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(( -Inserts the Devils Trill here- ))


The mists scattered beneath the wings of death. He was silent, the red rimmed black orbs penetrating the very soul of tangible sanity. The Heron was on the hunt. He knew where he was to go.

Tendrils of air wrapped around him, wisps of nothingness tearing through his body as the powerful wings thrust back into the obliteration he'd left behind in his wake. Silver streaked thistle feathers wove themselves against the black night, the white mist accentuating the sinew as it stood out beyond the thin veil of plumage - revealing the Guardian of Dismemberment in the horrifying beauty of flight.

Why hurry so? After all, he had a lady waiting for him at home. Would it not be all too easy simply to delay the beckoning of his former company for her gentle caress? No. A lord would always honor his lady - but he would plummet willingly into the depths of hell for his Lord.

And that Lord was calling him.

He felt his heart rumble, the inward thunder pulsating ever harder as he neared his destination. Death...Death was on the wind tonight! And it coated him, ever thicker, in the sensation of slaughtered innocents. A feeling that the bird secretly adored.

The soft tick-tack sounds of his elongated claws could be heard as he thrust forwards, his wings changing just so to halt his progress. He could already see the sign from where he'd landed. One might usually be unsettled by being alone and surrounded by such heavy atmosphere, but the shimmering beads of precipitation were ignored as he strolled towards the store.

The door opened to him, almost as though he'd simply willed it to be so, and upon the very earth from which their physical beings had risen, he could make out the silhouette that had beckoned him.

I am here, Nikel. Ever so soft..the tones were almost comforting. However, almost did not conceal the crimson seeped into his beak. It did not conceal the grim look of satisfaction from having ripped the delicate strands of tissue apart, feeling the bone splinter beneath his careful ministrations as some helpless creature had been subjected to. Blood...both tone and appearance, although...it only served to make the beautiful one even more deserving of his name. What would you have me do?

He had not wanted to come. Or, rather, he had not wanted to venture free of the shelter he had settled within. Not nearly as eye-catching as the Heron, and not half as confident as the Vulture, the Waxwing soared towards the shop which had been his cover for as long as he could truly recall. He had been called- he would not have left Finesse, his new protector, behind so willingly. If he thought he wouldn't have gotten in some sort of trouble if he didn't come, he might not have.

It had been a journey up and out the chimney for this outing, which was thankfully big enough that he didn't get stuck. He had just shaken off what he thought was the last of the soot, though. Fitting he'd come out such a pipe, but the Waxwing had been thinking merely of a way of getting out quickly rather than bad puns. Looking very much like a sun-streaked piece of storm cloud, the Bird detached himself from the air and made a graceful, but deliberate dissent for the pet shop. Unfortunately for the smoke guardian, he was only about the size of a jay or a cardinal, and found himself perched upon whatever handle the shop had to offer. Hesitantly, he craned his feathered neck forward and wrapped as sharply as he could against the shop door. Perhaps one of the larger Birds, or even Nikel himself, would allow him entrance. And if they didn't? Well, what was he supposed to do? He had made an effort to be there, right? He wouldn't be punished...

Hunting, the voice had said. It wouldn't be too bad to watch, surely. Partaking... well, he was rather focused on whether or not they were going to let him in. Or where his counterpart was at this time- surely he wasn't so airy that he would miss such a calling? Gripped by some paranoia of being out, alone, in the open, the Waxwing glanced about itself constantly and ruffled a few feathers hear and there so he could occupy his beak smoothing them back down.

It was a Saturday. Old toys lay scattered about the kitchen linoleum like chess pieces in games half played. Saturdays Luis had off until five. Usually they'd go to the park, or sometimes even the ocean. But today was different.

Hylusis heard something. It made her draw off the page, her red crayon careening onto the floor to knock over they box of crayons. The crayolas cascaded onto the hard tile, like a squall of glass rain droplets shattering onto open windows. Something was wrong.

She sat up in her nest of games half played, her red crayon falling to the ground with a clatter. Erica looked up from her cleaning, looking concerned. " Is everything alright, honey?" It felt good to have a kid in the house again.

"Yeah." Hylusis said curtly, standing up. " I've gotta talk to Luis."

She watched her go and smiled. Luis was sleeping. He gave her a sleepy smile and patted her hair, pleased to see her little twin antenae bounce up and down. She pulled at his face until he got up, acting sore.

Boots and gloves and scarves and hats, and they stepped out into the open sky. "Where did you want to go?" Asked Luis, still a bit groggy.

"The Bird Cage." She answered. She held his hand nervously. Nothing else to say. Glove in glove. Luis swallowed hard. Silent words are exchanged in between gloves and fresh air. A family secret.

"Alright then." He gave her hand a squeeze and smiled reassuringly before guiding them down the empty street.

The road sparkled with rain and oil, its every curvature revealed, save for a few ambiguous brown puddles. Luis pretends it was the time after a thunderstorm, when it smelt of ozone and looked like the apocalypse. A beautiful sunrise.

Hylusis' head swirls with concern and excitement. The shining sea and the crying dove. She had heard the words. She held his hand. To distract herself from cold and worry she starts to skip, avoiding the gaps in the sidewalk as they ran through the cracks in their concrete cage. Click clack click click scitters the stone across the pavement, until it is lost in grass and they submerge into the flourescant subway.

In darkness lies a beast. Hylusis wiggles all the way to the last station, watching the city slip past like a cluster of bubbles. The train lurches to a halt and they exit, the words of the conductor sounding like a death sentance.

A few blocks and they arrive, pink and short of breath. Her worry slips through her fingers like mist as she rushes to the door. Gather, and so they would. The marbly handle is cold and unbeliavably substantial in her hand. The door opens and she slips through like a shadow. Luis doesn't even have time to think before he hand has left his. Looking at the building for the first time, he is surprised. It looks so unassuming, so in place with the rest of this ancient section of the city. It feels like he has been fooled. Reassured, Luis steps forward towards the very warm looking shop.

He tries to open the door, his hand slipping through the cold iron handle. It had locked itself after her. " Hylusis! Open the door, it's stuck!" He calls urgently. He rattles the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. The "CLOSED" sign rocks back and forth behind the pale glass, a car's tail lights reflecting on it red. " Hylusis! Hylusis!!" His heart beats wildly. She looked worried as they walked over. What is going on? Why don't they let him in?

Luis beats at the door, his raw hands making a dull thunking noise on the cracking paint. " Hylusis! ... Shanuh!" He is frantic, frought with worry. Something is wrong. "Hey! Open up!!" Something is wrong.

Her black and red snow boots make dark rings of melting snow on the rough wood floor. It is not so warm as she remembers. All the caged animals looked crazed and menacing. She shrinks backwards in surprise, turning on her foot as a dull thud outside makes the bell on the top of the door jingle.

Hylusis can see the words Luis shouts but can't hear them, so she retreats towards the darkness unsteadily, taking a few looks back at her companion before disappearing from view. His mother packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which sits, smushsed against her breast, growing warm.


Luis let his hands drop to his side. After all, this was where Hylusis had come from in the first place. But he didn't think she would be leaving so soon. Was this it? He looked after her with a desperate feeling, and felt sick.

First freakishness involving Iamel, then emotions he didn't want to deal with, now voices in his head? And right in the middle of buying a comfort-food ice cream cone. Things were not looking up for the Guardian of Hypothermia.

But the voice that called to him was an angry one, a violent one, laden with blood and the promise of the hunt. Of death.

That sounded really good to Diacyn right about now.

He was already out wandering the city- Taylor, as usual, was holed up someplace with a book- so it was no big deal to change his wandering a bit so they brought him to the door of The Birdcage.

The door said Closed. Diacyn said ******** the Door and pushed it open anyway. Suprisingly, he didn't recognize any of the Birds there, but that didn't bother him. He was here. Wasn't that enough for whatever mysterious forces had taken to bossing him around?

Sighing, he slumped against the wall and lit a cigarette, irritably puffing smoke at the others.

Riycan jogged down the sidewalk towards the birdcage , his mind was filled with question though two were the most prominent. First he wanted to know what the hell was going on and second he wanted to rememeber if he'd locked his bed room door.

He'd been tending to his plant experiment she he'd heard the voice. In his rush to answer the call the green Jay had no clue if he'd remembered to lock his door so no one hurt themselves with the plants.

Something inside him however told him that whatever was happening now was more important than the possible poisoning of a sibling.The thought was unusual for him but who was he to argue with himself.

Figuring the closed sigh was for all those not currently welcome Riycan opened the door and found himself a spot to stand. Looking around he found himself trying to count just how many new and old faces there were, Xaxis had said there were several of them and that more arrived all the time. This however was still more than he had been expecting, it was somewhat overwhelming for the unsocialized Riycan.

Ciyrul had felt the call…it was pulling him by the brain eagerly towards the shop. It was the call of Nikel, it was a call of death.


His small feet carried him as fast as he could go. The soft noise of flesh hitting pavement followed him as he ran down the sidewalk. He tried to fold his wings tightly to his back so they looked like a part of his shirt, but it was no use. The cream coloured feathers slightly drifting upwards behind him. He didn’t tell anyone he was leaving, the process would take too long with his family. He didn’t even grab a jacket or shoes, but he didn’t care.

He wasn’t positive as to why he was running. He didn’t want to be the last one arriving because it would just make him feel worse about himself. He hadn’t been to the shop on ages, but the last time he went not many of the other guardians seemed to notice. Maybe this time…?

Finally arriving at his destination, he could feel the presence of other guardians around him. He bent over and panted slightly, his deep brown locks lightly falling over his pale face. This particular swan boy...was not a big fan of running.

Looking up, he stared at the door. The sign said closed. Should he open it? He thought for a moment...duh.

He ignored the sign and pushed the door open, slowly and nervously walking inside.

“Hello? What's going on?”

There were others inside. He scanned them with his eyes, then quickly dropped his sight to the floor. He didn’t remember any of them very clearly, but he knew he had to be here. The only one he really recognized was Nikel.

This looked extremely important.

((Anyone who wants to arrive that hasn't yet, feel free to enter at anytime and/or assume they're already there/have been there as the plot continues! n.n; Don't feel intimidated to jump in just because we're moving things slooowly along.))



Nikel knew that he'd disrupted the lives of the children. He could sense the flickering of annoyance and aggrivation in some of them, confusion laced in others, intimidation by the rest. His eyes, typically so gentle and full of narcisstic good humor, fell along the gathering group. One by one, wing by wing, those that he loved so dear entered the shop.

Some with more reticence than others, but be that as that may. With each new arrival, a piece of Nikel felt relief. They were still okay, they were all right, tangible, alive and well.

The Guardian of Homocide stayed quiet, though he did look down to gaze fondly upon the little bird whom nibbled upon his blood-stained fingernails.

"All will be explained in due time." Clear and simple, there would be no argument in the matter. There wasn't time to repeat his words, and he'd rather wait for the entire fellowship to gather before continuing. With every pulse of his heart - if he did indeed have one - made clear and brought forth the energies of those not with them. Those guardians whom were soon to arrive, those guardians whom were on their way.

As soon as all were acounted for, only then would Nikel speak.

((*insert length of time here for people to arrive etc.*))



The last of them finally made their way in to the shop. Though the matter was urgent, Nikel didn't want to put undue pressure or stress upon his beloveds. Part of the Other Self didn't know what to do or where to begin, but he did have an idea. A sense.

And that was good enough for the moment. Things were still unclear, as if a mist were covering the path laid out before them. But the only way to clear through the mist was to walk on, to see where the stable ground lead.

Still sitting before them, body radiating and pulsing with raw energy, made up of raw death, the long-lashed creatures finally spoke. "They've disappeared, the three of them," he started, hushing any noises within the room. Even the caged animals seem silenced - Nikel's words were far too important.

"Since the formal arrangement of the Masquerade, I've seen not Shanuh, Jojo or Kirwan and I know not where they may be. This should not be, not yet at least," he spoke softly, though there was a sense of anger, confusion and desperation that laced Nikel's words. The emotion he felt for his companions of the shop was obvious - and his worry could be sensed through all.

"It's been going on four days since any of them have been sighted. Shanuh played host at the party, I recall, but I know not when he left the gathering. I only now recall that Jojo hadn't been sighted during most of the affair, and Kirwan hadn't attended at all. If you search yourselves, search for their sources specifically, you'll notice a void. An emptiness where they used to be, the place where they should be."

He looked up, eyes moving from one face and feathered form to the next. "We will get them back, but I need your help. I know not where they may be. . .but . . . I am not without a few tricks up my sleave. Before I continue, though, are there any present who refuse my plea? I'll understand if you refuse."

He searched the faces of those so familiar. He didn't ask for their help lightly, and would not condone any who turned away. He didn't dare risk the lives and fates of his precious wards - but Nikel couldn't do this alone. Physically, the Birds that had no companions had searched high and low. They'd come up with nothing.

The fact that Suicide, Natural Demise and Genocide could not be touched upon the physical plane only encouraged the fact that they were elsewhere. They were somewhere between the realms of the living and the dead, in a between sort of place. Not quite purgatory, not quite existance.

How, or why, they were there Nikel knew not. But they would surely soon find out. . .



((If you really don't want your character joining this trip, go ahead and say nay now. This is where everyone who doesn't plan on joining/is on Hiatus/MIA goes. But this does NOT mean that late-arrivals/those whom see this a week from now or whatever, go. :3 If any want to jump in and play that haven't yet, go for it! We'll just assume they were there all along, just uber-quiet. x3 ))