.::Bind::. (IC) A Square Peg and a Round Hole

Edgehollow was a pretty strange name for people to give a town. There wasn’t really an ‘edge’ or ‘hollow’ to speak of, but if by edge, the citizens meant ‘the edge of civilization’, then someone could understand at least half of the name, since the place was in the middle of nowhere. Somehow right on the border between Illinois and Kentucky, Edgehollow was the closest a town could get to being in neither the north or southern states in the US, though it was definitely further east. Because of its location, Edgehollow got people from all sorts of different places, although it wasn’t a big center of trade, so it was mostly self-contained and isolated. Most of the reasons people liked Edgehollow was because the town wasn’t as involved with the rest of the world, and it had a peaceful, old-fashioned flare to it that made it oddly comforting.

Overall, the town had grown a lot bigger since it had first been built, which was 213 years ago, and the residents had maintained its look for as long as the settlement had stood. Edgehollow was spread over a very large area, but despite its size, it couldn’t ever be seen as a true city, simply because it didn’t have a single tower to speak of. The tallest buildings to speak of had three floors, not including if they had basements. Most of the structures in the central part of town, the very heart of the place, were old brick buildings stacked together, with hand-painted metal or wooden signs, and fabric sails that covered glass shop windows. Here, a lot of shops were located on the first floor, and then the owners, as there were many family-owned businesses, lived in the upper levels. There wasn’t much to be found interesting about the town’s history, but residents took pride in it, all the same. Edgehollow was an independent town that fended for itself.

Surrounded on all sides by forested wilderness that went on for miles, and only connected to the outside world by a few roads, it wasn’t surprising that those seeking to live a simpler life would come to live here. What most didn’t know, though, was that the allure of Edgehollow also attracted many residents; those of a nature that wasn’t human. From the very beginning filled with humans and creatures that possessed powers of a supernatural nature, magic and strange things were secretly laced into many different aspects of the town. From the strange creatures that artists had carved into the trunks of ancient trees in the central Edgehollow Park, to the sculptures used to decorate odd street corners and walk ways, and even old murals painted across the brick sides of some buildings, the evidence of strange beings was everywhere. Some of the art was done by normal hands, but others were done by those that held secrets they could never mention directly. The dragon statue on the corner was a real thing at one point, and so was the wolf with bat wings and antlers. They were all real, but nobody knew that, except for those who were born aware, or those that were born from a world different from ours. Everyone else simply thought it was the artists’ imagination at work. Others knew better.

Now, it is just after the first day of school, after all the students returned back from Spring Break. Despite how much of an area the town covered, school buses always managed to carry students to the respective school they belonged to on time. Although there were multiple preschools, elementary schools, and two middle schools, all of the schools eventually led to the students being brought to the single high school in town, fittingly named Edgehollow High. With no easy access to other schools in the state, of Illinois or Kentucky, sports were the last thing on the agenda of the town’s independent school system, academics were more important, and so it was that there were no glorious things expected in a typical school. Cheerleaders and Football players were nonexistent, and since there was only one high school, everyone had to be content watching students from younger grades compete, though it ceased to be important later.

Students were treated nicely the first day back, and so it was that there wasn’t any homework in any class, and most of the teens were left to their own devices.

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In the light of a waning crescent moon, a black-clad figure ran about, leaping between rooftops, wearing black leather armor, with a hood that pulled up to cover his head. His face was hidden behind a mask, accented with a dash of bright yellow that ran down the forehead, and small yellow rings around the expressionless eye holes that framed glinting amber eyes. He was lean and muscular, from what could be seen, and rather tall, at that, although someone got the distinct impression that he wasn’t an immature teen doing something crazy. Risky, perhaps, but the determination seen through the eyes that peered from behind the mask suggested that he had an agenda that he wasn’t going to allow to slip between his fingers. Strapped to a belt at his waist was a black sheath with pressed designs, and the grip was of woven leather. He seemed to carry on his person a katana blade, one that was a genuine weapon that could do damage. He made little sound, although he could hear the sound of his own breath, and his heartbeat.

Paul arrived at where there was a gap between two buildings, and looked down into the alley, making sure that he didn’t cast his shadow into it, though there was little moonlight that could do it. He watched as another figure traced a strange pattern with white chalk onto the ground. It struck him that he recognized the young man that was doing it, though he wasn’t sure of what the pattern was. It was a person only a little younger than him, of average height. He had pale pink skin, and two features that made it easy to remember his face. He had thick, healthy and sleek raven black hair that was grown long and fell past his chin in waves, not a single broken or split end to be seen, which was recognizable because hair so healthy or nice was rare. The second feature was the perfectly round silver wire-frame glasses that looked as though they belonged to an older time period. The attire of the person had not changed at all, since the last time Paul had seen him, although he saw that the young man was also this time wearing black gloves, ones that fit perfectly over his aristocratic or feminine-looking hands. He saw strange symbols stitched in red on the backs of each glove, as the stranger drew the chalk pattern.

Paul, hidden behind his mask, frowned, looking around. He hadn’t come here searching for this person, the one who had saved his life after he had gotten hurt in a fight. He had been completely selfless, not even knowing who Paul was, and yet taking him to his home to recover, and Paul, having not wanted to get the poor kid involved, had left without revealing his identity, or even giving a name. He didn’t know the kid’s name, either. He also didn’t know what those strange patterns were, or why he was wearing the gloves, except that he was very close to a dangerous presence Paul sensed. Paul continued to look around, waiting for the Dark Spirit that had appeared here to reveal itself.

___________________________________________________________

“Shayla, this is dangerous, we shouldn’t be interfering with Seers and their business. Most Seers know our kind exists, but there’s an Alchemist down there, too, and Alchemists don’t know.”

On a rooftop a distance away from where the black-clad Seer standing, looking around for a Dark Spirit, while seeming confused about the Alchemist drawing a transmutation circle in the alley below, two girls sat crouched behind an outcropping, for the most part hidden on the other side of the triangular shape on top of the building. One was a tall girl who had dark brown eyes, and long, wavy auburn hair that fell down to the middle of her back. She was dressed comfortably in a grey t-shirt, worn under a light black hoodie and matching black yoga pants, which bore a white stripe running down the legs. Even under this clothing, one could see that her limbs rippled with muscle. The only thing that looked strange was that she had somehow wound up on the roof of a three-story building, and she was also completely barefoot, though the soles of her feet seemed quite tough and calloused. Shayla was her name, and it seemed the other girl hiding right next to her was trying to dissuade her from something.

“Not this Seer, Opal, he’s looking at that Alchemist’s transmutation circle like he’s never seen one before in his life. Besides, I’m keeping my aura masked the best I can, he’s waiting for that Dark Spirit I picked up earlier to show. It’s bound to attack him, Dark Spirits always go for the Seers, and they have stronger spirits, tasty morsels.”Shayla replied, glancing briefly at her companion, before returning to her observing.

Opal wasn’t small, but she wasn’t as tall as her friend, either, she was about an inch short. Small and wiry, with long limbs, she wasn’t that heavily built, but she looked lean and athletic, like she did a lot of aerobic workouts. She had a somewhat triangular face, and a very wide mouth, although her gigantic round eyes, which were an intensely bright shade of blue, immediately stood out.  Flaxen blond hair formed a feathery layered bob about her head, and overall, she reminded someone of a deer or horse, not having the most attractive appearance, but even with the slightest turn of her head indicating strange grace. She was wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt, and a pair of denim shorts that were just above the knee. Like her friend, she was barefoot.

Opal frowned, “I’m not sure I like it when you talk about spirits like they’re food, you’ve never actually eaten one, have you? I know you look like a Demon, but you’re really a Fay, right?”

Shayla frowned, keeping her eyes on the Seer and Alchemist, “No, I’ve never eaten a spirit, living or dead, but yeah, I guess I’m a Fay, I’m not a guardian, or anything, but I’ve never done anything to break the laws of my kind.”

Opal look relived, “Then why did you talk about spirits that way?”

Shayla scowled a bit, “Well, it’s the truth, isn’t it? The more power a spirit has, the tastier it is to the Demon or Dark Spirit that devoured it. Come on, I don’t like talking about this sort of thing, it freaks people out. Let’s just watch and see what happens.”

Spoiler:

Driving down a sixty mile per hour highway at eighty miles per hour was a black 1987 Buick Grand National X. Its owner really didn't seem to care that he was twenty miles above the speed limit, and he maneuvered between the light traffic expertly, merging around slowpokes and gunning it up to ninety as soon as the road opened up. Nobody really seemed to mind, though. There were no police officers around, and the act of calling the police on a speeder while driving sixty-five miles per hour in the fast lane of a three-lane highway was a death wish to begin with. Three of the car's windows were cracked slightly, and the passenger-side window was wide open. Hanging out of said passenger-side window was the head of a grey pit bull, its tongue flapping in the breeze and a wild smile on his face. The radio blared "It's a Long Way to the Top" by ACDC at near full volume. The driver of the car was a tall, elegant-looking black man wearing a black wool longcoat and a matching stetson. His eyes were fixed on the road ahead of him over his round rimless spectacles, and both of his hands gripped the top of the steering wheel. He quietly sang along with the song with a voice that was in no near future going to be recording rock albums. The dog pulled its head inside of the window and moved its left paw to the volume nob on the radio. Before it could turn the volume down, one of Marshall's hands grabbed its paw tightly.

"What have I told you about touching my radio, Amos?" Marshall asked in a deep southern voice.

"If I do it you'll take me to the vet and have my balls cut off." The dog replied, lowering its head towards the carpet and whining.

"Ok then I'll have him do it and he can get his balls chopped off instead." the dog said to itself with a slightly higher voice.

"I hope you realize that my balls are your balls too, Navon." Amos replied to...himself.

"Oh, then yeah don't touch that radio."

"Either way," Marshall cut into the dog's pseudo-schizophrenic conversation with itself "It's against the laws of the universe to turn ACDC down. The volume knob only goes up."

"How do you still have working ears, Marshall?" Amos replied.

"Because I only listen to good music." he mused "These kids who listen to the equivalent of a keyboard smash on a synthesizer and call that music are both harming their ears with ridiculous volume and are further damaging their ears by causing them such suffering that they rebel against their wearer, causing further damage." With that, the conversation seemed to go silent. Marshall got off of the highway on an offramp labeled "Exit A-16. Edgehollow, Ky". Within five minutes he was cruising at a leisurely pace through a path with woods on all sides. It was a certainly calming ride, one that Marshall enjoyed quite a bit. His furry companion did not like the ride nearly as much, and so rested its head against the window and whimpered.

"You ok, boys?" Marshall asked the dog.

"I don't like the look of this place, Marshall." Amos replied.

"And I don't like the smell, boss." Navon added "I just caught a whiff of a cockatrice that's within a mile of here and at least three demons. There's a few seers and assorted other mythical creatures too. Do I smell...something Chinese?"

"Yeah, I'm getting that too." Amos replied "I don't detect the smell of ashes or burning wood, so it's probably not a dragon."

"Maybe a Quilin?" Marshall interjected "Haven't seen one of them in a while."

"No. Quilins have a distinct scent of sea salt and Tanzanian mud. This smells more like a pasture in spring."

"Hm. Don't know what that could be." Marshall continued to drive despite the dog's protest and soon arrived at the front of a house he had rented for this particular trip. It was a one-level grey rancher on the top of a hill overlooking the forest outskirts of the town. Not only was the view quite beautiful, but it would provide a good strategic position incase something less than savory came to call. He backed the car into a gravel driveway and opened the door, taking his first step onto the fresh green lawn still speckled with morning dew. He caught a rooster slowly bobbing down the street, but dared not make eye contact with it. You could end up dead that way. He opened the back seats before locking the car and grabbed his wood-paneled Winchester 1873 repeating rifle from where it laid strapped in on the back seat. This gun was his most prized possession, and he hated parting with it. He held the gun by the barrel and walked up to the door of the house. The keys that the landlord had mailed him slid in and the door opened into a small, semi cramped living room orbiting around a flatscreen television on a stand. There was a leather couch and an armchair positioned in front of the tv, and a fireplace on the opposite side of the room with a wooden rocking chair and an old-fashioned red leather armchair. Marshall placed the gun on the coffee table, hung his hat on a hook by the door, and flopped onto the couch to rest his legs. Amos and Navon walked over and curled up next to him on the floor. They'd unpack the car in a little bit, but for right now they would rest and recuperate for the hunt ahead. Marshall made a note to himself to check out the bar scene later that day. Hopefully they'd have something good on tap.

"Pink"


A strange woman roamed the town. Just like she usually does. Dressed oddly, and acts the part. Dressed heavily in a red winter coat, a white dress shirt under that, a pink tie, red racing gloves, black boots, and goggles. She wandered down the streets of Edgehollow as a human... When actuality, Pink is a high-level demon in disguise. A monster in the skin of a human, desperately waiting for the chance to . Hmph, you'll get your chance some day. The barrier will come crashing down, and the wave will make things a little nicer. Pink's eyes peered towards a couple walking by, she gave them a evil grin that caused them to keep distance. Things are pretty dry around here, right? During her march through town, in a desperate attempt to, appease her boredom. She stopped for a moment, and looked up, and around. Almost like she expected something to be flying around that she can throw water at. She saw two mysterious women on the roof, staring at something and having a conversation. Pink narrowed her eyes and tried to listen in. No matter how hard they tried to hide it, Pink knew that one of them was a demon. Which interested her enough. Oh! She wondered what they were doing. Probably about to feast on some fool. "Oooooh?" She exclaimed to herself.

They looked so lonely up there, it would just be a crime to not climb up there and give them some company. Pink slipped into an alleyway, her body quickly converted into a puddle of water, including her clothes. Her transformation was complete in moments, but then Pink went up a storm pipe up onto the roof with Shayla and Opal. The moment Pink was on the roof, she re-materialized, and was (appearing) human yet again. She did absolutely nothing to mask her steps, as she walked up to the pair. In a moment of utter oddness, she threw her arms around them, and rested her hands on their shoulders. "Whatcha' doin?" She asked, playfully.

"Pink."


"Aw..." Pink said, disappointed that her two little demon guests have decided to leave. But what they left for was something far more interesting than two demons. A dark spirit. A delicious, high level dark spirit. And it was aiming for this kid. Pink would have let it get it's grub on with the kid, then slay it herself so she can devour it. Unfortunately, one of her friends beat her to the cake. Pink had a puppy-dog face on as she watched the demon, the alchemist and the seer do battle with the dark spirit. If it was just one of them, then Pink would definitely have taken her chances, but she's restricted in this human form, and by the type she breaks her shackles, they would have already have already killed the spirit. But Seers are the kind of people that Pink naturally knew to avoid. They have weapons that could easily bypass her intangibility and the healing and durability of her true form. Thus, pissing one off would be a pretty stupid idea (Though, killing a few off would be a good idea). "Ah, you shouldn't worry," Pink energetically says to Opal, "I got no one to tell!"

But now, Pink was getting bored up here. All the action was over. It ended predictably. The dark spirit was defeated, and banished to where ever. Pink looked at Opal, a grin on her face that gave away that she had more to say, "But, I wouldn't interfere into other people's business if you're worried about breaking a law or two, m'kay? Saving one kid doesn't matter when there's probably... Idon'tknow... twenty more people on the other side of town that aren't going to be so lucky." Pink said this just to get a reaction out of the girl.

About ten minutes or so later, Marshall was back outside unloading his trunk. With him, he brought a large suitcase, a brown leather briefcase, Amos and Navon's bed, and a metal box about three feet long. The suitcase contained clothes and a bottle of a fine French wine (for post-hunt enjoyment with a Cuban cigar). The briefcase was filled with books and age-old papers containing seals and sigils and their effects. The metal box contained Celsion, Marshall's prized possession. He rattled the metal box gently to make sure the sword was in it, and carried the suitcase and metal box into the house. He wouldn't dare open it out of fear of some supernatural creature discovering the legendary sword. Amos and Navon grabbed the briefcase in their mouth and lugged it inside. They plopped it on the couch and scampered back out of the door towards the dog bed. Marshall walked into his bedroom and placed both the sword and the suitcase on the bed. It was a small square room with dark walls and oak furniture. A heavy wooden writing desk sat in the corner of the room next to a tall skinny window overlooking the woods, and a white ceramic lamp on the nightstand provided most of the room's light. Marshall walked over to the matching floor lamp and tried to turn it on to no avail. "Damn lightbulbs" he muttered to himself as he grabbed the sword box. Now in safety, Marshall removed the chain around his neck and took from it a golden key. He unlocked the box with the key and opened it slowly to check on the sword. Seven hundred years and it still glittered in the light like it were brand new. Content, Marshall placed the sword back in the box, locked it, and placed it under the bed where it would be safe. The box was magically charmed so that it couldn't be opened without the key. Lock picks would shatter explosively on contact with the lock and it was nearly impervious to other modes of entry. Upon reassuring himself of the safety of his beloved sword, Marshall left the room and closed the door behind him. He walked out of the front door and to the car, where he slammed the trunk down and locked it with his car keys. He turned around and leaned on the back of the car for a moment, looking up at the night sky. It was certainly a beautiful evening. Stars twinkled like a million tiny candles and the silver light of the full moon cast shadows down upon the earth like the ghost of the long-dead sun. He stared up at the moon for a few moments, as if he were trying to see a face in the various lunar craters and maria. He saw a frown at first, and then what appeared to be a chicken made out of several craters.

---

At approximately ten-twenty-three, Ramses the pharaoh (the breed of dog) walked across the beige carpet of Apep's two story single family house over to an antique oak rocking chair sitting by the empty fireplace. The room was cross-shaped roughly, with dark tan walls the color of desert sand, decorated with various antiques and paintings. Above the mantle hung an old Turkish shamshir with some odd symbols carved into the hilt. From the walls hung a variety of old artifacts, most of them weapons, making the place look like a museum. One spot on the wall held three different guns: a 18th century British musket, a Winchester breach-loading rifle, and a wood-paneled AK-47. All of them were in various stares of wear. Another spot contained a badly-rusted Medieval Rondache. Yet a third spot contained four pistols; a 15th century Italian flintlock pistol, an 18th century British wheel-lock pistol, a Colt Patterson, and a Welrod pistol. All of the weapons on the wall (there were a few others) seemed like they would no longer work (ie he won't be using any of them).

The dog nudged a hand that hung from the side of the rocking chair limply, and its owner flinched. Apep slowly rose from his slumber and nearly fell out of the rocking chair. He looked at the antique grandfather clock across the room from him and cursed under his breath. Ramses whined and Apep pet the dog on the head gently, a quaint smile on his face. He took two steps and cursed audibly as his right knee locked up. Using the wall as a brace, Apep moved his way to his bedroom door on the end of the second arm of the cross-shaped room. The bedroom was roughly rectangular, 15 feet by 12 feet, and was similarly decorated to the rest of the house. The walls were dark tan and the carpet beige. The tan sheets on his bed laid neatly without a single crease on them. Hanging opposite his bed was a large mirror, next to which hung a rusted 16th century Italian rapier. A bookshelf took up the entirety of one wall (save a window) and contained easily a hundred books written in around six different languages. Some of them looked extremely old. Apep walked past the treasure trove of tomes and antique weapons to a black cane that rested against the wall. He absolutely hated the cane, but it took some of the pressure off of his knee and he didn't have the time to run to the pharmacy and pick up another bottle of his arthritis medication. He walked out of the room much abler than when he went in and walked to a set of hooks next to the door, where Ramses' black leash hung. He clipped the leash to Ramses collar and threw open the heavy oak front door, embracing the crystal clear night.

"Let's go boy." he said, pushing the black screen door open. Ramses filed out of the house and Apep closed the door behind him. Together they began to walk into the night.

"Pink"


In response to Opal's speech about this and that is a bad idea; Pink simply laughed in her face like she was a moron.

Laying waste to humans was definitely not what Pink was talking about. She was talking about letting things play out, you know? Let natural selection take place. What is a human life? A inferior creature unsuited for surviving in the world. Just look at your friend and those kids. A demon had to save them from something they couldn't handle. Pink gave Opal an impish grin. What makes this even more humorous is that your friend choose to save them. For what? Nothing? I would have at least consumed the dark spirit. Pink said not a word to Opal, instead kept laughing. But it was soooo hard not taking the brat down a few notches. "With little amateurs like them running around," Pink said, running her hands through her pink hair, "I'll take my chances. Bye!" Pink watched as the girl transformed into a mythical beast. A Longma, just as she said. Meh. With being this afraid of breaking a few laws and getting revealed; why the hell would she transform like this for no reason at all? The woman was muddled, and needs to drop that sense of morality if she's going to survive in this world. She continued watching them as they left. Perched on the rooftop. She wondered if she should follow them.... Actually, that'd be easier than it sounds.

Unlike Opal and her little demon friend, Pink can use a little bit of subtly with her demonic gifts. Pink's body puffed up, and liquidized slowly. She transformed into a cloud of mist, capable of flight, intangibility, among a sneaky pursuit. All she has to do to stay out of the range of their supernatural detection... They have a Seer, right? That could pose a challenge. Hmph. Their lack of subtly actually helps in this situation.

It just so happened that as Cody and his walls of meat appeared in the middle of the alley, a rooster moseyed in. It looked around curiously at the two reptilian spirits next to Cody and then at the hunter himself. Benedict listened to what Cody said with interest, as it could understand English, but not speak it very well. The rooster looked around the alley and saw that there were no mortal onlookers. The only other people in the alley seemed to be the demons who Cody had now trapped with his seal. Feeling comfortable, Benedict decided to transform. Its legs began to sprout from under it to the size of ostrich legs, and its body grew to accommodate the large legs. A massive snakelike tail seemed to roll out from Benedict's behind, and its neck greatly increased in length. Its head transformed into that of a snake's, though the red crest remained. Its wings became much larger, and it experimentally stretched them out wide as it cracked its neck. The red rooster feathers on its body, tail, and head transformed into dark green scales. Benedict now stood as a full cockatrice, its head nine feet in the air. It let out a raptor like screech, though a moment or two later regretted it for it could draw onlookers. Benedict looked down at Cody with interest and addressed him in Latin.

"Vestibulum commodo. Nunquam ante viderim haec agunt,." he said "Ignosce mihi, non Latine loqui, sed intellegere non possum. Plurimum debes videntem. Dic mihi, quid est "Combined" dicas?"

Translation: <<Interesting. I've never before seen spirits act this way. Forgive me, I cannot speak English, but understand it. You must be a very powerful seer. Tell me, what is this "Combined" you speak of?>>

---

Not far from the scene, Apep heard an odd screeching noise pierce the air. He knew it from somewhere, but could not be sure of its origin. Whatever it was, it sounded dangerous and supernatural. He looked over at Ramses as the dog lifted its leg and urinated on some hydrangeas planted under a mailbox. That's one way to water your garden. Apep shrugged and began to walk down the street towards the alley where he heard the squawk emanate from, Ramses following him close behind. If there was anything bad or unsavory in that alley, Apep knew he could kill it with his demon form. As he approached the alley, though, he felt something odd overtake him. He could no longer feel the veil around him. It was almost as if it had disappeared in itself. Apep stopped for a moment and felt his pocket. He still had his pocket knife with him, and while it wouldn't do much to most creatures, he'd still be able to wound any demons. He walked forwards and turned into the alleyway just as Benedict finished speaking. A seer with a black bow was speaking to a group of demons and a cockatrice, the source of the squawk. Benedict looked down at Apep, and he lowered his eyes, knowing of the creature's power. The monsters on either side of Cody perplexed Apep. It appeared as if they were dark spirits, but he had never seen them so contained before. This seer seemed to have complete control over them.

"What in God's name..." Apep whispered, his voice rising to normal volume as he spoke "is going on here?" He was fairly certain that he recognized one of the demons present, but would address them after he figured out what this seer was all about.

Morgyn sighed as she walked home wearily, a soccer ball under her right arm and her left swinging in pace with her steps. Strands of hair that had become loose from her ponytail swayed from side-to-side with her steps, as well- a constant, steady rhythm that followed her walking pace. Her black Nike backpack that had pink accents to it was hanging by one strap on her left shoulder. She wore a white t-shirt that had a random sports team's logo on it that held a royal blue color. She also wore some black Nike shorts (It's FINALLY warm enough for shorts with the spring weather!) that stopped just above her fingertips and had blue stripes going down the sides of the article of clothing.  She wore a pair of plain Puma shoes on her feet and hot pink ankle socks.

Morgyn had over-all enjoyed the first day back from spring break. She had spent the school day talking with friends and catching up on the latest gossip- it was amazing how much could happen in a few days! Basically she had done the normal, teenage thing.  After school was pretty enjoyable, as well. Morgyn had first hung out with a few friends, then spent some time at an empty lot, playing soccer with a couple of random people. If it weren't for the secluded location of the town and thus the lack of any sports teams to join, Morgyn would probably be in several sports. However, the Edgehollow High didn't have any sports teams available so she had to just go with the next best thing and play with friends. It worked out, though playing sports that way wasn't as fun as being on an actual sports team with everyone watching and cheering you on.

Anyway, after spending the afternoon goofing off and exercising, Morgyn was tired and ready to get home. Her feet were sore from the constant running that they had participated in that afternoon, and they needed a bit of a rest.

Morgyn's pace slowed as she neared her house- a simple two story home that had a garden in the front, filled with flowers that were only just beginning to bloom in the spring air. The lights were on in the house, welcoming her. The lights were a sign that her parents were still up, probably discussing some random, boring subject like politics. Bleh. They probably weren't waiting up for her, however. It wasn't that her parents disliked her- in fact, it was the exact opposite. It's just that they had made a deal- Morgyn had a curfew, and all she had to do was make it home before then. If she were going to be late, she would have to call and explain that and the reason for her tardiness to them.  If there were a problem, well, cell phones were invented for a reason. Though she doubted such an instance would occur. If some guy ever tried to mug her, Morgyn just figured she could use it. Her special power.

Morgyn wasn't sure how or why she had the power, but she knew it was useful- the ability to direct eyes. She could either make someone look at her or not look at her. Simple, really. So if a guy tried to mug her, she figured she could just use her special power to make him not look at her and then run as fast as her feet could carry her. Of course, this didn't mean she was going to not be wary of some people- there were ways to get around her power, after all-  but it did mean that Morgyn felt a bit safer than most people out in the streets.

Morgyn slowed to a stop as she passed a certain house on a hill upon seeing someone outside, leaning against his truck. A new neighbor? She looked at him curiously before smiling. She should greet him and welcome him here.

Morgyn seemed more awake suddenly as she walked up to Marshall, taking a moment to look up at the night sky, as well, upon seeing that he was doing it. "Good evening," she politely greeted, before switching to a more casual greeting. "What's up?"

Apep listened attentively to Cody's little speech, his temper slowly rising as he did so. This kid had absolutely no idea whatsoever what he was doing. Benedict still looked on with interest. These ideas appealed to it greatly. If the barrier fell, it and its family would be able to run free without fear of persecution. By the time Cody was finished, a look of pure disbelief was affixed to Apep's face.

"That is the single most idiotic idea I have ever heard of in all my days." Apep replied, undertones of anger magnifying his voice "You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, kid. Do you have any idea what destroying the barrier would do? The moment that thing drops and all the demons and magical creatures lose their human forms, the human race in itself will declare war on us, a war that we cannot win." Ramses was growling silently now at Benedict. The dog lowered itself close to the ground and flashed the whites of his eyes, a threat in dog body language. The cockatrice ignored the dog, however, and simply listened to Cody silently. This idea sounded very appealing to him.

High above the scene on a wire strung between two telephone poles, a very large flock of crows was accumulating. This was increasingly odd, considering that crows sleep at night and are almost never completely silent, as they were now. In the middle of this flock of crows sat a much larger bird, a rather exotic-looking black raven. It looked down at Cody and the two blurry outlines next to him with a look of perplexion on his face. Just to the right of this large raven sat a smaller raven which towered over the crows and came to the exotic bird's neck. The larger raven turned to its smaller one, and squawked something that could only be understood by another bird.

"Corwin." the large raven said "I want you to fly down there and investigate. I am curious as to the nature of these visitors."

"Yes, Master Samael." the raven squawked back. It opened its wings up wide and fluttered down into the alley, where it landed on a dumpster next to where the cockatrice stood. The bird pecked at a piece of bread innocently, listening into the conversation. Whatever it discovered, it would relate back to its master above. Raven's were remarkably intelligent birds (this one particularly so), which was why Sam chose it to fly down as opposed to one of the inferior crows who had stomachs for brains and made enough ruckus to awaken the whole neighborhood.

---

Marshall was strangely compelled to look down at the teenaged girl who now approached him as if his eyes had been drawn to her. He wasn't sure why, but he knew from years of experience that anything odd that happened when a random stranger approached him was not usually good. He wouldn't just attack an innocent girl, of course, but he suddenly became very aware of where his knife was, tucked into an inside pocket of his jacket. He smiled and addressed the girl politely.

"Evenin'." he said, picking his words carefully "Nice night, isn't it?" Amos and Navon, meanwhile, had decided that they were tired. They walked into Marshall's room, bed in mouth, and placed it at the foot of his bed. They crawled into the dog bed and paced in circles several times in an attempt to assume a comfortable position. The dog(s) curled up and closed their eyes.

"Good night, Amos." Navon said.

"'Night, Nave." Amos replied.

This man seemed cautious of Morgyn whenever she approached- she wasn't sure why. Maybe he came from a city that had a really high crime rate or something? She shrugged off the thought. She shouldn't be wondering about that- if someone randomly approached her at night, she would be careful, as well.

Morgyn hadn't even realized that she had activated her power when she approached the man, but she suddenly realized she was upon feeling a small amount of her energy escape her. Whoops. She must have been a bit anxious about meeting this someone- though that isn't a surprise, considering she does normally feel excitement upon seeing someone new. Morgyn quickly stopped using her power- switching it off the way one does a light- before replying to Marshall.

"It is nice out," she nodded in agreement. Morgyn was quiet for a moment before finally saying, "Anyway, I'm Morgyn. I saw you had moved in and just wanted to be the first to say, you know, hi." She took a step back and switched her soccer ball from being under her right arm to her left and held out her now free right hand for a handshake, as she had been taught was the polite thing to do. "So it's nice to meet you."

"Well then, kid, I suggest you send your superiors this message." Apep retorted to the boy, almost spitting the word "kid" like a projectile "I have fought in wars for over nine hundred years, and if I've learned one thing in my time, it's that the real monsters out there are the ones who don't wear a disguise. While your community of hippies and tree-huggers may be able to live in relative peace with a few friendly monsters, most humans aren't like that. I've been around for a thousand years, kid, and I'll be the first to tell you that the world ain't populated with a bunch of CENSORED tree-huggers!" Apep lost his temper completely at this point, and he dropped his cane. His face flushed red, and his teeth seemed to sharpen. He wasn't concerned about this guy's bodyguards. Even in human form Apep could still spit magic copper, and this seal wouldn't last forever. "I've seen so many terrible, despicable things done by man in my time that you would never believe, boy! I've seen Mongols tear men limb from limb with horses! I've seen cannonballs tear torsos in two and burning hot tar sear men's skin off! I've seen artillery blow men into pieces so small and fine that nobody could ever identify the bodies! I've watched as men are chained and shoved on ships to be slaves to rich nobles who persecute and beat them until their skin falls off just because they're a different color! I've seen kamikaze pilots fly planes into the sides of warships and Japanese soldiers charge machine gunners with bayonets IN THE NAME OF HONOR!" Apep absolutely roared this last word, and then stopped for a moment to close his eyes and think. He took a deep breath or two, and the redness left his face. He regained his composure and then continued.

"Look, kid, I have lived and fought long enough to know that destroying the barrier would be catastrophic. If you do, there will be war and we will lose no matter how much magic bull**** you pull out of your ***. Humans are prejudiced and cruel, and that's the way it is. That's the way it's always been. The only thing lowering the barrier will do is get more people killed.

"Si inferioribus oppositis, tunc non amplius abscondere." Benedict replied "Qui ingredi poterimus possimus plateis."
<< "But if we lower the barrier, then we won't have to hide anymore. We will be able to walk the streets as who we really are.">>(google translate's latin sucks)

"Yeah?" Apep replied to the enormous snake "And what do you think the humans will do when they see you and your chicks lumbering down the street in a row?" he paused for dramatic effect, as if waiting for Benedict to answer "They'll grab their guns and open fire. The barrier's there for a reason. It keeps us safe from prejudiced humans."

"Lis et pellem, quam velles tuam abscondis, et ambulaverit foris pugnare ut qui vere sunt homines?" Benedict replied.
<<"So you'd rather hide in your skin suit than fight the humans and walk the streets as who you truly are?">>

"Yes I would." Apep spat back "because I've survived this long, and it'd be a real pain in the rear end if I got shot dead by the National Guard before I could finish enjoying my pension." The raven stayed around, and was now pecking at crumbs on the ground, still listening in. This combine idea seemed to be very odd. Hopefully his master would want no part in it.

---

"I'm Marshall." he said, shaking the girl's hand "Nice to meet you, Morgyn. I happen to be in town on some rather important business, but I figured that I'd take a few minutes just to admire the stars. It's a rare thing, you know, for men to simply enjoy the beauty and serenity of nature." he paused for a moment, and then chuckled quietly. "But you'd rather not hear the musings of an old man, now would you?" He laughed quietly and looked back up at the stars. Kids of this generation didn't have much respect for their elders, but Marshall couldn't blame them. He was just the same way when he was younger.

Cyril Noctis, Morgana Ogmer, & Leviatan "Pink."


Out of the blue, a poker card (A joker card), struck the ground in between Cody's legs, and firmly imbedded itself there. The card spontaneously combusted, and strangely enough, the card didn't burn away, instead it burned like a torch.

"Now, now, I do like stupid ideas every now and then...." A male voice said, as he made his approach accompanied by a red-haired female in a red dress. The pair made themselves known to the group as Cyril Noctis, the Gambler, and Morgana Ogmer, the Pumpkin Witch. Two people that aren't exactly citizens of the best behavior. They both were well-dressed, like they weren't the type who would hang around in dark alleyways with groups of weirdos. Cyril wore an ivory-white suit with a fedora and a red tie, and white gloves. Morgana wore a red versace cocktail dress.

Obviously, they were listening in on the conversation, and after a significant amount of conversation had passed, they decided to share their two cents. Cyril naturally did the talking, Morgana just stayed quiet, an off-putting grin on her face. Wagging his finger left and right, he spoke, "Let me give you two useful pieces of advice..." Cyril was being sarcastic as he always did. "... For starters, I would keep your mouth closed, you've just informed several potential enemies of some major information." Cyril then firmly planted his scepter onto the ground, and leaned on it. "Two, it doesn't matter to be whether or not that magical barrier stays up or down..." He started laughing a bit, "Actually it does. You'll be letting every bloody thirsty creature out of their cage, and don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's plenty of nice monsters out there; not everyone's going to play nice." Cyril pointed his scepter at Cody "Especially if you abruptly shatter the only thing keeping everyone nice and separate and expect everyone to instantly adapt to the change in the status quo."

Another voice came into the conversation, this time a bit spirit-sounding and demonic. "Oh! Don't be such a pooper, Noctis. A change in status quo is just what these humans need." A cloud of mist came into the sight of the group, then took a human shape. The shape was none other than Pink's human form. She stood away from the crowd, an amused smirk on her face. She looked at Apep, and pointed a thumb at him, "He's right." She said, giggling, "A war or two would definitely start between man and 'monster'. But that's not bad."

"God dammit." Apep spat at the vanishing dark seer as he went his way, and advanced on the shadows remaining, cane in hand. Ramses pounced at a vanishing spirit and fell to the floor, scarring off the raven feasting on moldy bread crumbs. Apep snarled and turned back around, rolling his eyes animatedly. Some people never learned, did they? He looked over at where Cyril and Morgana stood. The two of them appeared to have just returned from a magic show. Apep hissed, and his fingernails lengthened into claws. Apep tended to transform a bit when he got angry. He noticed it instantly, and the claws sank back into his hands. He sighed loudly and leaned back against the dumpster, now winded from his outburst at Cody and his spirits.

"You three," Apep said, pointing to Cyril, Morgana, and Pink and trying to keep his cool "I strongly advise you to forget about this magician and his foolish games. You're too young to go to war. Enjoy your life before you find it swiped from you. As for you, Sundara," Apep now looked over at the demoness, trying to keep from smiling "God dammit woman, do you ever age?" He released his smile slowly, trying to see how Sundara would react. The raven, meanwhile, fluttered back up to his superior on the wire and whispered to him a summary of the conversation. Samael nodded and fluttered down into the alley, where he landed on the ground. The bird squawked aggressively at Ramses, who was attempting to pounce at it, and began to transform in a flutter of midnight black feathers. From the raven emerged a young boy with brown hair and sparkling brown eyes that seemed to pierce the darkness like twin fog lights.

"Angelus Mors propinquo." Benedict said, still at full size. He knew what this thing was. It was a Valkyrie! Samael moved to stare up at the cockatrice, but Apep hit the bird on the breast with his cane and it looked away, hissing angrily.

"I advise you against feasting on a Valkyrian." Apep said to the cockatrice "The legends say that eating of their flesh causes instant death to all creatures, even to vultures. It is an honor to meet you, Valkyrian. Not many of your kind still exist." Samael nodded kindly to Apep, but kept his distance out of intimidation. The man seemed to anger easily and Sam did not want to be his meal.

"Thank you. That is very kind." Samael said "So what do you all think of this 'combine' ideology? I personally do not know what to think of it. While a world where monsters can roam free does sound tempting, I personally do not know how humanity would accept it."

Morgyn nodded at Marshall as he introduced himself, looking up at the night sky when he did. The stars in the night sky twinkled and winked at them.

"No, I think it's interesting," Morgyn said thoughtfully. "I like looking at the stars. There's just so many and stuff... It's all left unexplored and open, y'know? And then those stars... It's almost like they can choose who can watch them, kinda. Like, if they want to they can show and everyone notices and feels compelled to watch them or something, right? But then they can also decide not to show, and no one notices them. It just seems... Interesting."

Morgyn had surprised herself with the statement, actually- she had never really thought of the stars that way. She had always seen them as just ornaments in the night sky or something. But she liked thinking of the stars more like the way she had just described them- it somehow helped her find a small way she compared to them. It was as if it were now a small relationship that makes them seem a bit more familiar. Morgyn smiled softly as she looked up before suddenly talking again.

"Oh and you aren't old! Thirty, right? That's not old at all, sir!"

Actually, Morgyn thought he was around fourty-five, fourty-six-ish, but she figured the guy could use a compliment. Everyone could, really.