[IC REBOOT] Calling All Creepsters! [PG-13]

[Lady Celeste]

RATED PG-13 for action/fantasy violence, mild depictions of occult practices and symbols, mild language, and possible sensuality/nudity.

Calling All Creepsters!

Spoiler: Plot 

Throughout history, humankind has always found something to fear. From the mundane, instinctive fears of fire or the dark of night to the fear of death itself, these fears have manifested as stories of witches, vampires, zombies, and other creatures born of humanity's worst nightmares. More often than not, the more logical side of the human mind is more than happy to dismiss these stories as pure fiction meant to frighten small children, especially in modern times following the development of All Hallows' Eve - better known today as Halloween - into a widespread commercial holiday.

But that's not always true; these same creatures of the night are more real than most people would think. And yet, strange as it may seem, not all of them are as deserving of fear as one might expect. For every Count Dracula or Wolf-Man that terrorizes the world of men, there has occasionally been a good soul who seeks understanding rather than fear, but is doomed nonetheless to be shunned and feared (if not outright hated) by mankind.

That is about to change. This Halloween, the Draculas and Wolf-Men of the world are ready to finally reveal themselves to the world that never wanted them to be real, using mankind's own fears against them to in order to claim the night for themselves.

And by that same token, a handful of those few good souls will stand against them.

Some of them may want nothing more than to do the right thing, even if humanity may or may not accept or understand them afterwards.

Others may have somewhat less selfless motives, seeing this as their chance to finally gain the respect they crave.

Still others may have motives that fall somewhere in between.

Either way, Halloween may never be the same again.

Spoiler: Factions 

Click on a spoiler box below to find information on each of the available factions in this RP, as well as accepted characters in each faction.

Spoiler: Creepsters 

The Creepsters are a ragtag team of unlikely heroes brought together by the recent disappearance of the Ultra-Force and the subsequent spread of terror by the Legions of the Night. The only problem is that the Creepsters themselves are of the very same species as those responsible for this terror, making them no less shunned and feared than the Legions of the Night. But just the same, whether to stop the evil plans of the Legions or simply to gain the acceptance and respect of their human peers (or perhaps a little bit of both), the Creepsters must now work together to rescue the Ultra-Force before midnight on Halloween night, or the Legions' reign of terror will be unstoppable.

Spoiler: Accepted Creepsters 

Spoiler: Diana Pendle (WITCH) 

Name: Diana Marie Pendle

Species: Hereditary Witch

Age: 24

Alignment: Good, I guess. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a little mayhem on the side; you would too, if you had all this power and no rules.

Faction: Creepsters

Powers: See the word "hereditary" I wrote in the Species section? There's a big difference between a hereditary witch (I like to call 'em "'reds" for short) and a witch who throws random stuff into a bowl and chants gibberish for two hours straight in hopes that something'll happen. We 'reds have magic in the genes, but unless we happen to have a mentor handy, we usually end up having to figure out our magic on our own, and most of the time we don't even know what we are; even the Ultra-Force might have a 'red in their ranks and not even know it! The non-reds... most of them are just poseurs looking to make a quick buck after ready one too many Harry Potter books, but then again, sometimes their spells actually work, so make of that what you will.

Weapons: I don't go for all those fancy props some witches use. You know the ones: wands, magic walking sticks with jewels the size of baseballs... Me? I'd rather stick to a good old-fashioned fireball or whatever other spell might be useful. Not that I can't go hand-to-hand with someone if I have to; unarmed combat is a thing too, y'know. Sometimes I'll bring along a weapon depending on what I'm fighting, say if I need to stake a hungry vamp or pop some silver bullets into a werewolf... you get the idea.

Weaknesses: ...do I have to? *SIGH* Fine...
Long story short, we witches rely on magic A LOT. Different spells have different weaknesses, like water putting out the fire spell you got going, but the basic idea is the same: No Magic = BIG PROBLEM. Magic aside, we're pretty much the same as any regular human. I guess if I really wanted to, I could extend my lifespan like a few other witches I could name - *COUGH*Aradia!*COUGH* - but that kind of magic is pretty hard and usually requires making deals I'd really rather not get involved with.

Appearance: Here's what I would say is my closest real-world face claim:
It's small, I know, so here's a bigger portrait I made myself at azaleasdolls.com:


Personality: As you probably noticed by now, I'm very much on the sassy side. See, we got the Ultra-Force and all the ordinary people on one side and all the crazy creepy-crawlies on the other, but witches are pretty much screwed socially. We're too "weird" for the normies, but we're also too "normal" for the weirdos; what's a witch to do? But I don't worry about it too much anymore; if I can't fit in either way, I may as well just do my own thing.
Now, that's not to say I don't have a good side. I do, and actually I prefer good over evil overall. I'm just not as stuck-up about it as the Ultra-Force can be sometimes, but I digress.

Brief Backstory: You all know the routine; I come from a long line of witches, grew into my powers when I was a kid, blah blah blah... I did grow into a bit of a rebel, though, so that's something I guess...
But here's where it gets interesting. I'm a member of the Legions of the Night! Yes, you heard that right! The higher-ups figured I could make a good spy since I can pass for normal so easily, and for a while it wasn't so bad. What can I say? I've always been a sucker for the underdogs, and I figured the Ultra-Force deserved to have their egos taken down a notch or two! At least, that's what I signed up for...
"But Diana", I hear you ask, "if you support the Legions' cause, why are you listed in the Creepsters section?" Well, I did support their cause at first, but our little victory at Ultra-HQ wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be. Kidnapping the city's most beloved superheroes really brought out the nastiness in me and my fellow Legionnaires, and some of us did some things I'm not even sure I can mention here without going too dark for the intended tone of this RP. That, and honestly, the Ultra-Force aren't as bad as I thought they were. Obviously there was some hostility on their end too, but what do you expect after kidnapping someone and preparing them for ritual slaughter? And despite that, they were even still trying to reach out to us, help us "see the error of our ways" so to speak. The other Legionnaires usually just laughed in their faces, but I have to admit, they really started to grow on me after a while. Put that together with how messed-up the Legions have been acting lately, and you can see why I finally decided I wanted out.
So far I've been able to keep my would-be turncoat status on the down-low, since none of us have gotten any orders since the kidnapping other than "guard the prisoners until midnight on Halloween". I can't stay under the radar forever, but if I can get some equally-terrifying heroes together before then, maybe there's still time to stop this before things really got out of hand.

Other Notes: I know it's stereotypical, but I do have a black cat named Baby. Isn't she a cutie?

Spoiler: Tricky Nicky (WEREBEAR) 

Nick Joaquin Santos

---

Species: Were-Bear

Age: 25

Alignment: Neutral-Good, (But if you want just the one then Neutral)

Faction: Creepsters

Weapons: Nick's not exactly a pacifist, no. that wouldn't be the right way to word it. It's more, he can't really be bothered to carry weapons? If ever the need arises for him to fight and he can actually be bothered to do so, he'll rely pretty much almost exclusively on his shifting abilities. His condition makes him a pretty strong guy while still human too, so if his fist's can't sort it out either he sort of just gives up at that point. Basically, Nick will carry and use anything you give him, but otherwise, he's more a natural sort of guy.

Weaknesses: When the moon is full, Nick is obviously at his strongest. However, around three or four days before and after the Full Moon, our boy ain't at his peak. Nick always feels weaker around this time, is naturally more slow and frail. Now that's not to say he's completely useless during these few days, however he's vulnerable. And for a man like Nick, that's a dangerous position to be in.

Also, while Nick is in one of his more Grizzly forms, he is at his most powerful yes, but, there is such a thing as being drunk on power. It's hard to control the animal inside sometimes. If Nick allows the Bear to take over too much, to flaunt too much strength, his human reasoning begins to fade. Every-time he shifts, he risks the chance of losing his mortal conscience altogether truth be told.

Spoiler: Grizzly Guy 

Appearance:



Nick's a hefty kind of dude. He's tall and big, but in a chunky not chubby way. Sturdy and stockily built. Despite his size, he has a kind enough face though. Although he sometimes has to shave nearly twice a day, so the state of his beard is often fluctuating (Apparently it's a feature of his condition). His Chilean heritage comes through in his appearance in distinct little ways here and there too. His tanned skin and thick dark curls for example (although the latter is often kept contained beneath some kind of hat for whatever reason). Altogether, he's an appealing enough looking guy. Attractive even. Maybe.

Personality: To be perfectly and utterly honest with you, Nick's a pretty chilled out kind of guy. It's rare that anything really riles or upsets him, that or he's incredibly good at hiding it if it does. The man barely reacts to anything with too much vigour (The word 'stoner', begins to come to mind). Instead he opts to glide through life on a blasé almost nonchalant wing of emotions. He'll laugh at your jokes, sure. But don't really expect him to get particularly hyped up or enthusiastic about anything unless it's increasingly important to him. All in all, Nick's a nice guy, sure. But maybe not the most passionate in the world...

Or is he.


Brief Backstory: Nicks Father comes from Chile originally. However due to various unfortunate circumstances, the man decided to immigrate to America and hopefully, to a better life. he had to take a rather long way round to getting there, and on his way found himself passing through the Andes Mountains. Alone, on foot and with no real proper climbing gear, the journey was full of dangers to say the least. So it didn't really help matters when a Gone feral Were-Bear encountered him. Nicks father was bitten and contaminated with the disease, but he luckily managed to escape. The transition the disease enforced was tough, especially in the mans current conditions and environments. But Nicks Father survived (The Santos' are a hardy bunch I'm told).

He made it to America and settled in the Bronx of New York. There he fell in love with a beautiful Peruvian girl, and two years later, boom. Nick came along. There was an uncertainty as to if Nick would gain his fathers condition. Yet luckily or unluckily, the disease passed on. His Father had only had to handle the disease as a adult, which Nick would argue is a much easier thing to do than to grow up with it. Childhood in a cramped place like the Bronx along with the addition of turning into, oh, you know, a bear or bear-like hybrid every now and then certainly wasn't the easiest thing to do in the word.

As Nick neared adolescence the condition became increasingly harder to both control and hide in the city. So the Santos' relocated to good Ol' Washington D.C. Although still a challenge, it was somewhat easier for Nick to deal with his shifts in D.C. And I suppose, the family was happy there. Well. As happy as they could be. As well as having to deal with his condition, Nick has grown up constantly handling the, at times, underlying yet always present casual racism a immigrant in America often has to face these days.

Growing up with these particular issues has given Nick a certain mindset. He wants to make the world better for minorities like himself, and in both senses of the term. He's tired of being the odd one out.

Other Notes: To Clarify the conditions and Workings of Nicks Were-Bear-ism.

During the night of a full Moon, Nick undergoes a change that on this particular night, is completely unstoppable. However, Nick can slightly control the form he possesses under said change. He either shifts into a sort of half-man half-bear hybrid, or (And this is often when the animal within grows too strong and desperate in nature which in turn can be caused or triggered by various emotional factors) he morphs into a full on Bear form, but with much more increased strength and vigour than that of a normal Grizzly. Nick can force a change at times where there isn't a full moon, but the action is ultimately a lot more draining.

Spoiler: Is it a man? is it a Bear? Who knows honestly... 

This is a similar representation to Nicks more Half-Hybrid Bear form. Although he's managed to acquire pants that actually fit this form. His Mom was scolding him for ripping so many jeans otherwise...

Spoiler: May be cute, but pls do not pet. 

When in full Bear form, Nick resembles most that of an Andean Bear (as you might expect).

Spoiler: Emily Walker (ZOMBIE) 

Name: Emily Walker

Species: Zombie

Age: Yes? Possibly centuries? I can't remember

Alignment: Goodish I like to think.

Faction: Creepsters

Powers: She's not part of the Ultraforce, but she does have a power. The power of.... Being able to think! Be like a human! It may not seem like a superpower, but for a zombie, she might as well be a super powered individual.

Weapons: Teeth. The mainstay of any zombie arsenal. However since she can think for herself she can reasonably use any weapon. However if she is actually going out with intent of getting into a fight, she'd basically going to go in with kevlar and a gun. Usually a rifle so she can keep back and keep her body safe. And of course a helmet to protect her most important part: Her brain. Beyond that she's always going to have her medical bag on hand with plenty of sutering equipment in it.

Weaknesses: She is a zombie and undead.Therefore while she can push her body like humans can, she's not going to recover from the strain. At best she can replace the parts of her that get worn down (and she's done so in the past a lot) with fresh parts taken from a morge or graveyard... Or fresh bodies! Also she needs to eat meat reguarly. It doesn't HAVE to be human, but one can't deny how suculent and wonderful fresh.... human... flesh tastes.... Ripped right from the bones.... Sorry sorry. Basically she has the hunger and it can get bad if not sated. Finally, all that needs to be done to take her down is to destroy the brain.

Appearance:

Spoiler: Zombie Nurse! 

While shes isn't always in a nurse outfit, it is one of her favorite things to wear considering she spends a lot of her time on doctoring others back up on the down low. And doctoring on herself with all her replacement limbs!

Personality: Emily is... She's a cheerful one while also being a survivor. She didn't become a survivor by being a tough as nails person though. Even with her years of practice with guns and fighting for her life and such, she mainly survived by being a coward. She knows how easy a zombie can be killed when someone keeps calm with a gun or something more personal. So she tries her best to keep herself safe. When she goes out she's making sure she can blend in with her stitches hidden. Mainly she'll just stay in her building, enjoying the internet while working herself or doing some research.

Brief Backstory: A backstory on me? Well that will be kinda hard. I mean I think I've been around a few centuries. Yes yes I'm aware I'm a corpse so I can't really survive that long of a time without decaying away. Here's the thing though. Everything that makes up a zombie? In the brain. So when my time was nearing the end, I had me a thought.... Can you take a zombie brain and put it into another body? A fresh body? After several experiments I concluded that it can be done! The draw backs that I couldn't forsee when I had my friend place my brain into a new body was.... Well things are lost. Mainly memories. So each time I've done a brain transfer I tend to lose a bit of who I was. I had started keeping diaries on hand just in case, but with how long I've been around you can't keep track of everything.

Such as how I ended up in this city or who did my last transplant. I already had my identity ready so that was good. Been able to live a nice life in this city for a while. I was appraoched by those LEgion monsters at one point, but I didn't want to gen involved in their whole war against the living and such. Kept myself in the middle really, agreeing to patch up people they sent to me in trade of some money and human flesh (oh dear me just mentioning it has me drooling...). Uhhh well... Anyways I happened to be a fan of the Ultra Force. I mean their hearts were in the right place and all you know. Dear I'm hungry... But yeah, since they've dissapeared I've gone into hiding myself. I know what humans do when people start to disapear. Not to mention a group of well know people and with powers. A whole lotta crap is gonna come down and I don't want to be caught up in it.

Other Notes:

Spoiler: Legions of the Night 

The Legions of the Night are not really a faction per se. The one thing that unites them in any sense of the word is their shared desire for power; their "leader" is rumored to have acquired a means for the creatures of the night to become powerful enough that they can finally come out of hiding and seize full control over the humans who fear them, and has invited kindred spirits from all across the globe to help realize this dream, and creatures of all sorts have flocked in droves to accept his invitation. United by this common goal, the Legions of the Night will not hesitate to destroy anything and anyone who stands in their way.

NO ACCEPTED PROFILES YET!

Spoiler: Ultra-Force 

As the first legally authorized superhero team in America, the Ultra-Force has made a name for itself as an elite peacekeeping force since its formation. In contrast to the Creepsters, the Ultra-Force are highly trained, well-funded, and almost universally loved and respected by the human populace. Under their protection, humans felt as though they had nothing to fear; needless to say, this did not sit well with the creatures of the night, many of whom relied on fear to maintain any semblance of power in the human world.
More recently, however, the Ultra-Force has gone missing virtually overnight, and foul play is suspected. Without their heroes to protect them, the local human population has come to know fear for the first time in years, this time compounded even further by a widespread fear of whatever evil had managed to overpower their beloved protectors.

NO ACCEPTED PROFILES YET!

Spoiler: Neutrals 

The Neutrals are... well, neutral. They could go either way, for or against one side or the other, or they may just not care at all. Whatever the case, they don't belong to any of the other factions, so that's really all there is to it!

Spoiler: Accepted Neutrals 

Spoiler: Ze'ev Okami (CURSED WEREWOLF) 

Name: Ze’ev “Alpha” Okami
Species: Wolf / Were human / Caster (Ice Magic)
Age: 3
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Faction: Freelance, (Willing to work with anyone)
Powers: Not Ultra-Force
Weapons: Claws and Teeth
Weaknesses: Silver weaponry, Holy Artifacts, and Fire.
Appearance: Striking purple and gold eyes, long silver hair. Wolf ears and a tail (Hard to hide) 6’5 Lean build.
Personality: Ze’ev was raised to be a pack leader and such is calm, cool headed, reserved. He usual performs through action, never threatens, and only speaks when spoken to. He can be kind hearted but follows a very strict ruthless code.
Brief Backstory: Ze’ev was a wolf who traveled with his pack. One day they were attacked by a hungry were wolf. In a plea to save his pack family he offered his soul to some being, either a witch or a devil. He needed the power to face his enemy no matter the cost. The magic he was imbued with adapted the Lycanthrope in reverse. As a wolf who already embraced savagery giving him a cool intellect made him a formidable fighter. He killed the weakened werewolf but the cost of his curse was the rest of his packs life. Now he searches the world for this Demon or Witch who cursed him. Caring not whom he helps or hurts.
Other Notes: Please let me know if I need to change anything. I have no idea why I wanted to make a vengeful furry.

Spoiler: Aradia (WITCH) 

Name: Aradia
Species: Hereditary Witch/Soceress (interchangeable really)
Age: 324
Alignment: NEUTRAL
Faction: None
Powers:
Weapons: Spells and A rather sharp looking Spear/staff thing.
Weaknesses: Any sort of magic dampening spells/equipment, being silenced, or fire (but who isn’t weak to that?)
Appearance:

Spoiler: Aradia and her staff 

And her staff

Personality: Aradia appears to be a deeply mysterious and devious personage. Often speaking in riddles or simply just putting things very ominously or vague she can be frustrating to some. So long as you can put up with a bit of word play though it is not uncommon to win favor with the witch and convince her to get up to all manner of antics. She can be kind and warm at times and cold and cutting the next. Some have even described her as fickle as the weather. An apt description she would agree.
Brief Backstory: Aradia is a witch who has been around since the 17th century and seen many empires rise and fall. She seems to have mostly kept to herself during those times preferring to stay out of major events so as not to draw inquisitive eyes. Witches haven’t always been treated so kindly after all. Now her interest has been piqued. Humans and “monsters” living together? Could it work?
Other Notes:

[Lady Celeste]

((MOOD SETTER))
(+ Secret Fanservice)

October 24th
11:59 PM

Nothing like a late-night joyride to get a witch in the Halloween spirit...

Diana Pendle soared high above the skyscrapers, too high up to be clearly visible to any of the humans below. It was already well into the nighttime, and the garish lights and sounds below easily distracted away from Diana and kept her hidden.

And as it turned out, she wasn't the only one staying hidden...

A colony of bats flew past her toward one of the higher rooftops, followed by cackling old hags riding brooms not unlike Diana's. More bats and witches flew by as well, along with countless ghosts and ghouls who perched on the rooftops, just out of sight of the unsuspecting humans.

Diana frowned at the sight. Was something going on that she didn't know of? Steering downward, she landed on one of the skyscrapers and walked toward the crowd there, which was already starting to gather around the edge facing the many screens with all their brightly glowing ads and news broadcasts.

"What's all the fuss?" Diana asked the nearest ghoul. "I thought we were supposed to lay low until we get our next orders."

"You haven't heard?" The ghoul whispered in its trademark ethereal voice.

"They're about to make the announcement!" A vampire said excitedly.

"Oooh... I can't wait to see the looks on those humans' faces!" A plump old witch said, stifling a cackle.

Just then, all the lights in the city below went out. The humans were all visibly annoyed, but the creepy-crawlies on the rooftops were ecstatic.

"Shush... it's starting!" Said another ghoul.

The assembled creatures all fell silent, and right on cue, every electronic screen in the vicinity suddenly turned back on, instantly catching the humans' attention. But this time, every screen displayed exactly the same thing: the words 'LEGIONS OF THE NIGHT' in stylized bold red font against a pitch black backdrop, accompanied by a modulated voice that boomed ominously through every audio device.

"Our time is at hand, fellow children of the night. For too long have we all been ignored and shunned, but in seven days' time, that will finally come to an end. For centuries, we and those before us have depended on the fears of mortal men to maintain any level of respect, until the fools calling themselves the Ultra-Force saw fit to rob us of even that last measure of dignity. No more, I say! By the time you hear this message, the so-called Ultra-Force will no longer pose any threat to us, and on behalf of the Legions of the Night, I invite all our kin to join us on Halloween night, when these fools shall be sacrificed and our combined might strengthened, and then no mortal force will ever again dare to stand against us!"

The humans could only stare at their screens in shock, several of their faces already pale with horror as they heard the message and hurried to tell their friends. In contrast, the crowds of dark creatures on the rooftops exploded with joy and celebration; ghosts and ghouls shrieked with delight, witches let out their loudest and shrillest cackles, and vampires bared their fangs in wide grins.

"And to you miserable humans, you who have scoffed and laughed in the face of fear until now... Your precious heroes can no longer shield you against that which goes bump in the night. You are alone, just like we were. You are powerless, just like you have always been. So prepare to once again know the taste of fear."

The screens all turned dark, and the audio devices fell silent. And just like that, the creatures on the rooftops descended upon the city in a laughing frenzy, all the while countless werewolves, zombies, and various other dark creatures appeared amidst the crowds below.

Only Diana stayed behind, watching numbly as the attack began and the cackles and shrieks of the dark hordes mingled with the terrified screams of the humans.

And so it begins.

[Heson Shadowbane]

I had plenty of warning approaching this moment.... So why did I wait so long to escape? Oh man oh man oh man....

Emily let out a yelp when the lights cut off in the city, plunging it into the darkness. IT was dark enough that she even pulled off the shades she tended to wear. The eyes she had in her sockets were dilated to work best at night and with her... Well with her undeadness she couldn't really undilate them easily. It wasn't always bad at night, but the city always had it's lights shining. She didn't move at all, just looking around at the various humans that were already starting to panic which soon started to infect her, although the screens that came on with their announcement wasn't the reason.

She had lived long enough to understand how humans worked. Panicked humans won't care for the people around them. A riot would be the quickest reaction that they would turn to. Emily picked up her bag and hugged it to herself and started to shuffle backwards. ~Don't worry Emily. You planned for something like this. Just need to get back to the basement of your building...Should I risk a bit of a run? No, a jogging. I might need my muscles later.~

With a nod of her head she turned away and started to going back to her apartment complex at the pace of a slow jog. The fastest she could safely go even as the Legion began to descend upon the city. She tuned out the screams as she kept to side alleys and streets to avoid the worst of the mobs. The only time she stopped was when she came across some zombies chowing down upon a fresh kill. She could feel the throbbing in her brain. The call in her very soul to join into the feast. She almost gave in if it wasn't for a hand splatting at her feet. With a quickness she grabbed the severed limb and snapped a finger off to shove into her mouth while the rest of the hand went into a pocket. With the hunger satisfied she finished her fleeing to her apartment, although instead of going up to her room, she went down into the basement. To the place she lovingly called her lab even if it wasn't really a lab.

[kowai]

Yuu was smiling for once. The swarm of shrieking, cackling monsters crashing down upon an unsuspecting city was like a scene from a horror movie. It was actually entertaining.

Still, Yuu hadn't bothered to jump down like the others - he never was one for crowds. Rather, he sat on the edge of one tall building, his long legs dangling off the side and back of his feet tapping against the brick in rhythm as he swung them back and forth. Sitting alone in the dark he looked almost like a little boy, if it weren't for the fact he was six feet tall and smoking a cigarette. Smoking was a habit he had picked up recently. It gave him a reason to leave the apartment and browse the convenience stores. More importantly, he thought it made him look cool. Which, for some reason, after centuries of meaningless existence, he still cared about.

Yuu took a final puff of his cigarette before flicking it off the building, down into the chaos. He lazily pulled himself up from his spot and started walking along the edge of the building, hands tucked into the pockets of his overcoat, eyes still gazing over the city streets. He wondered how this would effect him. It certainly was an intriguing prospect, the idea that he could simply eat whenever he wished without the need for skulking about in the shadows and creeping through morgues and quietly digging up graves. It would be a lot easier now. It could certainly make for some interesting interactions, as well. He would no longer have to hide what he was. He could walk up to any human and say it, if he so wished, "I'm a jikininki." Yuu scoffed. Hell, Westerners would never know what a jikininki was. They'd probably laugh at it. It sounded strange in English. He could imagine it now, constantly explaining what a jikininki was, constantly telling his life story to giggling humans. He frowned. Tedious.

Well, either way, he could eat easier now. That was the most important thing. Humans could just think he was a zombie, if they so wished, even if it did seem a bit discourteous to his homeland. "And what has Japan ever done for me?" Yuu murmured to himself. Like he gave a damn about courtesy, especially not to the land or to the people that had cursed him. He sighed, coming to a stop at the corner of the building and pulling another cigarette out of his coat pocket, placing it in his mouth. He decided he would jump down after the chaos had subsided a bit and grab one of the corpses those zombies had left behind. It had been a few days since his last meal and the hunger was growing. Soon it would start to effect his mind - and he hated that.

Wait. His eyes flashed in mild surprise. Was that a woman over there? What was a human doing on top of a skyscraper? Yuu scanned her over as he lit the cigarette. A broom. Ah. Witch. He nodded to himself, breathed out a cloud of smoke.

Still, what was a witch doing here, alone, rather than reveling in the destruction with her Legions? The question was interesting enough that he lept from the edge, landing (not very gracefully) onto the fire escape of the next building over. The building she stood upon. He meandered up the iron stairway until he came to the top. There, Yuu simply stood and watched the witch; waiting to see what she would do, waiting to get an answer to why she stayed behind. She was only a few yards away from him. He might have looked a bit creepy just standing there, gazing upon her from the shadows. But - here's a shocker - Yuu didn't really care. He just hoped she'd be interesting.

[Kortaga]

Song: Devil Trigger, Casey Edwards

11:57

The sounds of his feet could only be heard by those with exceptional hearing. What would honestly give him away more so than his stealthy movements was the music coming through his headphones. It was fascinating to him that sounds that did not exist could be heard inside his head. At first he thought he was going crazy but it turned out…humans…listened to this for…fun? ‘The darkest of night falls around my soul; And the hunter within loses control.’ He glanced down and looked at his hand. Around it he held the bloodied pocket watch of a family he had killed when he first turned…his fingers were not designed to remove the picture inside and it bothered him. He saw the short stick was high and the other was almost as high. He shook his head. Late for humans…

As he glanced up at the night sky he could smell others like him. Too many then there should be in this town. He moved by garbage and people who were sneaking away. Other than his clawed hands and his sharp wolf eyes all the other would think him..normal. ‘Gotta let it out, gotta let it out; Gotta let it out, gotta let it out’ His watched clicked and he felt the atmosphere change. It was time for his kind to move. He left the hood up to cover his ears but he decided he did not need to feel uncomfortable anymore…he lifted the back of his hoodie to allow his long silvery tail to come out. It swished eager to get moving.

‘All this rage that's inside me; Hold it fast, they've been dancing on this’ At first he heard the screaming and the sounds of delight from spooks in the area. Full chaos had erupted. It felt lovely to him…he had met a few of his people telling them that their time was at hand…

‘All of these thoughts running through my head; I'm on fire, veins burning red!’ He turned a corner and smelled the thick iron in the air…blood. A group of five to seven ghouls or zombies…dead walkers were around a group of humans. They looked to him as if he was their hope. The begged for help and he simply watched as the ghouls made their way through the family.

When the ghouls were part of the way through one noticed him and asked, “Do you…ssslllluuurrrp…wanna turn friend?” Ze’ev walked over and simply said, “Do you…work for a witch?” The ghoul nodded happily. Lyncanthropes, ghouls, zombies there was a pecking order in the night world. Strength meant everything. At the thought of him finding the witch he grinned an evil grin. As he pulled out the headphones all he heard was, ‘Pull my Devil Trigger!’

The ghoul had no time to react his claws had extended and sliced clean through the ghouls throat. A dark ugly infected blood oozed out of it and it fell to a loud bang as it hit a garbage can. The other six ghouls looked over and immediately launched towards him. Ze’ev pooled his mana and quickly shot out two icicle spears which embedded and killed the ghouls as they struggled in vain against the wall. The other two made sluggish attacks against him. Ghouls were slower but quite powerful…avoiding them was the best. He spun lashing out with his legs against one’s head and the others back. Shifting his weight he jumped off of the back of one and lashed out with his claws taking two more ghouls down with a few swift slashes. One of the few final ghouls managed to get behind him and bite him on the should. “GGGrrr….” He reached and flipped the ghoul up and over some blood pooling off of his shoulder. As he slammed the ghoul down he bit into its neck and tore. The blood covering his mouth and the front of his hoodie. Dead ripped flesh clinging to him.

The last ghoul looked at escape and he called out, “Bring your witch master! Now!” The ghoul ran off. Though it was not long before he returned with a castor…


12:27

The stench of gore and blood had taken over him for a moment. “She…was not the one…”

He sat on the corpses of summoned dead. The witches body lay before him. Her head in one hand, a broke broom, and in his other the witches wand. He started to pick his teeth with it and looked about the battlefield. He alone was live here. Bodies of undead and human alike. He was unsure but most likely he had killed humans as well. Not that it bothered him. His hood was down revealing his wolf ears. He was resting…he had used a little too much mana in his casting. He looked and saw melting pools of ice, one particularly large on that shot up along a building. The witch had been stronger than he thought.

After picking his teeth with the wand he held it up to the moon and howled a bloody victory howl. He saw it as a minor victory. He would not stop killing them until he found the one that did this to him. He saw a small child’s body on the floor and he thought of his sisters cub…the only way he could cope was revenge.

He just noticed he had somehow ran and chased until he was in…what a small play area for children outside…it was a park but little did he know that. With the corpses around the wobbly thing he sat on as a throne he watched and waited until he felt combat ready again.

Popping a headphone into his ear and keeping the other out for security he found he was quite a few song more forward. as he listed he closed his eyes. 'Red like roses fills my dreams and...'

[AliceMalice15]

Most would not have noticed the unusually large raven perched atop a nearby lamp post as they milled about their busy evenings. Too many parties, bars, and events to get to, to notice one odd bird perched on a lonely street lamp. She would be insignificant amongst all the hustle and bustle. It was incredible how imperceptive humans could be when they believed themselves to be safe. She could feel the forces of the Legion amassing on the roof tops though.

Her black feathers ruffled in a light breeze that was blowing through the buildings. It was almost time. They’d move soon. She’d have to move on. A shame they couldn’t see the folly in their ideals. Flapping her wings the raven flew to the nearby rooftops only to find another sat atop the building as well. A witch. Was she Legion?

Hopping over to the girl the raven cocked her head and spoke.

“Are you with the Legion,” she cawed, “or merely a witness? Do you enjoy bloodshed? Or simply wish to chronicle the outcome?”

Aradia had been around the Legion many times during her long life. She didn’t recognize the girl though, a new recruit? That was when the elder witch picked up on a more familiar presence. Yuu, she had seen the jikininki on many occasions, but had yet to have dealings with him. He was older, that she knew. Old enough he may have some insights that could prove useful. Had he come to similar philosophies as she? Had he let his mind fade to the years? Always interesting to find out. She’d speak to him after if she got a chance.

[Lady Celeste]

The raven’s question was a somewhat welcome break from the chaos going on down below, so Diana gladly obliged in spite of the circumstances. However, Diana first spared a glance toward Yuu. The Japanese ghoul had already acquired a reputation for being fickle in his loyalty to the Legions... but even so, could she really risk saying the wrong thing in front of a Legionnaire?

“I’ve done some work for the Legions.” Diana said, knowing better than to leak any confidential details. “But this isn’t what I signed up for.” She left it at that for now. Despite Yuu’s reputation, one of the few things the Legion didn’t tolerate was betrayal. Yuu was more or less safe in that regard, mainly because he didn’t care enough one way or the other, but Diana was not about to bring the Legion’s suspicions on herself by saying too much too soon. Besides, who was to say their feathered friend wasn’t testing them, waiting to see if they would make a mistake? The higher-ups had become much more paranoid ever since the big night, so Diana certainly wouldn’t put it past them to try something like that.

[BumblingBee]

'ON THE LAST DAY OF THE
PILGRIMAGE THEY GATHER
FOR RENEWAL IN A RITUAL
OF SIX PARTS'

The trek had been deep, and the woods went deeper still. He'd been squinting through the sunlight, sweat rolling down the back of his neck as he waded through the row upon row of trees. Nick just smoked a joint while the Witches did their thing. In the crisp waters of that woodland stream, they cleansed and purified their bodies. Ridding themselves of all impurity. Sinking and submerging endlessly. Just throwing each others bodies into the waters over, and over, and over again. He was sat apart and away from them, but water still soaked and stained his clothes.

It was sunset when they finished at the river. Twilight when they took him to the mark. His shape lay outlined in salt, ash and sand. They had told him it was to be a 'Transmuting of Evil energies'. Honestly, these days, he couldn't tell who what or where those energies ended up being sent to. But he went with them nonetheless. They always seemed to feel better afterwards too, so that was something he supposed.

It was thick blood. Thick warm blood that dribbled and oozed down from the corners of the mouth. It dripped and dribbled, painting lines all over the face, threatening to swallow it whole at times. Always from the mouth too. Never the nose. He tasted the copper of it, felt the crunch of marrow under both tooth and foot, and he heard them. He heard all of them.

Nick wandered out of the woods a few hours before the dawn. Large blotches of blood were stained into his white vest, some trailing down his arm. Where it had dried and cracked in places made it look like he'd been burned in places. He'd been clean shaven that morning, but the clotted remains of the ritual had now worked their way into his stubble. He was barefooted, and his stagger was lolling and clumsy. Twice he nearly fell over altogether. The fool was grinning like a idiot. Toothy smile spreading ear to ear. Cigarette in one hand, the other held ungainly upwards for supposed balance. He drew to a wobbly halt a few paces out of the Forests clutches.

Raising both arms, he threw a triumphant "WOOOOOOOOOOOO!", into the air, before carrying on his way.

He forgot entirely the whole day it took him to reach the city once more.

Those Wicca Witches were crazy man.

---

The divide between the somewhat Magical-esque Bear-Boy Nick, and the somewhat less carnivorous Human Nick, was a strange one. And it often had him conflicted

Luckily for him, and his Papi he supposed, he could easily pass as just a pure-blooded plain old human. Unless you had prior knowledge, or were a species that could detect it otherwise, there's no way you could know from just a glance that he was what he was. And this was a ability that Nick both relished and took advantage of. Because for a lot of the time, he enjoyed being just a plain old boring human. Maybe even, sometimes anyway, he liked it more than the Bear things?

Ugh. He still didn't know. The choice of his identity felt like a cough that would last forever. No matter how distracted he was, despite what he did to improve or repress, it would always be there. Tickling and nagging at the back of his throat. Occasionally erupting in a hack of raspy doubts and fears. People liked the human Nick. He had good friends, was a part of a solid clique of like-minded individuals. Human Nick had a home, a steady(ish) job that would get him by until better things came along.

Nobody ran from Human Nick (Usually). Nobody tried to hunt and shoot human Nick (Usually). Nobody openly screamed in the street at the sight of Human Nic- ...Oh. Well nobody apart from this lady it seemed. The woman's shrill shrieks heaved him out from his stupor and dragged his consciousness back to reality with a painful thud. He blinked, trying to push the daze away from his eyes. She was pointing an indignant finger at him, more specifically his bloodstained shirt.

Shit. He'd forgotten about that. Still hadn't changed out of it yet. She scrambled and ran from him. He was about to do something, apologise maybe, or make a quick getaway, I don't know, something. But then his ears caught up with his eyes. And suddenly everybody was screaming. Absolutely everybody. And not just at him. It was chaos. All of it. Everywhere he looked. Everywhere he turned. What the fuck was going on. People were being killed. Murdered right in the streets. In the open. Right before his eyes.

All of them being horrifically killed. And all of them killed by people like him. It was all so much. All so completely and utterly fucking messed up. What the hell was happening. There was blood everywhere. Not just on him anymore. Nick was not ok with this. Not one bit. A man tripped and fell next to him, desperately scuttering and scrambling back to his feet. But before the motion coordinated with his limbs, some weird goblin hybrid like thing lunged at him. The man collapsed to the ground, the air physically knocked out of him.

Nick didn't even need the time to think. He swung forwards, grabbing the creature by it's scruff. The, with a hard and heavy tug, he struck the creature against the brick wall by his side. The action had been unsettling-ly easy for the man. No harder than lifting a pebble up off the ground. And with a action so simple, the monster fell with an ugly thump to the floor, motionless. Dead or unconscious , Nick didn't wait to know.

He strode forwards. Onwards and away from this absolute carnage. The world was turning mad before his very eyes. And honestly. He had no idea what the fuck he wanted to do about it. A child screamed in complete terror. He strained his head round to catch the noise, feet changing course instinctively. Fingernails clawed and scratched at the earth, the child desperately trying to get away. Some impish looking thing, he guessed of vampiric origin was draining the child. Ivory fangs sunk into its back, red already pooling through the fabric of the kids shirt.

His hands locked around the monster and they pulled back as hard as they could. Yet despite his rather increased strength, the creature remained locked in, hissing violently in protest of the attempted removal. It must have been locked in with some sort of stupid magic or something. Dammit. The child just kept on screaming. Nick felt like doing so too honestly. The knot in his brow furrowed furiously as he kept on pulling and pulling. The man cried out in anguish,

"FOR GODS SAKE, SOMEONE HELP ME IT'S A FUCKING CHILD HERE!"

[Lady Celeste]

"FOR GODS SAKE, SOMEONE HELP ME IT'S A FUCKING CHILD HERE!"

At those words, Diana completely forgot about the raven and took up her broom again. A child? Were they seriously attacking a child?!

Taking to the air once more, Diana flew over the edge and spiraled down to get a closer look. Sure enough, there was the child, being gradually drained by some kind of vampire/imp hybrid, even as a man tried in vain to pry the creature off. How could the higher-ups have allowed this? That there were creatures out there for which animal instinct was the only moral code was simply a fact of life, but those creatures were always kept on the bottom of the hierarchy for a reason. But now, in all this frenzy, none of the other Legionnaires even cared enough to keep them in line, and a few were even encouraging them!

The Legions' goal was to scare the humans, not massacre them all in cold blood... at least, that's what Diana had always thought. Either way, it was time to set the record straight.

Taking a white-handled knife from her belt, Diana made a small cut in her hand and slowly approached the monster, all the while holding up the wound to let the scent of the blood reach the vampire's nostrils faster.

Human blood was the standard diet of every vampire-like being, but witch blood had that extra magical kick that few vamps could resist. The imp-vamp's animal instinct kicked in as soon as it smelled the witch's blood, and let go of the child to go searching for the more desirable prey.

But Diana was ready for this, and snared the imp-vamp in a telekinetic grip before closing the gap between them, letting her wound bleed into its eager mouth.

“You like that?” Diana said, as if talking to a pet. The imp-vamp became much more docile as it hungrily lapped up the drops of witch blood, and Diana spared only a quick glance at the would-be hero, continuing to hold the beast in place until the child could be taken to safety.

None of this constituted any real betrayal in the Legions’ eyes, and Diana would explain as much if need be, but there would be no rest for her after this either way.

[AliceMalice15]

Aradia had begun to open her beak to continue her line of questioning when the younger witch raced off in to the chaos below. Squawking inelegantly as the girl blew past her on her broom Aradia ruffled her feathers indignantly and took flight after her. Upon landing behind the girl Aradia’s form seemed to stretch up and reform in to her true human form pale limbs becoming covered in a form fitting black dress with feather details that matched the raven she had just transformed from. Watching quietly she stayed back as the young girl lured the feral imp-vampire. It was an act of decency she had never seen amongst the ranks of the legion. It was possible certainly that they simply were few and far between, but it solidified her thoughts on the girl. She was young and perhaps a little naive, but her strong sense of justice and common decency made her malleable and not strongly allied to the Legion. A dangerous position if she didn’t have allies. Stepping from the shadows Aradia allowed her lips to twitch up in to a mysterious smile.

“Uri,” it was almost a flat statement, but one could hear the magic buzzing as it left the elder witches mouth. Within moments the vampiric creature began shrieking and burning from the inside out.

“You should have known your place pathetic creature,” Aradia murmured as the thing burned, “the other humans may be fair game, but children? Even the most depraved monstrosity knows children are off limits. I hope Satan himself has more mercy on you than I, for I would see you continue to burn for an eternity or two.”

The monster let out a final shriek as the fire that blazed in it’s body burned it to ash in just a few minutes. A decent display of her power without exposing too much of her knowledge or age. Turing her gaze to the child her expression softened and her voice brimmed with power once more.

“Obliviscaris omnia quae vidi,” she spoke the words quietly letting the magic do it’s work, “et caro patitur te ad sanandum. You are safe now child. No tears.”

Turning to the young witch and what she could tell was some sort of were-creature, she held her hand out for the child who in an almost trance like state began to walk toward her. Would they attempt to stop her? Would they care? Would the question her motives? Likely the child’s parents were dead. She could take him should they have no other course of action. Nothing nefarious of course, that had never been her MO. No she’d raise the child until they were strong enough to go it alone.

“How noble of you both,” she says never once glancing down toward the child, “especially one of you being a legionary yourself......are you one as well boy? Or simply a heroic bystander? I smell blood on you that is not your own, but I don’t sense malice from you.......why are you here?”