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NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Clarissa Bradford ~Admin~ on January 18, 2019 at 20:50

The idea that the Assassin’s League would use the stone against her and her twin didn't surprise her, nor did it frighten her; she had been trained not to ever fear death, in fact, she was always taught that death was a blessing - a gift that one should be thrilled to receive. Of course, in her time, she had received her fair share of torture, from The League and enemies alike, and if she would admit anything; it would that she would fear. Clarissa knew her pain threshold was high, and she could endure it to some extent - but if it were to be The League who were to torture her; they would surely get the better of her. They knew her weaknesses, they were the ones who made her, they were her Dr Frankenstein. Not to mention, they had multiple of reasons to torture the Bradford Twins, thus, their torturing would not just last hours, days, or even weeks; they would prolong it, but she couldn't blame them - she would have done the exact same thing. Which was quite the idea - use it on them, demolish the league and then destroy the jewel. The thought alone allowed Rissa to nod in approval to herself before Dominic's rough sounding voice tugged her back to the present. Despite Dom not airing his thoughts, she knew he was just as pissed as she was that the humans got the upper hand, that they had played them like puppets; and that it was now their game, and not the Nephilim's nor the Therian’s.

Upon hearing his response to her request of him putting on a shirt, Clarissa made it quite clear that her eyes traced his bare chest before meeting his eyes once more as her shoulders rolled. “I have seen better” She replied before stalking towards the car which was almost as old and dusty as the other that they had stolen the night before. The moment they felt the food restaurant and the pie rested upon her lap, Rissa couldn't help but dig in and take a slice which was a larger than her mouth could handle, and for a moment, her cheeks puffed out; which made her resemble a hamster, but in that moment of time she and her stomach were too happy to care about her appearance. Every now and then she found herself taking a glance at the Therian beside her who was in an internal debate on whether they should go back to his property if the League where on his case. “They've known where I've been living for months, you'll be fine” She reassured him, although it had always made her wonder why they'd never try and contact her at home - it would always be elsewhere. Clarissa continued to chew high on the pie in her lap as she gaze out the window at the woods which marked the Therianthrope territory; she noted that she had never truly seen this side of the city and confirmed it was much nicer for those who enjoy time away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

The Nephilim quirked a brow as she watched him go into his zone, she couldn't decide if he was just being paranoid or someone who was well aware of the risks; she was one who never checked her home unless something shady stuck out at her - besides, she had set up enough boobie trap devices around her home to make sure no trespasser achieved their goal. Clarissa passed him the food box as he gave entry to his cabin and naturally she couldn't help but glance around, and pick up an item or two, to examine purely out of curiosity. She cleared her throat as he caught her peeking before quickly catching the beer that was thrown her way; naturally, she lifted the bottle to clamp her teeth around the top of the bottle before giving it a quick twist to remove the top - the sound of air being released ran within her ears. The moment he offered her to use his shower, Clarissa sighed in relief, she assumed she had started to smell much like a dead body herself; before she was about to turn on her heels, she listened to his questions and allowed a prolonged exhale to slip passed the barrier of her lips. He was right about a lot of things, she did and would prefer to be well away from this mission now, especially as she took herself away from their employment and was technically doing this for herself; but she was a woman who needed to finish what she started.

“And let you have all the fun? No chance” Clarissa teased, a smirk finding her lips as she took a well needed swig from the alcohol beverage; but she knew he also deserved a serious answer. “I also want to see them fail, especially now I know what that jewel can do” She shrugged, deciding to open up a little, despite every part of her telling her not to. “Yes, I owe them, they made me who I am today, but they also stole a life from me that I can never get back” Clarissa paused and released her hair from it's ponytail simply out of awkwardness. “I may enjoy killing now, but I wasn't born like this, I wasn't born a killer” And purely for that reason, she wanted to see the people who made her who she was, suffer, much like they had done to her. “So yep, that is why I'm staying. You're stuck with me until the time comes where you want to give it to the Ailwards, and I want it destroyed” Rissa winked at the long haired man, despite only knowing him for only a short while, and despite both of their hot tempers, she felt at ease with him; unlike many others in the city who she felt judged her for her lifestyle.

Clarissa downed the rest of her beer, opening up to another, no matter how much was extremely tiresome; therefore, the moment the bottle was empty she followed his directions to the bathroom to take him up on the offer to shower.

Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on March 5, 2019 at 4:29

Dominic nodded once to her as she finished with her explanation before watching her head into the bathroom. When the door closed and he heard the water being turned on, the therian dropped his gaze and sighed. Normally he wouldn't be thrilled about working with anyone on a mission the Ailwards would be giving him, but he also couldn't complain to have Clarissa at his side. To have someone who knew the ins and outs of the group that was also trying to obtain the jewel, not to mention put him in the dirt, was something he couldn't pass up. Dom could see the underlying pain from the history she had with the Organisation and knew she would tear the whole thing down if given the chance. That was something he could definitely get behind. In fact, it was going to the top of his list as soon as he brought the jewel to the Ailwards. He wondered how much the powerful beings knew of them already.

He pushed himself off his small kitchen table he'd been leaning on and grabbed the bottle she'd emptied. Tossing it in the wooden crate he used for recycling bottles, it clanged loudly against the mountain of other glasses that were stocked inside. He heard the door open and saw her slender arm dump her clothing on the ground as he'd instructed before closing the door again. After he'd stripped down himself and tossed their laundry in the washer, Dominic grabbed a towel from the shelf above the units and wrapped it around his waist to head outside.

When he was under a lot of stress, the outdoor shower was his go-to to clear his head from all the weight of his thoughts. The cool air of the morning caused the hair on his arms to stand on end as the goosebumps moved over his skin. With each step it seemed that his body was complaining less from the beating he'd taken the night before. His ribs were only giving him a soft dull of annoyance as he walked around to the back of the property and heard the comforting sounds of the massive river that ran through the territories of Evermore. He had spent many a day or night leaning up against one of the trees by the shore with a bottle of rum or blunt in hand and staring out into the water when he needed to gather his thoughts since he didn't really have anyone to turn to and vent. His cabin was his heaven.

As soon as the water fell over his body, Dominic's mind went swirling. They'd have to find out where these humans were based out of. He wasn't exactly thrilled about going up against the human military of all groups. Especially ones who'd gone rogue and were hired mercenaries. Humans tended to have a complex where they were terrified of things they didn't understand. Shoot first, shoot again, and then when it's dead, start asking questions. If they had the ability to nullify the powers of supernaturals, it didn't prove well for him and his kind. He couldn't help but wonder if Aureus knew the true severity of the situation and whether he'd kept the knowledge from Dominic on purpose.

Suddenly, a familiar scent hit him and interrupted his thoughts. He lifted his head out of the running water and moved the hair away from his face as he saw the feet of someone on the other side of the door. Quickly pushing the door open, Dominic yanked the person by the collar and slammed him against the adjacent wall where the water continued pouring. "Flint?!" The dhampir associate he was supposed to be working with at the beginning of this botched mission looked like hell. He was dirty and had dried blood coming from the side of his forehead. Seemed like he and Clarissa weren't the only ones to have a rough night. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"The h-humans..." he sputtered out as the water poured over his face. Dominic tightened his grip as he slammed him against the house again as indication to keep talking. "They paid me four times the amount to t-take it when you guys w-would be too busy fighting each other."

An understanding passed over Dom's face as he realized Flint was the one who took the jacket in the alleyway. "So, not only did you double cross me, but you screwed over the nephilim too. You're a piece of work, Flint." Dominic yanked the man forward till their faces were barely an inch apart. "Give me one good reason I don't drag you over to the river and drown your sorry ass right now," he growled.

Flint took a deep breath and tried to compose himself with more dignity. He attempted to straighten up a little more as if he suddenly had the upperhand. "Cause I know where they are holed up and I can bring you to the gem. I've seen the base. I've been inside. They were going to lock me away after I handed the thing over. I overheard 'em. I got out before they had the chance."

"You are one slippery son of a bitch." Dominic sneered with no sign of considering his offer.

The dhampir sighed and visibly deflated. The front Flint was trying to put out had fallen. He was obviously exhausted and Dom knew he must've been desperate to come crawling back. "They are testing on supernaturals there."

The hold he had on Flint suddenly loosened slightly as his hazel eyes searched for the lie in his words. There seemed to be none. "What?"

"They are.. and whatever that gem can do is going to make it worse for the prisoners. I just wanted to get the money and get as far away from here as possible, but I have nowhere to go now. I can't go back to my faction for protection. They'll just send me on my way. I got no choice but to fight. They won't stop looking for me, man."

Dominic took a few silent moments to assess the situation before speaking. "Fine," he replied simply and let the dhampir go.

Flint relaxed and nodded his head at him in thanks before clearing his throat. "So, uh.. you mind putting on some pants now?"

The therian rolled his eyes and snatched the towel off the nearby hook, wrapping it around him, and pushing open the door so they could head inside the cabin. "After you, asshole. I take no responsibility for whatever happens when Clarissa lays eyes on you."

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Clarissa Bradford ~Admin~ on March 9, 2019 at 12:38

Clarissa could feel her stomach turning as she headed towards the bathroom to take a shower - to wash off all of the blood, sweat and dirt which had accumulated upon her skin over the last few hours; she had surprised herself that she could allow herself to open up to him regarding her feelings towards the League and how she almost resented them for stealing a normal life she used to crave. In fact, she was somewhat relieved that Dominic did not stop her to question her more into why she felt that way - and even if he had done, her response would have been the same; turned to go grab a shower. Not even her twin, Isaiah truly understood the resentment that she felt over the years, of course he felt the same way in certain aspects but their minds were wired slightly differently and sometimes, when she did speak to him; she didn’t know if he truly understood her emotions. The moment Clarissa closed the door, she almost fell back into it and exhaled, her fingers running through the lengths of her dark locks; her eyes had closed for a moment before she shook it off - turning off her emotions was always preferable. Clarissa eventually pulled herself together and moved towards the shower, allowing the water to run for a moment or two.

The Nephilm stole a quick glance at herself in the mirror and groaned; she looked like death, and the lack of sleep the night before was clearly taking a toll on the dark bags beneath her eyes. Clarissa stripped herself from her clothing and took Dominic up on his offer of throwing her clothes in the wash - thus, she opened the door ever so slightly and allowed her arm to slip through the gap so she could drop her clothes on the floor; she wasn’t even embarrassed by the idea of them smelling absolutely rancid. By now, the room had steamed up, indicating that the shower was now warm enough, and the moment that the hot water touched her skin, she exhaled pleasurably. Rissa stood in the water for a while before she even contemplated washing herself, it had felt that her mind and her body were eventually free from the situation that both herself and therian had found themselves in; she had managed to stop any other invading thoughts to enter as she embraced the slight moment of bliss. Her eyes eventually reopened as she glanced at the few different bottles of gel that were lined up on the floor beside her feet; all of which looked very manly, but she always found that men’s shower gels smelt better and lasted longer.

Clarissa had lost track of time and reluctantly stepped out of the water and turned the shower off; she reached up for two towels - one to wrap around her body whilst the other would be used to dry her hair, even just a little bit. She had sworn she had heard some kind of commotion outside but chose to ignore it until she opened the door only to be met by not only Dom but one other male; it took a few moments to register who the other male was, but when it eventually clicked, a wave of confusion found her features as she looked between the two males. The confusion, didn’t last long as she recalled the events of that evening. The man before her, who she could not remember the name nor did she care, double crossed her and that confusion soon turned into a slight fit of rage. The man deserved more than what any physical pain she could inflict upon him and therefore, Rissa adjusted her towel somewhat and allowed her purple tinted eyes to glow as she channelled her powers; the man did not have the time to even attempt to talk her down as she stormed towards him, inflicting the sensation that his windpipe was closing up upon him.

She knew Dhampirs well enough and if he was trained well, she knew he could counteract her powers by using runes and a dark part of her wished he would; partly because he looked a lot worse off than she did. Rissa clenched her jaw as she stood almost nose to nose with the man, her eyes giving a glimmer of pleasure at his gasps. “Dominic, care to explain why you’ve allowed this arsewipe of a man into your cabin, alive”  She growled, she knew she was selfish enough to kill the dhampir were he stood and hand deliver him back to the League in hope to clear herself the latest charge against her name. “Please don't tell me he gave you a sob story and you were weak enough to fall for it” Once she was satisfied of the lack of air that the dhampir was experiencing, she released her mental hold over him for a moment, and allowed him to feebly catch his breath before she felt the need to inflict pain again. Clarissa briefly looked over her shoulder to the therian with raised brows, waiting patiently or at least, as best as she could for a response. “Speak and you will lose your tongue, halfling. I don't care enough for you to hear what you have to say” She hissed, raising an index finger to hush him.

Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on March 24, 2019 at 19:41

Dominic lead the way up the stairs of his porch and into his home. Pushing the door open, he could see the slight hesitancy in Flint's eyes as the man looked back at him. The therian responded with a sarcastic smile and waved his arm to indicate to step inside. "To your doom." The cabin was quiet which meant Clarissa had finished with her shower and he relished in the idea of what would happen once the door opened. He casually leaned on the kitchen table and picked up another slice of pizza, taking a bite and waiting for the inevitable.

On cue, the bathroom door opened with a small plume of steam and the nephilim stepped out with a slight confusion crossing her features when seeing the two men. It was only a moment and the raven haired assassin switched to kill mode. 'This is going to be good.' Flint took two small steps back and put his arms out towards her in some effort to appease Clarissa, but she stalked toward him with purpose. "Wait, I can explain everyth... AH!" The dhampir began gasping for air, clutching at his throat in a panic. A snicker came from Dom's chest as he continued eating his pizza and enjoying the unfolding scene. He did not miss that having being done to him.

Flint glanced over towards him for some type of help and Dominic only shrugged back with a sly smirk. "I told you I wouldn't take any responsibility, man." He continued eating with nonchalance and glanced to Clarissa. He knew the dhampir wouldn't fight back since they were the ones he needed help from; plus the fact he had screwed them over royally. "Please, don't let me interrupt your work." As the nephilim continued her onslaught of power, she questioned Flint being in the cabin which caused him to finally react. Dom swallowed the rest of the pizza taking his time to enjoy the crunchy crust before brushing his hands together to give them a quick clean. "Turns out our little shitbag here could be of some use. Seems he knows where our human friends are." Pushing himself off the table, he crossed the few steps towards them and lowered his head to the height of Flint's who was doubled over in pain to hold his gaze. "And if he's lying to us, he's going to wish you finished him off right now instead of what we'd do to him later."

The assassin released Flint from her power, causing him to fall on all fours. He was heaving for air and finally stood up as he braced himself on the couch. "Look, I'm sorry, alright?" He coughed violently for a moment before speaking again. "It's true though. I do know where they're located. It's at the Roosevelt dam where diviner and therianthrope territories meet in the woods. They have a base in there and I can get you in. It's the same way I got out."

"They're gonna kill him," Dominic mentioned, looking to Clarissa who he assumed would be wondering why Flint would be divulging in this information. "He escaped a certain death and they'll come looking for him. He's seen too much of their operation and now he's a loose end."

"See? You need me."

"Like a hole in the head." Dominic cut his eye at Flint before looking back to Clarissa who he could see was understanding the dhampir's importance now. "We don't really have many leads. Figured we may have to take this one."

Flint crossed behind Dom and pulled a slice of pizza from the box and put nearly half of it in his mouth, tomato sauce and oil dripping down his chin. "It's full proof," he said with a stuffed mouth.

"You make it really hard to not wanna kill you."

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Clarissa Bradford ~Admin~ on March 29, 2019 at 18:38

“Well?” Clarissa prompted the therian with raised eyebrows, she sure hoped that he had a good reason for allowing the dhampir into the cabin without a single hair taken from his head; she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the dramatic and panic driven attempts as the dhampir attempted to catch his breath. It took all of her might not to kill him there on the spot, she had been betrayed, and because of him, she had to go against the League to get this information; and in doing so, put her name first on their most wanted list. Yet, as much as she didn’t want to admit it to herself, nor even allow the thought to cross her mind - without the sleaze bag behind her, if she had taken Dominic down and succeeded with the jewel by handing it over to the League; god knows what they would have done. Despite this, and ignoring the hatred that she held over the League’s head, she didn’t believe they would have used the jewels power on anyone or anything else that wasn’t their target; this meant that hundreds of innocent people could have survived - but now, hundreds of innocent, albeit supernatural creatures could die.

Clarissa listened to what Dominic had to say and looked between the two males with narrowed eyes; she was suspicious to say the least. “He may know where they are, sure. But how we do we know this is not a trap” She suggested and turned her attention back to the dhampir, her gaze running over him, scrutinizing him as she did so; until he said he was sorry. “You’re sorry?” She laughed out. “You’re sorry? Do you know what your pathetic ass has got us into?” She pushed Dominic out of the way to stand almost nose to nose with the traitor. “I should have known you’d betray us - after all, you betrayed the dog over there for me” She spat and deciding not to use her powers for this one, she decided to clench her fingers into the palm of her hand before throwing him her right hook. Clarissa tightened her towel once more and took herself away from the two men to lean against the back of sofa; noting the area where the apparent base camp was for the military.

“I can’t blame them” She muttered, her arms crossing over her chest as she watched Flint cross the room for some pizza; making himself right at home, she scoffed. Clarissa didn’t like this, not one bit - she understood why Dominic was keen to follow this lead, and to trust Flint enough to gain entry into the human’s lair, but she didn’t like it; she refused to be fooled twice by the same man. She sighed, defeated, as her fingers ran through the wet roots of her hair - she knew this was the only way, and there was no chance The League would tell her; even if they had the answers. “Fine, we keep him. But it doesn’t mean I’m happy about this” Rissa growled and looked between the two males. “One wrong move and he’s dead. We leave tonight, use the shadows - no doubt they’re looking for the rabbit hole” She remarked, even though the temptation to kill him once he lead them to the exit was very, very tempting; especially when she saw the tomato sauce drip down his chin, which made her features crinkle up. “Really?”

Clarissa spent the majority of the passing hours away from Flint, knowing to well that her self control could only stretch so far, so instead, when she wasn’t taking the time to sleep and rest up, she found herself reading the many comics that lingered upon the bookshelves. “I never took you for a bookworm, Pupperino” She teased across the room, her feet comfortable upon the coffee table as she peeked over the comic at the restless therian.

Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on April 20, 2019 at 20:53

Dominic searched the nephilim's face to see how she was weighing the options of believing in Flint. He knew it was a risk, but the traitor's intentions were always about saving his own skin, so he had to trust in that cowardice in order for them to find the jewel. Ironically. When she finally agreed to the plan, Dominic let out a short sigh and nodded as she stepped away from them. He hoped the element of surprise would be their upperhand as they were sorely outnumbered and outgunned. Such was the life of a guard sometimes. Always expect the unexpected. 

He closed the gap between he and Flint and lowered his voice as Clarissa retreated to his bedroom to change into her clothes. "I would avoid being within fifteen feet of her whenever possible." 

"Not a problem," he replied shakily, still staring at the door as if expecting it to explode and her to come out in a rage to destroy him. 

Dominic took the last slice of pizza and smirked, eyeing the door. "Try not to piss on my floor either."

The hours passed as he sat at the kitchen table and sharpened the knife he'd always kept on his belt. It was mostly quiet in the cabin, save for the sound of his blade across the stone sharpener and the turning of the pages from the comics Clarissa had pulled from his bookcase. His eyes glanced to the window and outside every so often as Flint felt the most distance he needed from them would be on the porch just in case one of them wouldn't be able to let his treachery slide. Dominic wasn't going to let him out of his sight for a moment, despite the distractions of his thoughts.

There was heaviness weighing him down about what to do with the gem. In a situation like this, he would've called for some aid from more of the guards, but something didn't sit right with him about this. Aureus had failed to mention what the importance of this artifact was to him and he couldn't be sure if it was because the ailward didn't know the specifics or if he was keeping it from Dominic on purpose. The two were very transparent with each other when it came to most things. Aureus was his mentor. He was the reason Dominic was probably not in prison or dead, so it was difficult to think he would keep this information a secret. Perhaps the ailward knew by telling Dom the truth, he would be in the position he was in now.

Clarissa's comment brought his attention away from the window and over to her. "What?" he responded, automatically even though the words she said processed a second later. He hadn't realized his leg was bouncing up and down from being so deep in his restless thoughts. "Oh... Yeah, been collecting them since I was a kid with my older brother. Didn't think I could read, did ya?" he teased with a smirk, placing the sharpener down and sliding the knife back into the sheath on his belt. He stood and gave a quick look to the window where Flint was smoking yet another cigarette which put him through a whole pack within an hour. Walking over to the bookcase, Dominic let his eyes linger on all the dusty comics and then to the books his mother had gathered over the years of her life. Though he passed by the bookcases multiple times a day, he hadn't actually looked at them in a long time. The memories they held were ones he pushed far to the back of his mind where he didn't have to face the painful feelings they brought on. 

The door suddenly opened as Flint came in looking more than a little concerned. "Sun's going down," he said quietly, looking between them both. Dominic glanced over to Clarissa and nodded. It was time. He pulled the keys to the car they'd stolen hours earlier from his pants' pocket and headed outside to a cooling dusk air. The growing darkness feeling somewhat ominous as the three climbed into the vehicle with Dom at the wheel.

He made his way to Roosevelt Dam as the sun had finally set behind the mountains and the sky was turning a deep purple. They passed the normal driveway leading down to the supposed abandoned facility, knowing it would most likely be guarded, and instead opted to drive as far into the woods as they could before continuing on foot. Dominic killed the headlights and slowly made his way off the road and down the embankment till he could go no farther. There were three guards stationed on the dam casually talking to one another along with a few security cameras adorning the edge of the walls. "There. That's our way in." Dominic's gaze followed where the dhampir was pointing to. The large pipe Flint had come out of was near the bottom of the wall which poured water. They were going to have to wade in the river and climb up to get in. "It's part of the drainage system."

Dominc rolled his eyes and groaned in disgust. "Of course it is..."

"It's clean. It recycles and filters the water from the river. We get in, move our way through the pipes and it leads up into the makeshift shower room they have set up there." He leaned forward from the backseat onto the passenger side headrest as he spoke. "I ran and pulled the grating off the floor to hide and realized it led further through base. Followed the pipes and it got me outside."

"Well, let's hope they haven't figured out how you escaped yet." Dominic turned the car off and got out, heading the way down the grassy hillside and to the rushing river below.

The mercenaries atop the wall were still deep into their conversation as the therian waded into the massive river. His hues wandered up to ensure they weren't spotted as he jumped to pull himself inside. The pipe was six foot high with about four feet of space in width. Dominic was not one for small spaces, especially darkened ones that had no real end from what he could tell as he stared into the blackness. The sound of grunting made him look back and he yanked Flint by the back of his pants further into the pipe as he had already made his way halfway in. Once the dhampir had shimmied passed him, Dom offered his arm down for Clarissa to take hold and pulled her inside, trying to avoid getting her more wet from the running water. With Flint in the lead, he pulled out his Zippo, having given the other two his flashlights from home, and flicked it on. "Well, then.. let's by all means head into the scary, cramped tunnel shall we?"

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Clarissa Bradford ~Admin~ on April 22, 2019 at 17:07

It was not very often that the nephilim had a moments peace, in fact, she wasn’t one to really favour those quiet and tranquil moments - she found those times the worst as she would be alone with her thoughts which typically, were never positive; thus, wherever possible, she tried to keep herself occupied - even if that was watching, or shall we say, binging on Netflix with a beer in one hand a pizza in the other. Rissa needed her mind stimulated, distracted even to stop it from wandering off into the darkened depths but on those rare occasions where she couldn’t keep her thoughts from wandering; she would find herself in a state of depression, and even experience symptoms of PTSD which happened to be triggered from her upbringing and torturous methods of the League. Yet, here she was, sitting in complete silence bar the flipping of pages and the sound of blades sharpening and for once, she found herself in content with not doing anything; even with the traitor which kept himself outside of the last few hours and out of her way. Maybe it wasn’t the brain stimulation, maybe it was just the need not to be alone with her thoughts - yes, they weren’t talking, but to have another across the room was comforting to her even though she would always heavily contradict herself; she loved to be alone and away from the humanity whom she loathed.

“Well, now that you mentioned it” Rissa laughed and shook her head some before returning back to the comic which she held; she never took herself for a comic book reader, but she would be a fool to say she didn’t enjoy it - and if she survived this mission, she may have to venture more into this fictional world. Her head snapped upward as the front door swung open, which made her extremely alert, only to find out it was Flint telling them it was now time for them to leave - the way in which he hurdled in, she assumed they were under attack. Those hours went quickly She mused silently to herself as she closed the comic, slapped her thighs before standing; the nephilim placed the comic back onto the shelf where she last found it before following the men outside and towards the rather beaten up car which they stole the evening before - yet in her eyes, that seemed like months ago as so much had happened since then. Her gaze looked sternly at Flint, who seemed to have got the message loud and clear as he moved to the next door to sit in the back; with a smug smirk, she climbed into the passenger seat, her head leaning back as they drove off to their potential deaths, once again.

Clarissa kept her gaze directed out of the window, watching how the darkened shadows of the trees went by, as well as the very normal entrance that any other individual would take; the silence continued to loam over them in the car until Dominic parked up and the dhampir pointed towards their way in. The nephilim quirked a brow at the mention of it being linked with the drainage system. “Well that shower was pointless” She muttered, naturally leaning forwards and away from the dhampir as he leaned forwards to rest against the headrest of her seat; given, the urge to kill him had simmered down over the hours of peace, but nevertheless, she still didn’t want to be that close to someone who betrayed her. Once someone had lost her trust, they never got it back thus, it was Flint’s lucky day that she was with Dominic - if she had been alone, he would be dead and she would have found another source of information. “If you didn’t put the grating back, then our way in is already screwed” Clarissa offered the very unwanted alternative to what seemed like an easy way in - but if they had noticed something missing from the ground, then that would be it for them.

With a heaved exhale, Rissa followed Dominic out of the car and through the trees until they reached the water which looked extremely enticing in the moonlight; yet it was only enticing looking as once she jumped into the water, her breath was taken from her. “Fucking hell” She hissed as she adjusted to just how cold the water was as it rushed around her, the current pushing the water up to her waist at times which indicated just how short she was compared to the two males who were already beneath the pipe. Rissa pushed her way through the current and waited for Flint to enter the pipe first - she couldn’t risk him going last and then leaving them; she gripped onto Dominic’s forearm as he helped her climb up and into the pipe, where she squeezed by him. She looked around the dark and very cramped pipe and her jaw clenched as she refused to consider just how alike this pipe was to the room she was locked up in throughout her childhood and teenage years before The League.

Clarissa flicked on the flashlight and pointed down the pipe and groaned somewhat; the back of her hand wiped away some wet strands of hair away from her face. “Lets go” She commented, ready to take on the journey down the very dark, very damp and very claustrophobic pipe. The three of them traveled in silence although she could tell that Flint was itching to start up some kind of conversation; occasionally she glanced back to make sure Dominic was alright, or at least, not finding himself stuck with just how small the pipe was compared to his own frame. The tunnel felt like it would never end until there was a very small flicker of a light just ahead of them. “We’re almost there” The Dhampir gleamed, almost proud of himself that the guards had not yet found his escape route - yet Clarissa was less optimistic; humans were not as daft as they sometimes made out to be. Once they reached the opening, Flint jumped up first, and riskily offered a hand to her to help her up - she was hesitant and after a few moments of debating it, Clarissa accepted Flint’s help to get out of the drains.

The Nephilim wandered the shower room as Flint too, helped Dom - her gaze alert, her hand remained on her hip where she kept her dagger. There was silence for a few moments as the three of them caught their breath - Rissa found herself standing before the main door, and glanced through the window which waslocated upon it. “Don’t suppose you know their shower time schedule” She regarded Flint for the very first time that evening. “Or anything about their routine to get us through the maze of hallways this place probably has” Rissa went on the assumption that the building was not much different to The League’s base.

Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on May 23, 2019 at 19:10

Dominic groaned as they continued on through the dark of the tunnel. He seriously hated being in tight spaces and it didn't help with his stature that nearly everything in this world was always too small for him. Doorways, airplanes, cars.. the list went on. The amount of times he had to duck his head in a day couldn't be counted on two hands. However, it wasn't in his nature to complain, especially when it was for good reason as they continued on in the quiet, save for the splashing of the water that was caused by their footsteps.

Flint's words were welcoming as he looked ahead of the others and saw the growing light in the distance. Peering up into the grating as the three had approached their exit, Dom listened with his heightened ability, but could hear no one nearby. Perhaps this could be an easy in if nothing else went their way. He watched as Flint went up and then offered an arm down to Clarissa. The hesitancy on her face was clear, but Dom gave a single nod to help her decision and watched as she was pulled up, following her after.

As he righted himself onto the tiled floor of the massive shower room, his hues took in their surroundings. The floor was fully dry meaning they hadn't brought the prisoners in for some time now. There were crude shackles bound to the wall and to the floor that were no doubt used to keep the supernaturals under some control. It looked like Flint was telling the truth so far, but it didn't mean he was in Dominic's good graces by any means.

His hues fell over Clarissa as she walked towards the door leading out into the facility. The therian moved next to her and looked out of the window into the dimly light hallway where a couple of guards made their rounds. "No," Flint replied to Clarissa's questions as he placed the grating back over the entrance to the pipes before walking over to them. "The jewel will no doubt be in the lab they've made on this floor. It's where they've been keeping it to try their experiments on supernaturals. General Franklin never leaves its side. He's the toolbag in charge. The handful of prisoners are downstairs on the sub-level. How are we going to get them out?"

"Good question," Dominic replied lowly as he tried to think of possible solutions. Having the gem in their possession meant they would lose all control over their abilities. They would be nothing more than the humans they were up against. He sighed and looked at the two other companions with him. It wasn't as if they could really trust each other, seeing as they all had their own motives in standing where they were right now. Dominic still didn't know what he planned on doing once they got the jewel, but he couldn't be sure it would be the same thing as Clarissa. He hoped the shaky truce they made back in that alley would still hold up through their ordeal.

Dom turned to face the others with an exasperated look. He wasn't exactly keen on the new idea he was formulating, but he couldn't see another way around it. "I think we need to split up. That way we can hit the lab and the sub-level at the same time, causing them to have to split their guards. I'm betting they'll put more men on the jewel than they will the prisoners since this general is going to be more concerned with keeping it than the prisoners. Flint you'll go with Clarissa since I'd rather there be more than just her going after the gem and frankly, I don't trust you enough to let you be left alone."  

Flint rolled his eyes and looked over to the nephilim with a nervous chuckle. "Yeah. Great, no problem."

"I'll try and get the prisoners. I figure it's best they stay separate from the jewel since their abilities could come in handy when we make our way back out." He looked pointedly at Clarissa while nodding his head at the dhampir. "If he tries anything, kill him."

"Hey! I'm on your side here!"

Dominic cut his eye at him before looking back to Clarissa. "Another thing. I seriously don't like doing it ever, but..." The wolf hesitated and sighed. "I think I should mark you so we can keep in communication." Hearing another person in his head was not something he enjoyed, but if they were going to know where each other was while this plan played out, it was the best way to do it. 

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Clarissa Bradford ~Admin~ on June 2, 2019 at 18:09

The feeling of being back in such an establishment brought chills to run across her flesh; from not just the look of the place, but also the sort of nightmares which happened behind closed doors - it seemed that humans and the supernatural were more alike than they ever would have thought or even wanted. Part of her admired the humans for wanting to do such things, to feel like they had a chance over the supernatural, but at the same time, she also wanted to shred them to pieces for doing such things to her own kind; it was, she found, very rare to come across a supernatural creature that would single out a human to attack - unless of course, you were a Valkyr, especially in Evermore City. Every human she had attacked, and or killed, had it coming in some way, it wasn’t a target on the human species as a whole, but she guessed she understood their perspective as the majority of them thought supernaturals were an abomination, and should be discarded to pure the world once more. Her eyes suspiciously shifted as she glanced down the dimly lit hallway, and although she was confident with what herself and Dominic were capable of, this seemed as if it could be a lot more difficult than the Assassins League a day or two ago.

Rissa looked over her shoulder at Flint as he answered her question, with the answer that she suspected - of course he didn’t know such a thing, why would he? But, nevertheless, with how she felt for the Dhampir, she let her disappointment radiate from her being as he placed the grating back over the secret entrance. Yet, at least he was not completely useless when he began to list of where particular beings would be and who they were to expect in certain rooms; as he spoke, Rissa noted that there were no other exits in the shower room, so they would all have to leave through the same door - which was never something she would recommend, especially if there were more than two people. She crossed her arms briefly over her chest as the question was posed on how they would get all of the prisoners out of the establishment and to safety and as she looked over to Dominic she could see his little hamster inside his noggin’ running and she shook her head; one of them had to be the realist, as well as the pessimist. “The answer is simple - we probably can’t get all of them out. Some of them will die here” Her shoulders rolled nonchalantly as if the situation didn’t bother her one bit; but it did, more than she would ever admit, Evermore had changed her, and for once, she would rather have people die in battle than die because they were being experimented on.

“If we had more people, the chances of saving more would be higher, but shit… We don’t even know if we’ll make it out alive at this rate, they still have the bloody jewel” Rissa hissed beneath her breath as she looked between the two males who looked a little taken back by her comments. “And as I’m not normally the hero, I’m attuned to save my own ass before theirs so if it all goes south, we leave” From the amount of time she had known Dominic, she knew he would not agree with her last statement, and she knew that he would stay and fight to the very end, even if that end was his own ultimately demise. The silence between them loomed as she dropped her last statement and with that, she fidgeted slightly and moved across the room again, this time, to the very small window which looked over the woodland opposite; at least they had good places to hide if they managed to escape - yet she wouldn’t have put it passed the humans to put certain traps between the trees.

As much as she didn’t want to, she agreed with the idea that they needed to split up and attack two places at once; it would divide their own troops and give at least one of their own paties and standing chance on completing the mission. Yet, it was the confirmation that Flint would be going with her that made her grit down on her back teeth. “He’ll only slow me down” She glanced towards Flint and narrowed her eyes, as she struggled to see any other benefit of him being with her. With a deflated sigh, she finally agreed. “I guess it would be good to use someone as a distraction” She agreed before contemplating the next thought. “How powerful is this thing? Can it only take away one person’s power, or can it affect multiple of supernatural creatures at one time?” If it could only take one, then she would be more than happy to go with Flint and use him as bait.

“With pleasure” Rissa grinned at the idea of killing Flint, and threw a wink to the Dhampir; oh how she loved it when she made men nervous but it was the next comment which simply through her - it was almost like a slap in the face. “Ex--Excuse me? What?” She stuttered as if she didn’t truly hear what Dominic had suggested. “You want to mark me?” Her words were laced with disbelief and a slightly nervous chuckle - she had heard of such powers for Therian’s but she didn’t know too much about it. She really didn’t like the idea of someone in her head, sometimes she didn’t even like being inside her own head, alone. Rissa cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. “This mark, thing. It isn’t permanent, right?” She questioned as she nodded once to give consent on the mark happening.

Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on June 16, 2019 at 23:59

Dominic grumbled lowly, stepping closer to her. "No, it's not permanent and believe me I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea either. I've only ever done it twice before. I don't exactly like the idea of someone else's voice in my head. I barely like the sound of my own." He cleared his throat somewhat nervously and let out a light breath. The only other times he'd done this was with his father and brother when he was younger. It was the first time ever he had been testing out the supernatural powers he possessed as his father began teaching and training his sons how to be a proper lycan. He remembered the first moment he'd marked his father and the two began speaking to each other silently which as a teen, he thought was the coolest thing in the world. The second time happened to be with his older brother when they were running from police officers after they had been drinking underage in an abandoned mill outside of town. The two had taken off in separate directions to confuse the cops, but not before linking their minds so they could keep in contact as they barreled through the woods and away from handcuffs, but more importantly being grounded for the summer. 

He cleared his throat and lifted his hand, but not before he noticed Flint watching them more intently then anyone should. "What are you doing? Do you mind?"

"What? I've never seen a therian do this before. This is pretty cool!" The dhampir had an excited smile on his face like he was a kid watching magic for the first time. Dominic glared at him with a silent threat that spoke louder than verbal words. "Fine, fine. Killjoy." 

As Flint walked away from them to pretend he wasn't watching, Dominic moved behind Clarissa and pushed her dark hair over one of her shoulders. He cleared his throat and looked to her bare skin for a moment in hesitation before placing his hand over her neck. His eyes closed as he concentrated and remembered back to the lesson his father had taught him. Reaching out with his thoughts, he felt the tingling sensation tickle in the back of his mind and his hand began to warm as it lay on her flesh while his fingertips disappeared into the strands of her raven hair. It didn't take long before the connection tying them was complete and he removed his touch to step away somewhat awkwardly.

"The gem supposedly has the power to neutralize any and all supernaturals within a small radius or so that's what I've read in the texts. When you two get close enough, it will wipe you of all your abilities." He crossed his arms, looking between the two. "How close that exactly is, I'm not too sure. Let's just say I wouldn't go into that room without some plan." His eyes fell on Clarissa pointedly. "Maybe you can lure them out of the room. The idea of bait ain't so bad." A smirk slowly spread on his face as he looked over to Flint."

"Seriously?!"

"If you lure them out of the lab you'll be able to get them all in one shot with your nephilim jedi mind tricks without having to lift a muscle or worry about the power of the artifact, but if it does come to that, you still both have your fight training, abilities or not." A movement in the hallway caught his eye from the small window in the door where he could see the guards making their next round. This was going to be risky and despite the harsh words Clarissa had said earlier, the fact that they might not all make it out alive was something he couldn't deny. Nevertheless, Dom had to believe there was more to her than just the robot of an assassin she played to be. It didn't feel right. She wasn't some emotionless vessel that was only meant to care about herself and no one else. In the little time that they'd spent together, he knew there was a reason she left this Organisation and he had to believe it was partially due to their ulterior motives. He was putting a big risk in letting her be the one that got the gem first, but what was more important to him were the imprisoned supernaturals being held in the facility. The Ailwards and guards could track the gem later if it were lost, but the lives on the sub-level could not be replaced. Aureus would have to understand. 

His hues flitted through the glass window again and over to the camera that was fixed on the ceiling. They'd have to take those down as they made their way through the building, no doubt setting off the alarm of their arrival. His adrenaline immediately began to pump harder through him as he knew the danger they were set to bring upon themselves. "Shall we?" Dominic turned to look back at Clarissa, his eyes catching her dark gaze, holding it for a quiet moment before speaking silently. 'Can you hear me?' 

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Clarissa Bradford ~Admin~ on July 14, 2019 at 16:04

"You've only ever done this twice before?!" Rissa exclaimed, her voice naturally went up a pitch or two without intending to; he surely wasn't giving her much more confidence in the idea of allowing him inside of her head. Her brows rose as she pictured all the possibilities that could go wrong  by making this mental connection between the two; yet despite all of this, she couldn't deny the curiosity, the excitement of doing something like this - it was new to her and she was overruled by the need to be pushed outside of her comfort zone. She also gathered the link would remain even if her powers were stripped from being too close to the jewel, either way, she believed that if Dominic was successful at creating the link - the positives outweigh the negatives. "Third times the charm, so they say" She commented as she composed herself, Dom's presence looming behind her as he prepared to make the connection. Despite the anger and hatred she has for Flint, she couldn't help by laugh at the childlike excitement which radiated from; it was in that brief moment she almost forgot why she found him to be infuriating. Rissa shook her head as she noted that despite walking away, the Dhampir kept a sideways glare at the two; not knowing if it would hurt or not, Clarissa shut her eyes and prepared herself the moment her hair was pushed to the side to expose the back of her neck. 

It started off as nothing and Rissa considered that he was unable to conjure up the bonding until heat began to radiate from beneath his palm and against the back of her neck; it wasn't uncomfortable but it certainly was an annoying prickling sensation as it ran up the back of her neck - heading towards its desires desired destination in her mind. Her eyes clenched some as her mind adjusted to the guest who wished to enter, and with a steadying breath, she accepted Dominic into her mind; or at least, she believed she did. The Nephilim cleared her throat and glanced between the two males before the awkward air was broken by what their next steps would be. "Their bait or my kill, really up to you" Yet again, she did not address Flint by his name as he wandered back up to them, her hand raising the rub the back of her neck where his hand once was. "It will likely be someone's person so the likelihood at least one of us won't have our powers and frankly I don't trust the halfling with getting it" Rissa admitted and began to plan her next move, knowing she would be rendered human in the next half an hour. She noted the sudden glance from Dom and knew they would need to move now before the first round of humans came for their evening shower; Rissa moved towards Flint and placed her hand at the crown of next to push him towards the door - smirking at his grunt and series of mutters at her rather aggressive behaviour.

"It's now or never" Rissa responded as they met Dominic at the door, her eyes fixed on the window in the hallway, before anything else she turned to face Flint; glancing at him head and toe, making him blush. "You don't have your weapons, can you conjure runes without them?" She quizzed as she finally got back to his gaze with a quirked brow as he began to fidget nervously. "I will take that as a no" She spoke flatly. "Let's hope Valeria trained you well when you were allowed at The Dojo" Rissa eventually turned back to face the door only to find her body stiffening up at the sound of his voice deep within her mind. With a sideways glance, she caught Dominics glare and nodded once. "Make yourself at home" She playfully responded before reaching out for the handle of the door. "Look after yourself, Pupperino" Rissa offered a half smile before slowly opening the door as silently as she could; she slipped passed the therian into the empty hallway - noting the camera just above, she ran towards the wall and used the wall as leverage to jump up towards it to break the lense before landing again in time for the boys to make their appearance. 

"Come on Arseling, time to bait you up" She nodded in the direction she assumed they would be going before holding Dominic's glance for a second longer than expected before following the Dhampir down into the unknown. 

Ailward GuardPermalink Reply by ✓ Dominic Howlett ~Mod~ on July 16, 2019 at 3:05

Dominic watched as she passed by him and quietly moved into the hallway, easily taking out the camera that was overhead. He let out a sigh. No going back now. The guards would soon be on alert as their surveillance began to fail throughout the facility. Flint gave Dom a quick nod as he went out to follow the nephilim, Dom letting his eyes go back to Clarissa. Their gazes caught for one final moment before they were going to be separated in a silent look of caution just as they both slipped out of sight while moving around a corner.

"Right." The therian cautiously walked in the opposite direction, following the path Flint had given him as he mentally drew the map of the base in his head. He'd have to get to the sub-levels where the prisoners were being kept and he wasn't exactly sure how many soldiers he might have to deal with on his way. The sound of running footsteps suddenly hit him as his extrasensory hearing picked up a few sets of boots coming towards him. Placing his back against an adjacent wall, he slipped into the shadow as three armed men came running passed and headed in the direction of Clarissa and Flint. He hoped they weren't about to be outnumbered.

He pushed himself forward, descending the staircase he found at the end of a hallway that led to the bottom level. It looked much like the rest of the facility as he continued breaking the cameras that he was met with on his path, but also ensuring that he did it in a way that his direction wouldn't be discovered. Making sure their forces were split was probably the only chance they would have of getting out of there alive. As Flint had said, there was only one door that he could see with no guards on the outside. If he had to guess it meant that they were stationed inside instead. Dominic didn't want to take the chance of being seen, so he avoided the small window that looked inside of the room and opted instead to try and see if he could tell how many people were beyond the wall. Hands pressing against the concrete with his eyes closed in concentration, he tried pushing his abilities outward, but the wall was incredibly thick and he couldn't pick up a thing. "Going in blind, it is."

His hand reached for the handle, but just as his fingertips grazed the metal, the door came crashing open. It knocked him backwards against the wall causing the air to leave him for a moment. He was soon met with two men who didn't hesitate as they opened fire. Dominic dove behind the now open door as they came out of the room. A searing heat ripped through his side as he looked down and saw his t-shirt had been torn and a bullet had passed through his side. The lycan anger quickly rose inside him. The barrel of a gun was soon coming around the door and Dominic reached out and grabbed the burning end of it, pulling it downward and towards him, using the man's falling momentum to land a punch to the soldier's face. He dropped to the ground instantly. He then swung the automatic rifle upward into the other man's weapon causing it to fall and staggering him backward and against the wall. Dominic quickly trained the gun at the man just as he attempted to reach for his weapon. "Nope." He motioned with the gun to move back into the room while reaching down and grabbing the back of the unconscious soldier's collar with his free hand to drag him inside as well.

The room was fairly large, dull, and gray like the rest of the place. There were five others in the room. Two adults and three children were all handcuffed as well as chained together as they huddled by the wall at the sudden commotion. Dominic dropped the man he had been pulling along, never letting the gun he kept trained on the other soldier waver. He stalked closer to him until the man's back hit the wall and he was within inches of his face. "Key please."

"I don't have it." Dominic lifted the barrel against the man's chin in response to the answer he didn't like. "I swear. The general has it. He's the only one who has the key." From the look on his face, the therian decided he was telling the truth and backed away. He crossed the room and eyed the chain against the wall that was holding the supernaturals together. Force would have to do.

His eyes scanned the room until they landed on a case holding a fire extinguisher. Throwing an elbow against the glass, it shattered along the floor and he reached inside. With a few well placed swings, the chain broke and the prisoners were free. "Why didn't you all use your powers against them?"

"The metal..." one of the adults said; A man, holding his wrists up that still had the handcuffs. "They've harnessed whatever that gem did into the restraints they've put on us. We couldn't do anything to them."

Dominic nodded in understanding and turned to lead them out. "Let's go. We don't have much time." This could put a complication in the part where he had hoped some of these supernaturals would be able to help them escape.

"Wait." The other adult said. The woman grabbed his arm to stop Dominic. "There's a nephilim child missing. He was taken to that lab where they... experiment on us." 

A sigh moved through his lips in response and he quickly reached out to Clarissa. 'I've got the prisoners, but there's a boy missing. He's in the lab. Get him out.' Dominic glanced back over as the unconscious soldier began stirring on the floor. He looked back to the prisoners and nodded for them to follow him as he lead them out, but not before hitting the soldier with the butt of the gun to knock him out again and letting off a shot in the other soldier's kneecap, sending him to the floor in agony.

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