Sanctuary of the Blades

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

As she finally broke down, Wind said a soft 'thank you' to Egan for helping her then shooshed down her apology to himself as he simply held her and ran his fingers through her hair over and over, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me, Baby Girl... Things just went totally haywire after Blade showed up... She cut me up pretty badly and only Dancer's ability with magic was able to keep me from dying with your mother... Then Morrigan showed up and did something to Blade's mind and it messed me up a little more... Then Ohvan showed up and I still don't remember much about that..." he softly explained to her, letting her know that everything that happened wasn't her fault.

He gave a soft sigh as he gently rocked her a little bit and continued, his mind working through the tactics of the entire situation, "I know Gurzil'd had plans to set her loose to do exactly what she did, that he wanted the pack in chaos. If anything had happened to me that day, the pack would have been defenseless and open to attack from anywhere," he explained to her softly as he gave Egan an understanding smile that showed that he knew how much he meant to the Alpha he'd loved for so long.

"I honestly think that if we hadn't bonded to Dancer, he might not have been able to keep me alive. She'd hurt me pretty badly before your mother distracted her. If Bethany hadn't showed up when she had... I had no defenses against Blade since I'd thought she was dead for two years... I had no way to protect myself against her," he added, hoping that she and Egan would understand what he was saying.

Somewhere in all of his talking, her tears slowed to a stop and turned into tiny hiccups that he'd always found adorable to hear from her. He'd never hidden anything from Shadow because she was so intelligent, even more so than her own siblings. They'd raised her that way on Sebastet's suggestion and the Hylarr had been right about it. She was just that smart and they'd raised her accordingly.

So he hid nothing from her now and simply gave her the information she needed as gently as he could. But he never stopped holding her, never stopped rocking her, and never stopped running his fingers through her hair. He couldn't get the emotional release he needed because of the situation with Dancer, something about his capture and torture had thrown Wind off a little bit.

Of course, in the process of telling her all of that information, he'd also revealled that he and Egan had Bonded Dancer to them both. So she might figure out more than Wind was telling her anyway...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Egan Savage
Samirra wiped her eyes as she listened to Wind's explanation. She'd already known about the fact that Dancer was Mated to Egan and Wind. She'd seen the Marks on him after the group had finished with Ohvan. Once her crying stopped, she looked Wind over and let out a soft sigh. "There's something else I need to tell you, Daddy," she said. She hesitated and then lifted the hand that she had cut during the adoption ceremony. "When I left the pack house, I went to Gurzil's place. I met his wife again. And I ended up being adopted by her." She had been staring at the cut across her hand, but finally moved her gaze back up to meet his. "I'm Gurzil and Luna's daughter by demonic law now. I even ended up choosing a new name. I chose the name Samirra. I'm mostly back to normal now, but I do still want to go by my new name. Hearing my old name hurts too much. It just makes me think of how Mommy died because I let aunt Blade out." She wasn't sure about how Wind would feel about the last few things she had mentioned. She'd been given her name in order to honor his twin who had been kidnapped and believed dead, and now she had simply discarded the name. But there was also the fact that she mentioned letting Blade out. It meant that she had known that Blade was alive and hadn't told him.

Egan examined Samirra as she told Wind about being adopted by Luna. He wasn't sure what to make of that, but he knew exactly what to make of the feelings radiating from her as she told her father about the fact that she had changed her name. He could feel how scared she was about what Wind had to say to that revelation. He immediately understood that she was scared of Wind rejecting her over that news, even if everything she knew told her that would never happen. And as he took in that terror, he remembered a time when he had felt exactly the same. He remembered when he had started to fall in love with Wind, remembered the fear and worry that had filled him as he'd realized exactly what that meant. He had been consumed by that fear and worry, and the actions he'd taken because of it had ultimately led to them being separated for centuries when their old pack found out about the secret. He shook his head and stood up to place a hand on Wind's shoulder. Wind would immediately know what Egan was feeling. Egan knew that Wind would never reject the girl, but he was letting Wind know that he needed to immediately show her the same thing. He knew what kind of damage that fear would cause to her. She was already shaky and unstable. She would never be able to handle things if she was constantly afraid of being rejected by the person she cared for most now. Wind was definitely observant enough to pick up on the girl's feelings, but the fact that Egan was having such a strong reaction made it perfectly clear how important Wind's response would be.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind was no fool. He fully understood the message he was getting from the both of them. He raised one hand to touch Egan's on his shoulder then gently caressed the younger girl's face with a small smile, "Sweetheart... All of us have the option to choose a different name as we grow, one to fit us better. You have outgrown Shadow and have every right to choose Samirra for yourself. I hold no ill will toward you for what happened with Blade. I hold Gurzil responsible for all of it, not you. For all of your powers and abilities, you are still very young. You could have had no idea at all of what would happen when you killed him, even looking into what was left of her mind," he assured her softly, hoping to help her in some way.

He took her hand in his to trace the line that marked her adoption and took in a deep breath that he let out slowly before responding to that one, "I'm not sure how I feel about this, I'll be honest. But I can't blame you for this one either. If that is where you feel you belong, I won't stop you," he finally said softly, then looked up into her eyes with a small smile back in place, though it held a touch of sadness now, "You will always be the daughter of my heart and I will always welcome you back from wherever you go in life. But I have never hidden your blood parentage from you or your siblings. All of you have known that I am only your parent because I raised you. Sweetheart, you do look like your mother, true. But you have Taro's eyes and his heart. You have nothing of me in you and I've always known that. So you have never had to explain yourself to me. You are free to live how and where you want to.

"I will always consider you as My Hope and the reason I'm still alive now. You, more than your siblings, gave me a reason to keep living when I needed it the most. Raising you has been one of the greatest joys of my life. But I know that I have no right to hold you, I never did. Even now, you have more choice with your life than I have a right to dictate to you.

"But I need you to understand that you are always welcome back home. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter where life takes you... You will always have a home and a place in my heart. That will never be questioned," he explained to her softly, hoping to make her understand.

Of course, he was also hoping that Egan would be able to help him keep his emotions contained from her, to keep her from understand how much this was tearing him apart. But he knew that he had to be strong in this moment, to give her what she needed to her be the strong young woman he knew was inside of her. In short, he was trying to do his final job as her parent, even though he'd always known that he'd never had any right to her and her siblings...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Egan Savage
Samirra took a moment to think about what she would say after she heard Wind's answer. "I don't know where I belong," she admitted softly. "I went there and got adopted because Gurzil was in my head telling me it was the right thing to do. He told me that it would help me to stop hurting. And while I do know that I want to at least visit them every so often, I don't think it would be good for me to stay there. I know they care for me, but their influence is dangerous. I hurt people when I listen to Gurzil. But Gurzil isn't the only one in my head anymore. Sebastet came to find me and poured all the knowledge of her culture into my head. I was so shocked when it started that I lost control and accidentally killed her. I can feel that I did the same thing to her that I did to Gurzil. She's in my head, just like he is. I just don't know how to pull her out to counter Gurzil yet. But even though I don't know how to pull her out, I have full access to her memories. There are so many memories of their lives in my head that I'm having some trouble figuring out where they end and I begin. I can't really figure out who I am anymore." She thought about what she should say for a moment, trying to think past the other two lives that were swirling around in her head. Having Gurzil and Sebastet in her mind really did make it hard for her to figure herself out, even if they weren't able to say anything right now.

Egan watched the girl and thought about how to help her with what she was going through. He leaned down to place a kiss on Wind's forehead and then moved over to Samirra. He placed his hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes. He heard a soft gasp from her that told him his plan had worked. He opened his eyes and examined her. "I've assumed the full weight of the other two minds," he stated simply. "I can't hold it for very long because they are part of you, but this should help give you a bit of relief."

Samirra gave a quick nod to Egan and looked back to Wind. It was so much easier to think now that she didn't have to deal with Sebastet and Gurzil's minds. Even when they couldn't talk, she still had to deal with their memories. But Egan had taken that away for a few moments, and she wanted to take advantage of the time. "You may not be blood, but you'll always be my dad. I can't just agree that you have no right to determine how I live my life. I'm still so young. And even if there's no blood connection between us, you are my father. You say that there's nothing of you in me, and that makes me sad. Even now, with everything so messed up, I want to be like you, Daddy. You're such a sweet and loving person. Even if you don't realize it, you make people better. Just look at Uncle Egan. You helped him figure out who he was and who he wanted to be. And he's a better and more understanding person because of it. You give so much of yourself to helping everyone else, and it makes everyone around you so much better. So I hope that you're wrong about there not being any of you in me, because I want to be at least half as great as you when I grow up." She felt the weight of Gurzil and Sebastet returning and fell silent again, but she hoped that she had gotten her point across. Wind was the person she loved and looked up to more than anyone else, and she had tried to make it clear that she wanted to stay with the pack so she could stay with him.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind was more than grateful for Egan's help and knew what it cost him to give that help. He knew that Egan would be having nightmares for a few days but knew that he could help him through it, and that they wouldn't be telling Samirra about it. Not to keep it from her, but to keep her from having fits over potentially hurting Egan.

Then she spoke and he found tears moving down his face. Not from sadness. From pure joy and love. He hadn't felt like this since he'd helped Bethany birth the cubs. The only other moment that came close was when Egan Marked him. Though the two events were similar emotions, they were still vastly different.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tightly, "Oh, my baby girl... Sweetheart..." there were no other words that he could say in that moment. No other words would come. All he could do was hold her and hope that she and Egan would understand what he couldn't say.

He wanted to tell her that he would always be proud to have her call him her dad, that he would be proud to call her daughter, that he never wanted a day without her, that he wanted to watch her grow into the beautiful and talented woman he knew she would be, that he wanted to teach her to cook and sew, that he wanted to watch Egan teach her to fight and defend herself, that he wanted to see her claim a mate of her own someday...

He wanted to say all of that and more.

But all he could do was struggle in vain to keep the tears in check as he held her like she was the most precious thing in his life.

Then again, the words he had said probably said it all...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Egan Savage
Samirra hugged Wind back when he wrapped his arms around her. She could feel just how happy he was from what she had said, and she was feeling pretty happy herself because of what she could understand from what little bit Wind had been able to say. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she let herself get lost in the happiness she could feel in the room.

Egan watched Wind and Samirra with a small smile, though he didn't join in the moment. Even though Gurzil and Sebastet were back in Samirra's head, he was still getting flashes from their memories. He knew that he could handle the flashes without any big problems, but it was still a bit unpleasant and distracting. And even if he didn't have to deal with the flashes from Gurzil and Sebastet, it seemed better to let Wind and Samirra have this moment to themselves. He moved over to sit in a chair not too far from the one Wind was in, content to simply watch in silence and give the pair of them time to reconnect after everything that had happened.


Samirra eventually pulled away from Wind a bit and looked a bit to the left, seeing a projection of Sebastet trying to flicker into existence for a moment. She gave a small smile at that, realizing that she would be able to fully create a projection of her soon enough. The thought of Sebastet reminded her of something else, and she looked back up to Wind with a small frown. "Daddy, our family isn't complete just yet. Dancer is part of our family now, and Luna still has him. I know that she won't hurt him anymore because I got Kam to pass on the message that I wanted her to stop, but he's still in danger. Even if they don't hurt him anymore, they can still cause some serious problems with his mind. We need to get him back."

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind gently caressed her cheek with a small smile then pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, "Thank you, Sweetheart... I think there might be a way to get him back, but I may need your help with it. If you don't think you can do it, I'll understand. If you can, it will help things go that much smoother," he started, knowing that she could do this, though she'd have to tap into Sebastet's devious side to do it.

He looked up at Egan and gave a small smile for what he knew he was dealing with for their sake, but hoped that Egan would forgive him for what he was about to suggest. He hoped that Dancer would forgive him too...

He looked back at Samira, silently reminding himself to use her chosen name instead of the other, and lifted her hand that now held the adoption scar, "Demonic Law," he started softly as he gently caressed the scar on her tiny hand, "I picked up enough of Dancer's memories to know that the key to this situation is Demonic Law. Any rights that they might have had to Dancer became null and void the moment Egan Marked him. I know he's hidden his Marks, but they're there all the same. He's Marked and now belongs to Egan, under Demonic Law. Egan can demand recompense for any damage that was done to him, and can name the price for that recompense," he explained softly, his tactical mind at work.

He gently traced that scar again and smiled at the little girl he knew as his daughter, "As a full Demonic citizen, you can act as our intermediary on this. You can go to Luna and tell her that Dancer belongs to someone else. You can convince him to show his Marks. You can tell them the price that Egan demands. There can be negotiations, but they have to release Dancer immediately once those Marks are seen. And they have to release him to Egan, specifically," he added, knowing that Egan wouldn't like it.

But he knew that she could do it. It would take a touch of Sebastet's impish and twisted sense of humor to do it. But he knew his little girl could do this and pull it off covered in glory!




As Alistair brought them back, Dev kept his face tucked into that spot between the neck and shoulder, gently taking in Alistair's scent to drive out the smells of the basement and death. He was shaking a bit as he kept his arms around the man that held him, so full of emotion that he couldn't decide on just one.

He wanted to cry over the loss of his mother. He wanted to scream his rage over her death. He wanted to rip something apart since he couldn't get to Nashirr. He wanted to curl up in a corner and pretend the world didn't exist...

His wrists were still burning from the silver cuffs, and he'd bear a couple more scars from everything else that had been done to him, but he'd survived it by scaring the crap out of Nashirr. He was starting to feel the silver burning through his system and knew he'd be dealing with the fever for a few days.

But another part of him could only focus on Alistair...

"Thank you," he said softly before he pulled back enough to let his eyes meet Alistair's, showing that they were still crimson, "Thank you for coming after me... No one's ever..." he paused there and his eyes took on a small far-away look, as if he was thinking of something in the distance of a shock-induced mind, "Hal might have... Lily, after I met her... Maybe Morrigan... But no one else..." he considered the possibilities then focused on Alistair's eyes again, "No one has ever come after me like that. My mother tried I think, back when I was little, but I don't remember it... But you did... You came after me..." he said, still in that shock-dazed softened voice.

It was obvious that Nashirr had broken something inside of him with that final act, something that the HellCat was still trying to protect him from. But he still couldn't shift thanks to the silver. The cuffs might have been removed, but he'd also been sliced with silver blades and punched with silver brass-knuckles. He was a mess, but part of him wasn't even feeling any of it. He knew he should have been feeling the pain, but it just wasn't there right now and he wasn't sure why...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Samirra looked up at Wind again and listened as he said that there was a way to get Dancer back that would require her help. She thought about what to dol and gave him a quick nod. "Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it," she stated softly. She looked down to her hand when Wind lifted it and listened to his explanation about what he was planning. She thought about his plan to use Demonic Law to their advantage. Since Egan owned Dancer by that law, they could use it to force Luna to give Dancer back to them. She nodded as she thought about it. "That's perfect. They're abiding by Demonic Law in what they're doing so far, and that means that they'll want to keep doing so. If they decide to violate it now, there will be some serious consequences."

She slipped off of his lap and started to pace a bit. "I can do it. I actually think that I'm the only one who can. Luna would probably kill anyone else who went to deliver the news to her. But she'll listen to me. She has to. Hurting me is against her rules, and she wouldn't want to anyway. She wants me to spend time there as her daughter." She considered the situation further for a moment. "They'll probably try to find any sort of legal loophole to keep him there, though. Let me take a look at what that'll be so we can be ready for it."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she used her power to take a look at the city as it was at that moment. She saw Esabel and Wulfric grab Kam and take him away, followed by an enraged Luna shattering a wall designed to survive Gurzil. That part made her frown. "Things look a bit bad right now. Someone took Kam, so Luna is really mad and talking about going to get him. I'm not sure even I would be safe if I went right now. But let me see if I can find the right time to do it." She followed the thread she was currently on and looked at the most likely future to occur right now. She watched Luna approach Club Brimstone and try to bargain for Kam back. She watched the enraged Luna failing at each attempt to get Kam back before she simply unleashed her army and tore the place apart to get him back. She wasn't too surprised until she caught sight of a familiar woman and then immediately checked to see the exact time.

She gave a frustrated sigh. "The future holds a lot of death right now. Luna is going to fail to get Kam back, and then she's going to tear that club apart and kill everyone there except for him." She hesitated as she made eye contact with Wind again, and he would see her struggling with something. "Aunt Blade will be there when it happens. She isn't there yet, but she'll get there sometime between now and then. She'll be one of the ones killed." She didn't say anything else, but Wind knew her well enough to know that she wan't saying something, that she wasn't offering an option. The young girl knew about the slaughter, so she could do something to change the outcome. But Wind would be able to see her hesitation to save Blade. She had regained control, but she was still just a little girl whose heart was in pieces after her mother's murder. She knew that he would want her to save his twin, but it hurt so much to know that she would have to save the one who had killed her mother.  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Morrigan
Morrigan immediately placed a kiss on Gypsy's lips as they arrived back in their room and then took a step back. "I'm glad that you and Lily were able to part on somewhat good terms," she said. "I definitely wouldn't call you two friends yet, but I'm glad you found some common ground. And I have to say that your small revenge was nice. I didn't notice her condition at all until you mentioned it. I guess that I was more distracted by our own situation. But I guess that I should be happy for her. It probably won't register with her right away, but it'll probably be a bit crazy once it does. I kind of wish I could see it."

As she spoke, she moved around the room and messed with a few things, clearly a bit bothered by something. She wasn't sure what it was, but something had her skin crawling. She felt that something was off nearby, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She closed her eyes and allowed her senses to expand to cover the entirety of Sanctuary and finally managed to pick up an unusual but familiar presence. She frowned as she tried to work out who was here that wasn't supposed to be, quickly moving through a list of people that she knew that felt like this.

She opened her eyes and looked over to Gypsy. "Something isn't right. Someone who isn't supposed to be here is nearby. It took me a bit to figure it out, but it feels like Esabel's sister Ilea. I just can't think of any reason why she would be here. But now that I think about it, I can't remember what she's been up to recently. I haven't seen her since right before that time Ohvan suddenly felt super territorial and came to collect me from the Re base. We need to go on alert, here. I'll go talk to Ilea and figure out what's going on with her. You check on Ohvan." She shook her head as she thought about things again. "Or maybe we should do it the other way around. It's weird that she's here when she really only knows me and sort of knows Lucy. It may be better for you to test things with her before I talk to her. What do you think?"

Allistair
Allistair appeared just outside of the small building that had been given to him for his stay, still carrying Dev in his arms. He savored the feeling of holding his lover after their time apart. He knew that Dev was having a hard time keeping control after his time with Nashirr. Honestly, Allistair was having a hard time containing his own feelings as well. He wanted to skin Nashirr alive and make sure that Dev got to see the man die so that he would know that he could never hurt anyone else again. But his love and concern for Dev won out, and the desire to comfort and help Dev would drive him for a while.

He looked down at Dev when he heard him speak and was concerned when he saw the crimson eyes. He heard Dev thanking him for coming to get him and pressed a kiss against his forehead before he said what he felt and what he knew Dev needed to hear. "I'll always come for you, Dev," he stated softly. "No matter what happens, I will always come to get you. I'm going to tell you something that I've said to others before, but I've never meant these words until now. He placed Dev onto their bed and then took a step back. "I love you with all I have. You are the most important being in this world to me, and I will always be by your side. If we ever get separated, I will tear this world apart until I get you back. Nothing will keep me from you." He paused for a moment and watched Dev closely. "I've said that to others before you without meaning it. It was just a meaningless statement to my conquests to make them feel like I cared. But when I say it to you, I feel like it isn't enough to convey my feelings.

He turned away for a brief moment as shadows gathered around him. He was panting as he did something that he had never expected to do. He turned back toward Dev and held something out to him. The dim light in the room reflected off a small golden heart on a chain in Allistair's hand. "When you were taken, I realized something. I want you to have everything I can give. And in order for that to happen, I need to give you this. I need to give you my Heart and my Mark." The shadows continued to swarm around Allistair as he moved to kneel by the bed. By the time the shadows finally stopped, only the locket and two burning red points of light remained visible. Allistair was silent, unable to speak as he fully revealed himself to Dev. He had never done anything like this before, had never allowed anyone to see him in such a vulnerable state. Even a small amount of light could prove lethal to him now, but it was necessary for Allistair to fully bond himself to Dev.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wind gave a small nod then assessed what he'd picked up from Dancer right about the time that his pain had stopped and cued his daughter in one more point, "Dancer overheard something that he's still probably not picking up on yet... When Kam stopped Luna, he indicated that he'd given Dancer to you..." he told her softly, trusting Egan to keep both of their emotions in check on this issue.

He knew that, despite her young years, she could put this one together on her own and was challenging her mentally just as he always had.


Dev choked up at Alistair's display and slid to the floor in front of him, on his knees and met those eyes without fear or hesitation. He knew exactly what his master was offering and gave a small smile over it.

"Your Mark, I'll gladly take and wear with honor, Master... But your Heart? I'm not worthy of it... I don't deserve it... I would never reject anything from you, but if anyone should give up their heart, it should be me. Wearing your Mark is more than I could ever hope for. But I know that I was never good enough for you to keep, I just hoped that I could please you for a little while. I certainly never expected you to claim me and tame me...," he whispered to him softly.

Then he leaned his head forward and through the chain of the Heart anyway, even though he didn't think he deserved it. From there, he simply bared his throat to Alistair for the second time, the only person he'd ever given his throat to willingly, "I think I've been yours from the moment we met..." he added in a softer whisper.



Gypsy gave a small shrug over Morrigan's change in plans, knowing that her previous threat might still hold some value, "I'll deal with Ilea. Go make sure Ohvan is safe. Ilea Mated to another Harvester named Lancaster. The Harvesters are a very territorial lot, especially with Ohvan being an Alpha," she told her softly, then gently caressed her cheek, "Be careful..." she added in a soft whisper and gave her lips a very tender kiss before simply walking towards the front door.

Ilea was still kneeling in front of the front porch and gave a small smile when she saw Gypsy walk outside. Gypsy frowned at that smile, "Why are you here, Ilea?" she asked simply as she stepped off the porch.

Ilea gave no verbal answer. She simply attacked. Gypsy drew her sword and reacted to defend herself at first. Eventually, she started attacking in return. There was the clang and scrape of metal as they moved at each other at full strength, each clearly intent on damage. Some of the Blades heard it and moved to stand in doorways to watch the very impressive show.

But none of them really expected Lancaster to figure out a way into the hidden room where Ohvan was and approached on silent feet with a golden dagger in his hand and a gleeful grin on his face, finally reaching his goal to eliminate the Alpha...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Morrigan
Morrigan frowned as she listened to Gypsy detailing what had been going on with Ilea. She gave her a quick nod and returned her kiss and watched as she walked towards the door. She took a deep breath and stepped into the shadows of the safe room. She immediately drew her daggers and dashed forward when she saw Lancaster standing over Ohvan with a golden dagger. She wasn't able to reach them before Lancaster brought the dagger down into Ohvan's heart and used the contact to empty out Ohvan's soul collection at the same time.

Morrigan staggered a bit as she felt a burning pain in the back of her neck where Ohvan's mark was. She was paralyzed for a moment as her bond to Ohvan's soul was violently severed. She gritted her teeth as an agonized wolf's howl filled her senses, leaving her unable to hear anything else. The howl echoed through their bond, allowing Gypsy to clearly feel the wolf's pain at the death of its Alpha. Morrigan let out a growl and forced herself to move toward Lancaster again. She still couldn't hear anything over the howling, but she could see his smug face. That smug expression enraged her even more. She wasn't fully aware of what she was doing as the dagger in her left hand flew towards Lancaster, thrown with such force that it went straight through his chest and pinned him to the wall behind him.

Morrigan forced herself to ignore the agony shooting through her body and managed to rush toward Lancaster at full speed. He didn't even have time to register what was happening before Morrigan's other dagger was piercing his heart. Purple light filled the room as the daggers began to reap Lancaster's soul and those in his collection, tearing him apart and literally nullifying his existence as he had Ohvan's. The daggers hit the ground as his physical form vanished, and Morrigan stumbled backwards. Her world was spinning. The howling wasn't stopping, and it was quickly becoming too much for her to handle

Morrigan managed to collect her daggers and then stepped into the shadows to assist Gypsy. She was barely able to even breathe as she stumbled out of the shadows near Gypsy. It felt like her wolf was tearing her apart in its grief and rage. She drew her weapons again and managed to move a few feet closer before collapsing. She forced herself to crawl toward Gypsy and Ilea for a moment before the pain fully immobilized her. Gypsy would be able to hear the howling getting louder, letting her know that Morrigan was getting closer, but it wouldn't cause her the same pain it was causing Morrigan.

Allistair
Allistair let out a low growl when Dev made the comment about being unworthy of his Heart. "No one but you will ever be worthy," he said, clearly struggling to speak in this state. The longer he remained in his demonic form, the more difficult it became to stay somewhat civilized and ignore his instincts. He wouldn't be able to keep his composure for much longer before he simply lost control and claimed his Mate.

As soon as the chain slipped over Dev's neck, he would feel a slight warmth as the golden chain tightened a bit and joined with his collar, leaving the Heart dangling from the front like the name tag on a pet's collar. On top of that, Dev would suddenly be able to see perfectly in the darkness as if the room were brightly lit, allowing him to see Allistair's demonic form. Allistair's skin was like pure obsidian, his body muscular in a way that his human form simply wasn't. He possessed a set of large, bat-like wings that almost seemed to be a void in space when one examined them closely. Long, silky black hair pooled around him, far longer than it was in his human form. Horns curved back, doing nothing to keep his hair out of his face. But his hair did nothing to hide his piercing red eyes and the raw, primal need that was clearly visible in them.

Allistair suddenly rose and reached out to stroke Dev's face. "You were mine from the moment you were born, and I was yours. Everything in your life has led you to me, just as I was led to you. It just took time to see it." He lifted Dev to his feet and leaned in to press a kiss to Dev's neck. Dev was suddenly laying back on the bed with Allistair laying with him. He placed several kisses on Dev's chest, moving up to place a kiss on his shoulder before roughly biting him. It would be painful, but it would be impossible for Dev to miss the feeling of their souls connecting with a much stronger bond than they'd had before.

Allistair watched him for a moment, staring intently as black lines began to flow around the spot he'd bitten and then further outward. He let out another low growl and then presented himself to Dev so he could accept a Mark as well. "Yours." Allistair wanted a Mark from Dev as well, and he was in no state to argue about it. He was in the middle of a very strong bonding ritual and was reduced to running on pure instinct. Even the few short statements he had made were extremely difficult. If Dev tried to refuse to Mark him, there was no real way to know what would happen.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Gypsy staggered in the moment that Ohvan was killed, the pain moving through her like a freight train and stealing her breath. But her years of training and running had honed her survival instincts to the point that she was able to keep Ilea from taking her head, though it was a close thing.

Then Ilea staggered and dropped to her knees, unable to breathe. She fell to the sand and writhed from the pain, unable to scream.

Gypsy stood over her with her sword ready for the death blow when she caught something and gave what could only be described as an evil grin then knelt beside Ilea with one hand on her chest over her heart, "Good luck with motherhood and evading your former master...." she told her, the news just as heartless as letting her live with the pain.

Then Gypsy got to her feet and moved over to Morrigan, the shadow-cloak of Lady Grimm forming around her as she dropped herself and Morrigan through a shadow and back out in Pandora's Room, "Lucy!" she called out harshly, trusting the goddess to let the priestess know that she was in charge of the Blades for a while. As well as why...

Right after calling to Lucy, Gypsy fell over and passed out, laying halfway on top of Morrigan. As they laid there, the intricate Marks Ohvan had given them began to fade into silvered scars, leaving only the Marks they shared between each other...


Outside, Ilea continued to try to breathe, the news from Gypsy sparking bloody tears in her eyes. She only wanted to go home, back to the Re base where Esabel and Lily could keep her safe.

Instead, she saw someone appear over her that actually made her bloody tears start to flow back into her hair. Goh had sent his new servant to collect his 'wayward' creation so that he could punish her properly. But the news of the pregnancy would change things...

Then her vision faded around the edges and the lack of oxygen finally knocked her out while her body kept writhing from the pain...



Dev gave a growl as he was Marked, that alone pulling his HellCat under control in an instant. Then he felt Allistair's neck above him and wrapped his arms around the male, pulling him in closer as he nuzzled at him and inhaled his scent as if for the first time, still giving off that low growl.

"Mine.... Just as I'm yours..." he growled out then bit him, hard and a bit savagely. But Dev would only ever be tamed to Allistair, and even then only partly tame. Allistair would spend the rest of their lives taming him.

As his teeth sank in, the power moved in and began to spread the Mark over Allistair's shoulder. When he pulled back he was still growling, though the growl was shifting to the one he gave when he was about to get into trouble. He pulled back and leaned up to kiss Allistair hungrily, the male's blood flavoring it perfectly.

His nails shifted to the dark claws of his HellCat and dug them into Allistair's back as his desire increased more and more... Then again, tying up Dev had more than one reason, after all...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Nyx appeared in the Sanctuary where she felt Ilea waiting. She made sure to conceal her presence and hide out of sight so that no one would be able to get in her way. She had been ordered to retrieve Ilea, but her Master's previous creation was waiting for something or someone. So Nyx decided to simply stay put and watch as she waited for a better opportunity. When Gypsy showed up and Ilea attacked, Nyx decided to psychically connect to both of them for a very brief moment while they were focused on their fight to get a bit more information about what was going on.

As she looked over the information from them, she considered what she should do. She knew that if Ilea's Harvester killed the one Mated to Gypsy and Morrigan, it would likely enrage the two women enough to kill the one Ilea was bonded to. If that happened, Ilea would be left vulnerable. After reaching this conclusion, she ultimately chose to use that option.

She simply sat back and watched the battle, growing a bit concerned at the extremely close call that almost led to Gypsy losing her head. But she gave a slight grin when Ilea collapsed a moment later as Lancaster was killed. She prepared to rush in to grab Ilea as Gypsy prepared the death blow but stopped when Gypsy did. She forced herself to wait just a bit longer to allow Gypsy to grab Morrigan and move through the shadows to somewhere else.

She waited another moment after Gypsy and Morrigan left to make sure that they weren't coming back and then appeared over Ilea in a burst of shadowy flames. She stared down at her with a blank expression, watching the bloody tears falling. "It seems that you've figured out what is going to happen to you," she stated coldly. "Good. That will save some time." She knelt down to place a hand on Ilea and grinned as she realized the same thing Gypsy had. "You're pregnant. Interesting. Master will be pleased to find that out. He's been trying to find a suitable new body for himself. I doubt that he ever expected you to be carrying such a perfect one for him." As Ilea passed out, the two of them disappeared in another burst of shadowy flames.

[Exit to Goh's New Hideout]

 

[Dameon Black]

Wolfe Garm

Red Gypsy

Lucy
Lucy gave a soft sigh at Regina's response. "I don't know that it would be a good thing to let him have Blade," she stated simply. "I don't know a lot about this guy, but I'm not going to be quick to trust that he only has good intentions. But I'm not sure if it really matters what I think. If he has a contract for Blade, then we don't really have much of a choice. If we refuse to hand her over, it could cause some really massive problems for us. Violating demonic law would bring a lot of heat on us. And while I'm sure that we could probably survive it, Gypsy also wants us to avoid these types of things if possible. She wants us to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. And Lin's description of this demon lord makes me think that he's probably the type to draw attention to us if we refuse to give him Blade."

As she talked, she suddenly frowned and gripped her head a bit as she started to develop a headache from information pouring into her mind from Pandora. She groaned as the recent events with Gypsy and Morrigan replayed for her and then had to take a deep breath to try to calm herself back down. "Great. It looks like we have a pretty big problem. Someone attacked Gypsy and killed Ohvan. Which means that Gypsy and Morrigan are going to be out of commission for a while. And that means that I'm in charge."

She shook her head and then focused on what had happened to Ilea. She groaned again when she saw the moment Nyx appeared to take her back to Goh. "And of course Ilea got taken back to Goh. We'll have to deal with that. But first, I need to go see Esabel and tell her that Ilea got grabbed by Goh's new servant, which means that I have to go see the crazy woman that replaced me as Lily's older sister. And since I'm in charge right now, that means that I then have to come back and probably give Blade to a demon lord so that we can avoid the risk of him outing us. Perfect."

Lucy realized that the color was starting to drain from her body and immediately turned in Regina's arms to press a kiss against the other woman's lips. "I'm not going to try to make you come with me. You were gone for a while, so I understand if you want to rest. But with that being said, I could really use some support. I'm a bit stressed right now." She rested her head on Regina's shoulder, clearly needing the contact with her lover to calm down.

Morrigan
As Gypsy was taunting Ilea, Morrigan was gripping her head as she tried to deal with her wolf's pain. She managed to look up at Gypsy as she approached and let out a soft whimper as they dropped through a shadow into Pandora's room. She was panting as Gypsy called out for Lucy and then groaned as Gypsy passed out and landed halfway on top of her.

She took a deep breath to collect herself and then forced herself to move, crawling out from under Gypsy and moving toward the door. Her vision was starting to go a bit dark, and she still couldn't hear anything over the unending howling. Despite her pain, she crawled to the door and managed to pull it open. She had one idea to force her wolf to calm down, and she had to do it before the wolf actually managed to cause permanent damage. She crawled out into the hall and found a red-robed servant. She managed to explain what she wanted, hoping that she wasn't yelling due to being unable to hear anything.

After speaking to the servant, Morrigan forced herself to move back into the room to lay next to Gypsy. A moment after she got back into the room, the red-robed servant returned with the item Morrigan had requested and simply sat it on the floor next to her. She thanked the servant and managed to pull herself into a sitting position before reaching for the object that she had requested. She took a deep breath and then gritted her teeth as she picked up the silver knife, closing her hand around it and squeezing as hard as she could. She heard a pained yelp and then silence as her wolf reacted to the silver burning her skin. She gasped for breath as she continued to squeeze the silver blade, not caring that she would end up with a few serious scars on her hands from the burns. All she cared about right now was that the howling had stopped. She took a few more shaky breaths before she finally lost consciousness, passing out next to Gypsy with the silver still pressed against her palm.

Allistair
"Only yours," Allistair growled as Dev bit him, clearly enjoying the pain from the rather savage display. As their souls fully joined together, Dev's Mark began to spread across his skin in a rather stunning display. The lines of the Mark were a brilliant white as they spread over Allistair's obsidian-colored skin. He returned Dev's kiss with equal hunger and passion, fully giving into his desire now that they were both Marked.

Allistair broke the kiss and delivered a sharp n** to Dev's shoulder as blood started to flow down his back from the point where's Dev's claws were dug in. He didn't seem to mind at all. His fingers moved up to trace Dev's face for a moment before he leaned in to deliver another hungry kiss to Dev's lips.

Time lost all meaning for the two of them after that. It was impossible to say how much time passed before Allistair returned to his human form and pulled a now boneless and satisifed Dev into his chest so the two of them could finally get some rest.

Samirra thought about the new information the Wind had given her. "It should make it easier to get him if Kam actually gave him to me," she said. "That should give me what I need to get Claire to let me in to see him to begin with. I don't think she likes me very much, so she'll try to resist giving me anything while Luna and Kam are gone. If they aren't there, she won't have any reason to be nice to me. But if I tell her that Kam gave Dancer to me and let her see the memory, she won't be able to say no."

She gave Wind a tight hug. "I love you, Daddy." She moved over to Egan and hugged him as well. "Thank you for helping me, Uncle Egan. Thank you for taking them away for a bit so that I could tell Daddy what I needed to tell him." She stepped back and looked over the two of them for a moment. "I'll be back soon, and I'll have Dancer with me." She focused on Claire and then teleported away.

[Exit]

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Wolfe Garm

Pandora was willing to give Lucy a little time with her lover, but the goddess' lack of patience was well known. Things would have to be taken care of quickly.

Meanwhile, the goddess simply moved the dagger out of Morrigan's hand and put her wolf to sleep for the time being. Such actions weren't exactly normal for the goddess, but these two were her favorites and she made sure to take care of them. Especially now...

She even appeared and placed a hand over each of their belly's where the precious babes rested. She smiled at what she sensed, keeping the secret for now, then wrapped both pregnancies in a protective 'bubble' of sorts that would keep the babes safe from harm.

With that, she disappeared and ensured that only Lucy would be able to enter the room while the females were vulnurable...



Dev was exhausted, sweaty, bloody, breathing hard, and so worn out that he wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Allistair had taken him in ways that only a demon-born could and had worn out all of his cats - even the HellCat! Dev could barely think as Allistair pulled him in to hold him, could only shiver at the full body contact after that workout.

When he regained some of his wits back, he only had one thing that he had to say, though only Allistair would understand the why of it, "I need to see it when she delivers him to his end," he whispered softly.

He needed to see Nashirr delivered to Pandora. He needed to see it to close that door on his past. Nashirr had taken so much from him that he needed to take something of it back, and seeing him delivered to his death would do that.

Later on, Allistair could help him retrieve his lost memories from his time being held by the b*****d before he'd gone to Gin, but for now, seeing Nashirr's death would release something for him. He needed his past cleared to focus on the future.

He would only ever allow Allistair to see him like this, though. Outside, to the rest of the world, he would always be the pleasure-seeking fun-loving feline he'd always been.

As he laid there, still shivering from time to time as his sweat moved into claw marks or bite marks, Allistair would be able to see his Mark spreading out and forming. Allistair's Mark would be a stylized tiger's face in full-snarl, the perfect representation for his lover, slave, and Mate. Dev would always have to wear his collar, safety for the population at large, but only Allistair would hold the leash, literal and proverbial.



As Samirra left, Wind looked up at Egan for a silent moment, then tried to stand and walk to his Mate. But he didn't get very far. His legs dropped him to his knees as he revealed what he'd been blocking, even from Egan...

He was still picking up what Dancer was going through and the force of it was enough to drop Wind to his knees. He looked up at Egan again and worked at blocking some of it, "You'll have to take him over when he gets here. You'll have to use the Mark. It's still there even though he's hidden it. You'll have to use it like Ohvan did to Morrigan. Call him to heel, in a way. Then work him over like you did before. Pain won't work on him," he explained, knowing that he had to help Egan bring their Mate back to himself.

He knew what was needed because of the type of Mark he and Dancer shared. While Egan was, unquestionably, the Alpha in the pack and the relationship; Wind and Dancer were a different binding. They were Egan's support, his respite from the duties of being Alpha, the emotional support of the pack, the ones that saw to the everyday needs of the pack, and the ones that made Egan's life easier. As a result, they had a harder time blocking out each other. Egan could block them out if needed, but they wouldn't be able to because that's the way it worked.

But in this case, it gave Egan exactly what he needed. For knowledge, and for preparation...