society again.

Breckin had of course, always been an outcast. But he made the most of it, learned to turn his hopeless state into something possible. He stared at Sophia's frightened face, then turned to see Greg's self-loathing expression. They both reminded him of himself, of kids he found and helped. It tugged at his heart, made him want to reach out and be the adult he knew he had to be.

But Breckin was silent. He knew his family would always accept him, no matter what the situation. He would wait and see for everyone around him, as loud and argumentative as they were.

 

"Yours might be water based then. With the sea green hair and the blue skin. And if mine is light related...light has heat...fire?"

[Walker]

Carlie was miffed at having to be here. His eyes glided over the scene with extreme displeasure. He couldn’t remember being this annoyed at anything in a long time. On the flip side though, he couldn’t remember being in this much pain in a long time also. He did appreciate one thing though, although he would never admit it. The man who had spoken to him at first hadn’t rushed to his side to help him, although, as far as he could tell, there were people other then him that were to be worried about more. He had watched silently as a girl was knocked over by ones of those winged horses At least he was still awake and alert. There were some things to be thankful for, but not many. For all he knew, she could be in a worst spot then him. There was also that man that had pretty much been roasted alive. He felt himself shuddering at the memory.

 

Barbie seemed to mistake his shuddering as a moment of weakness. Her arm tightened around him as she anticipated needing to bear even more of his weight. Carlie’s eyes nearly bulged from his head as her fingers gripped a little to tightly onto his delicate, tender side, sending blossoms of agony dancing through his chest. He managed not to scream, but he did release a ragged grunt of pain. Barbie got the message and moved her hand lower, farther away from his ribcage. The relief was almost instantaneous, but at this particular moment, his body conveniently decided to cause another stab of pain from the older injury on his leg. He grimaced and cursed under his breath as Barbie’s arms tightened around him again. This time she had reacted correctly, The flames of pain in his leg was preventing him from putting weight on it. She braced herself just in time to prevent them both from toppling like bowling pins.

 

He was impressed, doubtless to say. Despite being thin, his height made it so he wasn’t the lightest person in the universe. The fact that this small girl could manage to bear his weight was impressive. She must work out. Still, he would have been much more pleased if he hadn’t had to rely on her help in the first place. It didn’t hurt that she kept her mouth shut about it though. He appreciated that too. She wasn’t like most people, gasping and panicking over his injuries. Instead, she steadfastly helped him along but didn’t rub it in his face that he was the weak one with dumb comments every five minutes with comments like ‘Are you all right?’ On another note, he was glad she didn’t open her mouth because he was afraid of the ditzy things that would come out of it. Her presence alone was mind numbing enough, but what he’d heard her say so far hadn’t done much to raise his opinion of her intellect. The happy smiles she constantly gave were torture enough

 

In his reflections, he had forgotten about the subject at hand. What the man had said bounded back to mind and he wished with all his heart he could bound out the exit. Too bad some freaky creature was keeping him locked away in this park like some sort of animal. He felt like a trapped animal and he felt like fighting back. He opened his mouth to say some smart reply, but suddenly he felt Barbie’s arm putting gentle pressure on his side, urging him in the general direction of the larger carriage as the man had suggested. Even that gentle movement was enough to cause another blossom of agony up his side.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Lakshmi’s muscles were burning under Carlie’s weight. She hadn’t had this good of a workout in a long time, but thankfully her dancer’s physique allowed her to tolerate his weight. She’d put on enough muscle so she could handle this strain for at least a few minutes longer, that and the adrenaline pumping through her veins didn’t hurt. Everything from the dog attacking to seeing the winged horses had sent her mind and body into overdrive. The moment she had stepped into sight of the carriages and seen the winged horses she had been utterly enthralled. She’d only envisioned such beasts existing was in her mind. The idea that they actually existed outside of it thrilled her to no end. Despite everything, a brilliant smile eclipsed her face as she stared at them openly.

 

She had had trouble concentrating at the moment at hand. Even the burn in her aching muscles wasn’t enough to draw back her wandering mind. She noted somewhere in the back of her mind how the horse had kicked the girl or what the man had said to her, but it was all overwhelmed by her complete and utter wonder in the first moments. It wasn’t until she felt Carlie shudder when she was pulled back to reality. Anticipating the burden on her muscles was just about to get ten times worse, Lakshmi braced herself and tightened her grip on him. But instead this only caused Carlie to gasp in pain. Instinctively, to stop his discomfort, she moved her arm lower. That seemed to give him temporary relief, but in a flash if a second he started to curse under his breath. She tightened her grip just in time to prevent them both from toppling, but a bead of sweat formed on her forehead under the extra stress of his weight. She was just glad she wasn’t supporting him with her injured arm or they would have toppled long ago.

 

She struggled to bear the increased burden for a few seconds, but she would have to put him down soon or they would tumble. The words the man had said earlier returned to mind, and so, she gently tried to lead him in the direction of the larger carriage. Much to her dismay though, Carlie’s face turned into a grimace and he stumbled in the direction she had gently prodded him. It took all her remaining strength to catch him, and she had to use her injured arm to bear even more of the extra burden. Her injured arm and her uninjured one alike protested with blazing fury, She about let go and allowed Carlie to sink to the ground where they were, but she managed to lead him quickly to the carriage, stumbling the whole way. The worst of it was helping him into it. She felt stars dance across her vision as she helped him struggle his way in, but they achieved it.

 

The moment she could, she drew away and trembled, but it was blessed relief that coursed through her body. Without his weight crushing her, she felt almost as light and airy as a feather.

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

He felt like he had run a marathon. He couldn’t see anything when he first entered the carriage because his vision was dancing. The swirling vision was giving him a terrible headache he couldn’t stand right now so he shut his eyes tightly. At the moment, he was sitting at the entrance, using the last of his remaining strength to keep himself upright. He wouldn’t sink to the ground here or pass out, not while he was so close to maintaining some thread of his dignity, so despite his burning side, he reached out blindly with his hand until he felt the resistance of a wood wall. He scooted over a few feet and leaned against it, using it to support the top half of his body. He let out a breath of relief and finally allowed himself to relax. He didn’t mind much sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. It was better then the trek to the carriage had been. That had been pure agony.

 

He was starting to think this was perhaps more then what he had thought earlier. He hadn’t been in this much pain the last time he had broken his rib. He hadn’t been in this much mortal agony since before he had gone into remission. This thought caused his blood to run cold and the slightest twinge of fear twisted his stomach as he anticipated that he might be returning to those days. It took a moment for reason to overturn his fear and to remind him that a large dog had just landed on his chest with enormous force. That was the cause of the pain, and nothing else. It wasn’t just reason that made him cling to this, but desperation. He wouldn’t go back. He would rather die. He’d rather have a hundred more dogs crush his chest before he went through hell again.

 

The pain receded for a moment and so he hesitantly opened his eyes to see his surroundings. His waited for his eyes to adjust to the light so he could properly gauge his situation.

[Mangaholic]

It took Brunor a second or so to realize that the snow-haired boy whom he had been awaiting had already taken his place in the drearier carriage, as his mind had been wandering at that moment through a multitude of dismal memories. The sound of wood creaking beneath the added weight of the new Winter boy broke Brunor from his thoughts, and without paying much thought to it, Brunor shut the door of the carriage. He didn’t even notice that the Dark hybrid that had apparently gotten in a petty fight with Hadyn was currently defiling the walls of the slowly rotting cart with what remained of his spray paint. Not that Brunor would have cared anyways. It wasn’t like they ever really had to put that cart to much use. Whatever foul creature they were sent after would usually be killed by them, if it had not managed to escape. It was only on rare occasions that the creature, whatever it was, would be brought back to the estate. In other words, despite the putrid smell of the smaller carriage, lately, it hadn’t really been used at all.

 

Being careful to lock the doors this time, he turned, expecting to see the tall, pallid boy and his pretty companion still rooted defiantly to where he had last left them. As a result, he was completely taken aback to see that the petite Indian girl was struggling to support the other teen until they reached the other larger carriage. The contorted expression upon her face made apparent the amount of strain and energy that such an effort was taking her. Yet, in spite of her small stature, she somehow managed to keep herself and the injured boy from tumbling over, even with the gruesome wound upon her arm. Needless to say, Brunor was impressed as well, though his stomach lurched in instinctive worry whenever the pair stumbled under their own weight.

 

He considered walking over to aid them, but he wasn’t exactly sure how they would react to such a gesture. He didn’t want to risk offending them, if offering them some help would really offend them, but the other hybrids had proved that teens had quite a strange and bewildering array of ways to react to things, most of which didn’t make sense in any respect. So, just as he had done so many other times, he watched in silent concern as the pair at last made it into the carriage.

 

Quickly, he strode over to the gaping doors of that carriage, through which the Indian girl and the terribly injured boy had just disappeared through. Malduk was still standing beside the doors, his narrowed eyes fixed on Brunor. Brunor, in turn, pointedly ignored the glare that was being shot at him. He personally didn’t like Malduk, and he knew that he often got on the other man’s nerves, but for now, he was too tired and anxious to really give much heed to what Malduk was so annoyed by this time.

 

Brunor waved his companion away, and Malduk walked off with a glower etched upon his scarred face. He peered into the carriage, taking into consideration of all the teenagers that sat in there. He caught the last part of their conversation, though he didn’t pay it much mind. Instead, his eyes came to rest first on the blonde girl that lay unconscious upon the floor, where the white-haired boy had apparently left her. She was breathing – which is always a good sign if the one in question is someone you’d like to keep alive – but he wasn’t exactly sure how long it would be before that good sign was gone. Not having been witness to whatever drama had raged on between her and Kiril, he wasn’t sure what kind of condition she was in.

 

He glanced swiftly at the pair that had recently arrived in the carriage. Both were on the floor, their chests heaving with exhaustion from the massive strain that they had had to endure. In a quick second, his keen eyes took in all the details. By the bloody marks upon the girl’s arm, Brunor guessed that she had recently been bitten by some large creature, though what exactly, he wasn’t so sure about. However, her injury dwindled to nothing when compared to that of her companion. All over his body were traces of mud and dirt, as if whatever had attacked him had rubbed his face in the dirt, quite literally. There was blood seeping through his shirt, darkening the fabric with the tell-tale dark crimson color, strengthening Brunor’s conclusion that the boy had been pinned down in some mud puddle by some extremely large creature. However, Brunor couldn’t figure out exactly how the boy had managed to mess his leg up like that.

 

“Try to hold out as long as you can,” he said to both of them. There was no point in saying it to the unconscious girl, since she probably wouldn’t hear him anyway. “We’ll be there pretty soon, and you guys will be fixed up in no time.”

 

His last assuring lines, he was confident in. Unless they had been attacked by a creature that didn’t belong in the mundane world, their wounds would be capable of being healed. The only concern would be that the three of them would die from loss of blood before they reached the mansion.

 

He didn’t wait for an answer. He wasn’t even sure if either of them would have heard them over the sound of their own breathing. He shut the door and locked it tightly, just as he had done with the other carriage. As if on cue, his steed strutted over to him, stopping a few steps away from him.

 

A weary sigh – probably not the last of the day – crept from his lips as he turned around to face the jet-black mare that waited impatiently for him. Anxiety had gnawed at him for so long that he wondered how there was anything left for it to eat at. He feared for his niece, for one thing, for he knew that grief and despair could cause a person to lose their mind. He hoped that Hadyn would be able to keep her in check and make sure she didn’t do anything else too rash that might put an end to her life as well. Then, there was his growing concern and fear for Emilia and Kiril. Kiril couldn’t die – it was too unfair. Kiril was going to get married to Emilia. Could the world be so cruel as to tear them apart so early in their blossoming lives? What would Emilia do if Kiril were to die because of the terrible wound? Would she go mad as well? Would she try to go after the blonde hybrid to take revenge too? Would her bloodlust and hatred cloud her common sense?

 

Brunor shuddered involuntarily as his vision flashed red. Somewhere, deep within his heart, he could feel his own pain welling up again, threatening to break through and finish tearing apart his own heart. Though there was barely any heart left in him to tear apart. The world had already taken most of it so many years ago.

 

It seemed to him almost as if the world revolved around death and misery and revenge, nothing more. And love – where was love in that cycle? Love was everywhere. Love was what caused misery; love was what caused revenge; love ultimately brought death. What more was there to it?

 

Brunor’s pegasi whinnied impatiently, shattering his contemplation for a split second, and he walked slowly toward her, lost again in his despairing thoughts. The mare’s eyes, despite her whinny, portrayed her unease for her master, and she lowered her head apologetically. He mounted her silently, noticing neither the look nor the gesture she gave him, and after a brief moment of guilt, she nickered to the other stallions, notifying them that it was at last time to leave this wretched place.

[myahoo]

Mark listened to Gordon try to explain what happened, concluding that the girl had done something to really anger 'his kind' and that the lightning came from the girl. Glancing quickly outside, he winced as Sophia stormed in and lashed out at the new kids. Note to self: Don't get Sophia angry. He registered Gordon leaving after the somewhat-more-familiar person told him to switch carts and nodded in response to the guy's nod. Hearing Kathy sigh beside him, Mark looked at her briefly, before turning his attention to the current...conversation between Sophia and the glowing guy. Breckin, I think he said.

 

He focused on the conversation, interested again after the talk calmed and touched on faerie blood. Watching Breckin's face, Mark could tell that Breckin was hearing all this for the first time. Thank goodness for small mercies, I suppose. At least we got some info. Greg spoke up after Sophia mentioned that she thought the faerie blood was based on elements and Mark cocked his head at Greg's statement. So Greg thinks he's Earth, Breckin thinks he's Fire, and he thinks Sophia's Water. What would the other elements be?

 

Hearing some noise from outside, he looked up as a girl with cream-colored hair and gray eyes entered the carriage, quickly followed by an Indian girl with green and pink highlights supporting a tall, pale, injured boy. The last two just about fell into the carriage and Mark could see that both were exhausted or close to it. Both were also injured, the girl on her arm and the boy on his leg, and Mark wondered whether he should offer some help. As Mark hesitated, he examined the two more closely and noticed that the boy seemed to have a confrontational air about him, while the girl had a bubbly one.

 

A little confused, he decided to leave them alone and was about to ask a question of the others in the cart when the man he didn't recognize spoke briefly to the injured two, before closing the door. This time, Mark heard the sound of the lock and peered out the window. The man merely stood there for a little while, seemingly lost in thought, before the horse standing near him whinnied. Mark watched as the man mounted the horse and the carts began to finally move. Despite feeling apprehensive about what lay ahead, he was at least content that something was happening to get them closer to the information they were promised.

 

Turning back towards the rest of the teens, he said, "Water, fire, and earth make sense, but then what element would Sen's be? He can talk to plants and that doesn't really seem like an element to me."

[lilyice]

Kathy listened with vivid curiosity as the other teens conversed. The rude girl who came in a few minutes ago was called Sophia, apparently. She seemed to know a lot more about the situation than anyone else here, from what she was telling. Breckin seemed to be the voice of reason amongst the group. Rather than yelling back at Sophia, as Kathy had expected, he instead tried to calm everyone down. Is it just me, or do the guys here appear more mature? Kathy chuckled quietly. Either that, or stupid. I mean, they aren’t even going to question these… – what was it? Umbra-something-tronis? – or set any conditions before they obediently agree to go with them to who-knows-where? The blonde still couldn’t fathom why some of the teens agreed to go so willingly. Didn’t they have any sense of danger? Then again, she’s also sitting in this carriage now, wasn’t she? The word “hypocrite” temporarily flashed past her mind, but she dismissed it.

 

The conversation at hand had somehow turned to the topic of them having inherited faerie blood. From what she’s seen in the afternoon, this somehow didn’t come as very surprising to Kathy. Heck, since they’re all abnormal, why not let something like faerie blood link them? It was the thought that one of her parents was a hybrid too that startled her. In no way, Kathy thought, was it possible that she got her faerie genes from her father. If it were true, the blonde mused that she would probably kill herself right there and then. Her faerie blood was most likely from her gentle, loving mother. Kathy knew there was always a strange kind of aura about her, something only little children could see. She hadn’t forgotten the days when her mother took the family out on picnics in the spring, and the wind would cause cherry blossoms to fall and surround the fair woman, making the scene absolutely surreal. How she wished for a time machine then, to return to the past.

 

Stop it. The past is the past. Right now, I’ve got other things to worry about. Like faeries. Those tiny little creatures they have in children’s picture books. Yes, those.

 

Kathy eyed the few hybrids who were guessing which kind of faeries they were. Breckin looked like a light or sun faerie, for sure. It made sense for Boy-Who-Grew-Wings – for Kathy still didn’t know his name – to be an earth faerie. His brown hair, his earthen and scaly skin, his whole appearance screamed “earth” to the blonde teen. As for Sophia… she did have blue-ish hair. Water’s close enough, Kathy figured.

 

So what was she?

 

From her shockingly spikey blonde hair and her dream last night, Kathy tried to deduct her faerie element. Lightning? Thunder? Electric? Were those even elements? Before she had time to ponder further, the girl who was arguing with Varianne outside stepped in and took an empty seat. To Kathy’s surprise, Varianne didn’t follow her in. Did she leave? Is she still outside? Well, not my problem. The thought flickered through her mind and was gone as fast as it came. It was true; it wasn’t her problem.

 

Hearing a pair of ragged breathing and occasional grunts, Kathy turned her gaze outside once again. The injured boy she was observing before, now barely supported by the pretty Indian girl who looked like she was about to collapse, trudged his way into the bigger carriage. As soon as the two tumbled in, they caved in to exhaustion and collapsed onto the floor of the cart, breathing heavily. Kathy took this chance to observe their wounds, which looked worse than she had originally thought. They were also both splattered with blood, and Kathy wondered if any of the two would black out like the other blonde had, from the loss of blood.

 

Not really sure if they were comfortable on the floor, Kathy shifted over, away from Mark, making a space in the middle enough for two to sit. “Hey you two, once you’ve caught your breath, move up to sit with the rest of us. That position can’t be comfortable.” Nice job, captain obvious, the blonde thought silently, mentally giving herself a whack. She didn’t bother asking them if they were ok; after all, who in their situation would be ok? That was a dumb question.

 

A sudden jolt of the carriage made Kathy snap her head to the door, which had just been locked. She heard the click, and saw the back of the black-haired Umbralatronis walk away. She hadn’t even noticed his presence until now. Looks like they were on their way. It was a good thing there were no more teens coming; the place was getting rather crowded.

 

Just then, Mark spoke up. “Water, fire, and earth make sense, but then what element would Sen's be? He can talk to plants and that doesn't really seem like an element to me.”

 

“Sen? Who’s he?”

Edited April 13, 2010 by lilyice

[Odio]

Fire.

 

Gregor smiled, feeling something ignite inside, like an idea, or a breeze. In the shady carriage, his eyes almost picked up a red glow for a brief second, and he felt his blood coursing in his veins. But it was just a moment, and then the odd sensation was gone, and he was back to normal. Well, almost normal. He still had the eerie skin and all that other nonsense. It was a strange feeling, but it was just barely a sensation, and there was too much going on around him for Greg to really be able to notice.

 

It was then that the last of the other teens shuffled in, and their little conversation was interrupted for a moment. Greg noticed that the shiny-haired girl (Danni), didn't say much. Then the two injured kids tumbled in, joining ranks with the curly-haired girl on the floor. They were huffing and puffing from the effort of carrying each other, enough so that he could hear them before he saw them. He jumped back when they crashed inside, lifting his legs out of the way.

 

"Ugh!" he blurted out, on accident. He felt a sandy slime rub on his bare shin, and he tried wiping his leg against the seat. "What is that?" he exclaimed. It mostly scraped off, but it left a crusty residue. He leaned down and squinted at his leg. It was mud! He looked with disgust at the boy and the girl crumpled on the ground. Why were they covered in mud and blood, and why were they traipsing around with injuries? He looked away from them with disdain, up at the door, and Brunor, who's voice also distracted him. Then the door shut abruptly in his face, and he heard the ominous click of the lock. He turned his face away from the door, slowly, and around the carriage at the gathered freaks. He wasn't pleased. It looked like there were about a dozen of them, and at least three of them were injured.

 

At Kathy's words, Greg looked in the corner at the small one, Sen. "Sen is talking to plants?" he asked, incredulous. Then he remembered that he himself had scaly skin and wings. He felt the carriage shudder then, as if they were starting off. He looked out the window, and placed a clawlike hand against the frame. "Oh great," he grumbled, "we're leaving." In the back of his mind, he thought back to the play, by Shakespeare, called "Midsummer Nights," or something like that. He couldn't remember the exact name. Those faeries had seemed like plant faeries, but he couldn't recall very well. He thought to himself, that maybe Sen was one of those kinds of faeries.

[Skarx]

As many more people spoke Sophia remained silent until she finally had enough material to actually have something bright to say again. Greg spoke of him probably been a faerie of earth, which was... probably the case since he was one massive guy and to that you could had the scales and many other changes. Then Breckin had mentioned the possibility of his power being the one of fire and her's, from her look, the one of water. Now that she thought about it he was probably right. Blue skin, sea green hair and her dreams about water. The fact she didn't thought about it made her feel a bit angry, but she killed that fire before it even reached more then the initial thought. No need to be mean again...

 

She was about to talk, but suddenly another spoke. The girl named all of the current possible elements, fire, water, earth, but said she didn't believe plant was one. What an idiot... element could mean a lot of thing not just the major all known element. Then another asked who Sen was and she just pointed at the said Sen after she spoke.

 

There again something else happened, two wounded person joined them. What had happened to them!? Only to have Greg say surprised that Sen could speak to plant.

 

"Oh for the... Yeah he can and that may just as well make him a plant faerie or a forest one. An element could mean a LOT of thing girl not just fire, water, earth and wind. There could be all the in-between. Ice, light, dark, metal, sound why not and who knows what else we can think of. Oh and some shot a lightning bolt I heard so there could also be lightning added to the nice list."

 

She then looked at Breckin.

 

"You may be right about me been a water hybrid. It would make sense." The cart then started moving surprising her. "Oh finally... onward to whatever they want from us hooray... I guess we will know for sure later on unless they decide not to tell us what we all are." Looking at the two wounded who were now with them. "What happens to you guys?"

 

She was a bit annoyed that her water bottle was empty now... she would have wanted to test out if she really could use water. Wait... was it completely empty? Maybe not. There always is a bit of leftover water in those. She opened her small bag and looked for her bottle then took it out and looked closely at it. YES! There was some! Like... a couple of drops... Still it may be enough she put it down not wanting to try it out now like a little kid.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Skarx

[Kira1]

Danni didn't say anything as the others conversed, watching as the two injured ones came into the carriage after her. She wondered what had happened to them that caused them to end up like this. Everyone else seemed to be wondering why they were covered in mud and blood as well, so at least she wasn't the only one.

 

As she listened, she heard the other teenagers mention elements and how apparently they were hybrid faeries or something. Well, that would certainly explain what was happening to her, even if it was a bit far-fetched. The others seemed to be wondering about what element they were, which made Danni wonder what hers was. Water? Wind? Fire? None seemed to be right to her, oddly enough. Perhaps she would find out later, if this faerie stuff was true. With the winged horses appearance though, she was about ready to believe anything. Now, what to do about it if it was true? Well, she'd worry about that later.

 

Her attention was brought to one brown-haired boy who exclaimed an "Ugh" as the wounded ones entered the carriage. Which was kind of rude, and she looked at him disapprovingly since he seemed more worried about himself rather than the two injured people in front of him.

 

Again, her focus went elsewhere when it seemed that they would finally be moving and get on with this. Though, the rude boy didn't seem too happy about leaving for some reason. What was with these people? She hoped it wouldn't be like this all the time. She even hoped that she wouldn't have to be with them much longer. A nice quiet carriage ride would be good too, without all these numb skulls chattering away, possibly arguing. It seemed that they wanted to chat about the elements though, which she hoped wouldn't last long. Hearing their speculations on things would get her nowhere since they had no clue what they were talking about. They were all just as clueless as she was about all this and would stay that way until someone explained it all to them.

 

Silently she sighed, crossing her arms and took to looking out the window, watching the sky outside of the carriage as it began its journey to wherever they were going.

[Mangaholic]

The carriages and the three peculiar winged horses weaved rapidly through the towering skyscrapers of New York City and all the traffic that clogged up the city’s roads, invisible to every mundane eye. Somehow, they managed to avoid getting hit by any of the automobiles, despite not paying a single mind to such matters. It was amazing how quickly the horned horses were able to pull the carriages along, considering their petite size in comparison to their passengers. Soon, the group had left behind the polluted island and come upon a calmer road, lined with maples and such on both sides of the barren highway. The air was calmer and fresher – not much of surprise – and the horses slowed their speed, enjoying the world as long as they could before the war truly began.

 

The Umbralatronis, on the other hand, were far more anxious at home and were in no mood to enjoy the lovely change in scenery. They had far too much on their minds for that, especially with a bunch of terribly injured teenagers who could expire at any given moment. It only made it worse that time seemed to slow the seconds merely to mock their apprehension.

 

At last, Brunor’s black steed broke away from the carefully paved asphalt and galloped into the trees, following some hidden pathway through the forest. She picked up speed, snorting and tossing her head in the air as if she was having the time of her life. All around Brunor, there was only a frenzy of colors, whipping past him on all sides. He remained perfectly calm though, in terms of having to worry about running into a tree; he completely trusted the pegasus to avoid collision with any given obstacle.

 

There were no landmarks to tell the mare and the Umbralatronis that they were nearing the gates, and yet, somehow they both knew that they were rapidly approaching the entrance. Then again, it was where they lived, so it wasn’t too strange. The black pegasus slowed to a canter, still snorting ever so often, and in a matter of seconds, the pair came upon two enormous, iron gates, towering high above them. Flanking them on both sides were equally massive stone pillars, with terrifying creatures – faeries, demons, and the sort – meticulously engraved in the gleaming rock. Upon each pillar sat a gargoyle, its face contorted with such ferocity that it would have sent shivers down the spine of any intruder, no matter how tough. As long as that intruder was not as of the dreaded sort, that was.

 

The black mare whinnied loudly, stamping a hoof into the ground. As if on cue, the gates creaked open, releasing a piercing shriek, though no one paid it much mind. They were too relieved to be almost home to care. Just before Brunor’s steed sped through the entrance, Brunor peered at the forest floor, thankful to see the obvious signs that a pair of motorcycles had passed through here recently. It meant that Tristen had managed to get Hadyn and Rhiannon back home, safe and sound.

 

The trees came again, flying past them on both sides, before they stopped completely, giving way to a great green lawn, neatly trimmed and unmarred by a weed of any sort. There was an actual pathway paved out for any arrivers, one that meandered through the pretty garden, instead of heading straight toward the destination.

 

Brunor raised a hand, shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed beyond the luxuriant garden. Now, he felt true relief. For there, looming above a terrace speckled with lilies and roses was a mansion, immense and magnificent. For there, there was his home.

 

Throwing upon her black, leathery wings, Brunor’s mare launched herself into the air, not bothering to the meandering path that led up to their home. She landed at the foot of the stairs, turning in time to greet the two male pegasi that had arrived just after her, as well as the two carriages. The larger of the two stopped beside the pegasi, while the other swerved away, heading down to another place. The dungeon.

 

Brunor slid off of his steed, who trotted off, knowing that she was no longer needed. He walked over the back door of the carriage, throwing open to reveal the twelve teenagers that it contained.

 

“We’re here. Go follow her –“ He stopped to gesture at Miranda, standing a little ways behind him. “- in there. There are rooms for you guys.”

 

As soon as the unharmed hybrids had gotten out, Brunor stepped into the carriage, carefully avoiding the petite Indian girl and the muddy boy. He picked the unconscious blonde up easily, lifting her up onto his shoulder, and got out. He glanced at the two that remained, before looking over at the staircase, and then back again. They’re not going to be able to make it up there, he thought grimly.

 

Whistling loudly, he summoned the three pegasi and then proceeded to ask sincerely of the two wounded teenagers: “What are you more scared of? Riding these horses or walking up a ton of stairs with your injuries?”

 

…………………

 

Making sure that all twelve of the teenagers were following her, Miranda strolled up the stairs, pausing only to open the doors of the entrance. There were lots of Umbralatronis in the mansion, all rushing about, trying to prepare for the worst. Many of them stopped for only a brief moment to stare curiously at the nine newcomers before returning to their business. They had already heard the news from Hadyn and Tristen.

 

Miranda headed straight for the hallway that contained the rooms Brunor had mentioned, glancing back ever so often to make sure one of the hybrids hadn’t decided to wander off.

 

Withdrawing a key from her pocket, she hastily unlocked each of the rooms, throwing the door wide open as she did so. As soon as four rooms were unlocked, she began directly them into the rooms. She sent the gray-eyed girl with cropped silver hair, along with the petite blonde, in the first; and the redhead, the green-haired girl with the big mouth, and the silver-haired Asian into another. The molting Mountain hybrid and the green-haired boy were put together in one room, and the remaining two - the glittering boy and the one with smoky hair - were directed into the last room. Once they were all in, Miranda locked the doors again, sealing them all within.

 

…………………….

 

Malduk threw open the doors of the smaller cart, his scarred face blank and emotionless. Beside him stood an Umbralatronis, who had been sent to aid him.

 

“Get out,” he commanded gruffly, talking to the two boys that were still conscious.

 

As soon as they did so, Malduk took Varianne out, as easily as Brunor had done with the unconscious blonde that had knocked out Kiril. With a nod of his head, he told the other Umbralatronis to get the Dark girl. For a moment, the man stared at the girl in utter shock, totally taken aback.

 

“Yes, I know,” Malduk said impatiently. “She looks a lot like her, doesn’t she?”

 

The other Umbralatronis nodded gravely. “Aye, that she does. Hopefully she won’t turn out like that woman either.”

 

Very hesitantly, he picked the girl up in his arms, half expecting her to wake up and attack him, though she remained as deathlike as ever.

 

“Let’s go,” he murmured, trying to avoid staring into the girl’s pale, bloody face.

 

He and Malduk led the other two conscious hybrids through the dark, tortuous dungeon, relying only on their keen eyesight and memory of the place to guide them. At last, when it got too dark, Malduk’s companion handed him a flashlight.

 

Eventually, they reached the cell that had been meant for these hybrid. Malduk’s companion unlocked the door with some difficult, needless to say. After all, it wasn’t that easy doing so with a half-dead girl in your arms. Gesturing to the two male teenagers, Malduk directed them within, and once they had done so, the two Umbralatronis gently placed Varianne and the dark-haired female in the cell as well.

 

The iron bars of the prison cell slid shut with a clang, and the light of the flashlight – the only light in this desolate place – quickly faded away.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Mangaholic

[jaina]

Shira wairly entered the room she had been shown to and directed into with two other girls. She hesitantly paces slightly from one end of the room to the other ,examining everything with her eyes, unsure of just what to think. Relatively satisfied with their safety, she flopped herself down on a bed, a little weary now that the adrenaline from earlier was fading from her body. "This really is perfect," she mused quietly, "we've been abducted by a somewhat violent group of people who say that we're all part faerie..." She quietly laid flat out, a wry smile on her face at the fact that while she had cooperated, she hadn't really had any choice in the matter.

 

She reached across the bed and grabbed a bit of the food that had been left on the plate for them and took a sniff. Given the fact they had gone through all the trouble of bringing them here, she doubted they wanted to poison them leading to her taking a bite of the bread. The food was a little stale and very dry, leading her to wonder just how little their captors actually thought of them. They seemed to care enough to give them decent beds, but the poor food indicated they probably thought very little of them.

 

((I apologize if there's for any gramatical mistakes in this post as the computer I'm on does not have spell check or anything of the sort))

[RheaZen]

Sen had been mostly silent for the duration of the time between his last utterance and now, with him standing in a room with another person and... nobody else. They were alone, it seemed. His hands were still jammed firmly over his ears, but he could still hear... things. Those things! Whatever they were, they were annoying. At least the trees and grass hadn't been talkative. But they shouldn't have talked at all! He pressed his hands over his ears, tighter, trying to seal out all sound, but he could still hear a little... This can't be real. I'm just a normal kid. Normal life. My hair turned green. Mom and dad will be wondering about me. Plants talk. I wonder how the cat's doing. They talk to ME. Plants talk to me... He slowly bent down and sat on the ground where he'd been standing, not having moved from the very spot where he'd been pushed to by the woman who'd almost caught him in the tree, earlier.

 

His fingers were white now, his ears pale, his gripping them so tightly cutting off blood circulation. Feeling a numbness creeping into his fingers and ears, Sen loosened his grip for a moment, noticing that the sound didn't get any louder when he moved his hands. This didn't give him any relief; instead, he whimpered, then clamped his hands back over his ears and curled up, falling over onto his side. In this position, ignoring the other person in the room, he began to cry.

[myahoo]

Mark let Greg and Sophia answer Kathy's question about Sen, but he bristled at Sophia's response to his question. He was just stating what he thought about the elements; she didn't have to bite his head off. Just because he believed there were only four (Six now.) main elements didn't mean that she had to as well. Besides, who ever heard of sound being a kind of element?

 

He contemplated whether he should respond before discarding the thought (It's not worth it in the long run.) and turned to look out the window, while keeping one ear on the conversation. Blinking at the speed at which the scenery passed by, Mark rubbed his eyes before peering out again. Yup, still the same speed. Impressed by the maneuverability and speed of the horse-like creatures, he stared as the grays and blacks of New York City melted into the greens and browns of the country.

 

Mark watched as they passed by giant stone pillars engraved with the images of other mythical (Okay, maybe, not so mythical anymore.) creatures. Scanning the rest of the land that he could see, Mark could tell that there was a lot of land here and that it was an enormous estate.

 

He felt the carriage come to a stop and climbed out when the door was opened, looking for the other carriage. He barely saw it continue somewhere else before he started following the lady, not wanting to be left behind. As they walked through the mansion, Mark noticed more people and he assumed that these were more of 'his kind.' At least these ones didn't mind them. The lady stopped and unlocked a couple of rooms, ushering a couple of the teens into each one, and he was apparently sharing with Breckin.

 

Mark heard the door lock after he entered the room and sighed before examining the quarters. No windows, no doorknob, a bathroom, three twin-sized beds with their heads against a wall, a nightstand between two of the beds, a plate of bread, and a jug of water. So, either we're not staying here long, or we'll get some time to eat meals, because just bread and water is not going to be enough for us. Finished with his inspection, he shrugged and decided to get comfortable. He made his way towards the one bed not next to the nightstand and sat down, waiting for Breckin to make his move.