Doctor Johnson just smirked, opening up the case. "Well, it's your prerogative now...isn't it?" He said nonchalantly in return, pulling out a cigarette and closing the case. Finally, placing it back into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out a lighter, also silver. "However, a bomb site is no place for a young kid, even injured and I plan on staying here for a while." The coyote lit the cigarette with the lighter, producing a small sheen from the flame on the reflective silver surface only to disappear when he flipped the cap back on the flame.

The hare simply smirked and wandered off.

Ryn stared after him blankly as he left, then turned to Sam and then the physician and sighed. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind. "Look... I can't really stick around here," she addressed the coyote, "I'm looking for my little brother. Oh, what am I going to do?"

"Volunteer?" Kenneth looked puzzled.

Terald didn't answer him right away. Clumsily trying to brush his hair from in front of his eyes, he spoke, seemingly to no one, "You were right, someone was tailing him after all. Another one of my 'dear' relatives, no doubt. I swear, they're getting more desperate with every year."

"Can it," the girl warned, heading towards the window. She stood for a moment as Estella picked up the mug from the table, as though to examine it, before proceeding to climb out through the opening herself.

"Aria?" the old hare called after her in alarm. "Where are you going?!"

"Where else? Ken's not gonna bring himself back here, now, is he? It sure as heck ain't gonna be a 'responsible' grown-up."

"I better go to, no reason not to have a-" The fox paused as a human came tearing down the street. He crawled out the window as well waving the alien over, "Gallagher, you shouldn't be out here like this."

The human staggered up breathing hard, black scraggly hair falling into his face, "Ricky, it's Trevor he... Tobe. You gotta come, you gotta come NOW." The young fox's face twisted into something that only be described as pure and utter hatred, he tore off down the street with blinding speed sending both Aria and Estella's fur into a static prickle. Once he'd vanished from sight the human seemed to recover rather quickly and dusted himself off, "Pity really."

Aria looked puzzled. She looked up at the window, Estella was just as clueless as she was. "What do you mean by 'pity?'"

-City Outskirts-

A van was waiting for Watts after he made his way through the maze of damaged buildings and debris. As he approached, the door opened and a fennec fox poked her head out, calling "Over here, hurry!"

The panther leapt the last foot and made a grab for the door, at which several hands pulled him inside and slammed it shut.

"Oi, Horace!" the fox barked at a hound in the driver's seat. "Step on the gas! We got the news about what happened out there, Watts. It's a shame the way Bones went."

The canine nodded and did as he was told.

"You didn't even bring back the body, mate," quipped a bespectacled wallaby.

"No way, we're not lettin' you conduct your sick experiments on 'im, Stump," the fennec snapped. "Either way, he won't be too happy."

"At least it worked." Watts leaned back against the doors in the van. "Too bad I didn't finish watchin' the fireworks."

The human looked as if he'd only then realized he had an audience. He looked at them and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "It's... a little personal to Ricky there. His.. older sibling attacked his younger one."

OOC: Moving day. Since I'm assuming nothing will be on right away, I'll be stuck only being on during the day when I get a chance. IC post tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have something substantial by then.

IC:

Estella cupped both hands over her mouth. "Oh, that's just awful."

Aria looked down the road at the vanishing small figure in the distance, then gave the human a sideways glance and shrugged. "Not like it's got anything to do with me. She looked to Estella. "I'll bring Kittyboy back here, don't worry 'bout me."

"You know it's dangerous out there, Aria. Be careful."
"I'll be fine!" Aria turned and started to run. "See ya!"

Estella watched from the window until the girl was too far away to see, then turned and left the room. As she passed by the photos lining the hall, she noticed that one of them was a bit off; the old photo with her, Ryn, and the infant Kenneth was a bit crooked. She reached for it and took it off the wall, and smiled as she relived the memories of that day.

When she tried to hang it back where it was on the wall, however, it slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. The glass in the frame shattered, sending shards all over the floor. The old woman stooped forward to retrieve the picture, muttering, "Oh dear, not again..."

"You never answered my question."
"I don't have one for you, kid." Terald lifted the wrapped bottle to his mouth, then looked into it before muttering, "Hmm. Empty... You should go to Ryn. Unless you want to hang out with your crazy big brother instead."

"I can't..."
"What was that?"
"I can't go... not yet."
Terald gave the boy a serious look. "Whaddaya mean, 'not yet?' You ain't supposed to be here."

"Not until I find out what happened here, Terald. I can't leave here, yet."
"Dude, look around you. There's fire and bodies and all kinds of other %&$-. A freaking bomb went off down here." Terald knelt down to his brother. "Look, I don't know what changed you over the time you were away, but you're still a kid, and things are still messed up around here. You'd better get yourself to safety if you know what's good for you."

"If I know what's good for me?" The boy took a step back, his expression outraged. "You an' Eyan would know a lot about that, wouldn't ya. Is that why you sent me to that hellhole of a school? Because it was good for me? Is that why I was dragged halfway across the system and back? Because it would make a difference? I bet you don't even care what happens to me now, do you?"

"That's not it, kid..."

"Then tell me where Eyan is right now. I know she came to you after she left me in that stuffy apartment building earlier."

Terald's eyes widened. "What the-- are you...?"

"Answer me, Terald," Kenneth demanded.

"Or what? You'll find out I don't really know anything, either, no matter what you do to me. I may be a no-good drunk who's pretty much severed ties with the family, but I ain't no liar."

"Why are YOU here, Gallagher?" The voice came from behind human. Gallagher smiled, not turning to face his accoster, "Concern for the brat of course. We can't win without him." Kinnear stepped closer, scowling, his hands in his pockets, "Destroying the Underwood's by using that little kid is not winning. It's stooping BELOW even their level. How did you do it?" The human smirked and looked back halfway, "I simply made an inference that the public may accept little Tobias more if he didn't look the part of a hybrid. My friend Trev did the rest."

An alerting grunt escaped the young rabbit as his hands came out of his pockets and balled up, ready to attack.

"Are you sure you want to do that? You do know who I am, right?" The human said lowly. John suddenly froze, caught up in the man's eerie red iris's. "And what I would do you. Little guy." Images suddenly flashed through the rabbit's mind, horrific ones that made him cry out and run; run awaywhere, just away from the human and his horrible eyes.

-Somewhere outside the city- Abandoned Complex-

The van slowed to a stop outside on a dirt road a short distance away from a group of buildings. The door opened, and the fennec fox poked her head out and looked around.

"Anyone 'round, Katrine?"

"Doesn't look like it. Come on, he's gotta be waiting for us."

One by one, the occupants exited the vehicle, with the fox in lead, followed by the panther, wallaby, and the bloodhound bringing up the rear.

When they were a respectable distance away, the dog turned about face with a small detonator in his hands and pressed a button. With a defeaning blast, the rusty old van exploded in flames.

"Your bombs work as good as ever, Stump," Watts said, turning to look back for a moment. "Where do you get those things again?"

"Trade secret, mate. I could tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya."

"That was so funny I forgot to laugh. Cut it out with the bad jokes already," snapped the fennec irritably. "We're almost there."

The small group fell silent as they approached a wide building in the center of the complex. It was more run-down than any of the empty houses that surrounded them, what should have been a front lawn was covered in trash and broken glass from the windows. The steps were more or less intact, though one of the doors looked as though it had been knocked off its hinges. A number of shadowy figures moved inside as they entered single file, each murmuring under their breaths as they neared another figure sitting in a chair at the end of a moderately sized table in the middle of the room. The dim light illuminating what little of his features could be seen revealed him to be a large wolf, with one paw resting on the table, tapping his fingers impatiently as though waiting for his meal.

The four stopped just a few feet away, staring straight ahead at the wolf, waiting for him to speak.

"I take it things went well today?" A pair of piercing yellow eyes locked onto the panther. "Watts?"

"Our agent carried out his mission as expected. I imagine that the 'leaders' have their hands full with casualties and the like by now."

"I notice that there is one less of you. Did something else happen that I should know about?"

The panther's head sank. "It was an unforseen and unfortunate complication. We had been spotted. Bones went after the guy, but he was killed. I have seen the one who did it, Master. Stump has the data."

The wallaby coughed. "Felinoid woman," he began, stepping forward to place a photograph on the table. "Watts had be dig up some things. Name's Ryn Sonata..."

The wolf held up his hand, silencing the marsupial. The eyes looked down at the photograph but for a moment before his features twisted into an insane grin.

"Ryn Sonata, you say," he chuckled. "That name certainly brings back memories. This is what she looks like now, eh?"

"Uh, Master, if I may ask," Katrine spoke up, "what seems to be so amusing?"

"Ah, nothing significant," the wolf replied. "She was a student of mine back in my teaching days. Who would have thought she would actually be capable of murder? But of course, Bones was always a careless fellow. Kind of sad that caught up with him. That's neither here nor there, now is it, Katrine?"

"No, sir."

The wolf looked to Watts again. "I take it she got away, then? That's not a very good thing, Watts. But, I do think we can make it work to our advantage."

"What do we do now, Master? We cannot let this go, our comrade's death..."

"Very true. That is why we retaliate against those who go against us, eliminate those who know of our existence. Watts, since I know you feel strongest about this, as Bones was a dear friend of yours, I will gladly help you in your endeavor. However, we do still have the things we need to do and never shall the two interfere. Do you understand?"

The panther nodded. "Yes, Master."

The large hand waved the small group away. "You may go now. Do what you want. Just remember we still have a big day tomorrow."

As they turned and left, the wolf leaned backward in his chair, ignoring the murmurings of those surrounding him. "Of all the things to happen... heh, this is quite amusing. I hope you are prepared for what's coming to you..."

She had no idea what she was going to do.

Ryn picked up an apple from the damaged produce stand and placed a few coins in the coyote's hands as payment. She wondered just how she was supposed to find Kenneth and babysit at the same time. The more she mulled it over in her head, the worst she expected. Poor kid was out there by himself; what if he got hurt, or worse? Her paranoia was getting the better of her.

"Your name's Sam, is it?" Ryn said after a moment, addressing the squirrel just ahead of her. "If you're feeling better, I wonder if you could help me with something?"

The boy's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.
"Not going to do anything, eh?" Terald said to him sitting down and sitting his wrapped bottle and sheath on either side of him. "I've got all day. You, on the other hand, have some company."

Kenneth turned around, and spotted Aria just a short distance away, waving at him. "Hey! Tuna Breath! Back here!"

"Would you quit it with the name-calling? You're bringing attention to yourself, you know," Terald addressed her as she reached the two of them. "Just like him."

"Whatever, I don't plan on staying around here, anyway. Not like you care, Booze Brain," Aria snapped at the man. "I'm only here to drag your little bro back to where it's relatively safer at."

"Hey, finally,someone I can agree with, even if she is the scrappy tomboy friend of my dear brother."

Aria stuck her middle finger up at Terald. "Bite me. Come on, Kenny, let's go."
"You're alone?" Kenneth asked. "Where's the other boy?"

"Hell if I know. Some human showed up as we climbed out Estella's window sayin' some stuff and he just ran off on his own. Something about one brother attacking another, I don't know." Aria shrugged. "It's not our problem anyway."

"You oughta listen to her," Terald added. "Meddling in other people's affairs will only get you in trouble."

The girl turned and started to walk back the way she came, but stopped in her tracks and looked back. Kenneth stood still, staring at the ground with both fists clenched at his sides.

"It's never going to stop, is it? All this senseless violence?" he finally spoke, his voice small, but distinctly upset.

"Ken? What are you talking about?" Aria was looking increasingly concerned because of his sudden change in demeanor. "Don't worry about that, let's go, 'Stella's waiting for us."

"Tell her I'm sorry when you go back there. I know what you're thinking, Aria, and I don't expect you to understand."

He took a step forward. "Don't try to stop me. I don't want to inflict harm on anyone," he addressed Terald and Aria. The rabbit tried to reach out for him, but he pulled away and ran off, without looking back.

Terald sighed. "My, my, things have certainly been eating away at him. Say," he said to Aria, "you'd better go fetch him. I think he may be in for some trouble should he toss himself in the fray."

"Why? What's gonna happen?"

"Beats me. Probably won't be pretty. You'd better hurry up, though."

The little squirrel looked up at Ryn. Then nodded, testing out his legs gently.

*WHUMP* Kinnear came crashing into the area, slamming into Aria at full speed, the energy forcing them into Terald, sending all three into a heap on the ground. The rabbit went flying shoulder first into the concrete ground, curling into a ball and shaking uncontrollably.

She took a deep breath before she spoke again. "I'm trying to find my younger brother. He may still be somewhere around here. Do you think you can help me find him?"

To be honest, she really didn't know why she was going through with this, but she wasn't about to let the kid wander around by himself.

"I mean, you don't have to," the young woman added hastily. "It's just..." She trailed off, the thoughts were starting up again, the almost nightmarish images of worst-case scenarios creeping back into her mind...

"Ow, watch where you're goin'!" Aria quickly picked herself up and dusted off her clothes. "Next time you pull that stunt I'll rip..." She stopped speaking, recognizing the adolescent rabbit on the ground.

Terald swore under his breath. "It's broken... that's the second one this month, dammit." He turned to the girl, his drunken expression suddenly changing to one of worry. "Whoa. You look like you've just seen a ghost. But crap, Kenneth's gone. That's not a good thing at all."

"You..." Aria spoke. "You're the one who was with that pompous bastard before!"

For his entire time smoking, the young physician just stared into space. It was as if he was in a trance, if not for the fact that he removed the cigarette to blow the smoke out of his mouth. Eventually getting his cigarette down to just the filter, he dropped it and stomped it out with his foot.

"You shouldn't worry so much." Augustus said suddenly to the young woman as he seemed to come back to reality, however, still not looking at her specifically. "Granted, I don't know your brother but getting into and out of trouble is what younger brothers do best." His hand went into his pocket pulling out his cigarillo case again, only to look at it for a second and putting it back into his pocket. "My own father was a pathologist, just like me. His two younger brothers both ended up as surgeons. Why? They liked trouble. They enjoyed the thrill of the adrenaline within their vains." He seemed like he was about to go into a story but he stopped himself. "Well, what I'm trying to say is you probably shouldn't worry too much. He's probably fine."

Joseph stood watching them from a distance, speaking to Enforcers as if on autopilot his mind centered on Sam.

Sam looked Ryn, a look of deep concern came over the young squirrel's face. He grabbed her hand and nodded, answering her question. "Don't let black bird get him."

The tall hare's right ear twitched, he beckoned MacRaedy over and said something to him. The marsupial nodded and followed Joseph over adjacent to Augustus.

John made a few hasty scrambles to get to his feet, all of them failing. Finally he gave up and lay on his side, holding his chest, "I... Rick... Where, where am I." He couldn't focus yet, even with his stubborn personality he couldn't force the images away so quickly. His chest hurt, he'd been breathing all wrong while he was running, he could feel his heart beating erradically, he tried to look around but all he could think about was trying to make his chest quit hurting with every heartbeat..

"Ground zero," Terald answered, standing up to full height, "if it ain't obvious by the SMELL around here."
He reached into an inside vest pocket and pulled what looked like a small canteen. Taking the cap off to take a whiff, he muttered, "'Kay this should be good enough..."

The man replaced the cap and tapped the teenage rabbit on the arm. "Hey, drink this, it'll help you feel better... I think."

Aria looked outraged. "That better not be--"

"Relax, it's not. It's just water mixed with lemon juice, it always helped me when I ate something bad. Quite sour, the taste." He stared blankly into the sky for a moment. "So, uh... yeah."

The girl made a noise that sounded like a strong swear word. "Whatever. I'm outta here."

Ryn's violet eyes widened. Black bird... That could only mean one thing...
Shaking her head after a moment, she told Augustus, "He's still just a boy, and I don't want him running around out there by himself. Besides, you said so yourself, Doctor; 'a bomb site is no place for a kid.'"

She looked around realizing she had no idea where she was going to look. She left her motorcycle by the side of the road, but that was too far away. She'd have to go by foot.

"Well, I was more implying an injured kid." He responded smirking a bit. "Oh, what I would of done as a kid to actually have a bomb that big. Back when I was a kid, I would make all sorts of combustible compounds in my father's lab. I just hoped that they wouldn't explode in the lab itself." He started to snigger. Finally, August turned around and looked at Ryn's eyes with his own yellow coyote ones. "-but, I can understand your concern. You're an older sister after all. Not exactly an easy job...or so my own would have me believe. So, any clue where he is?"

Absent-mindedly John drank what he was given. A moment later puked and collasped in a heap for a moment, then rolled unto his back, coughed, and looked around. He saw the girl departing and cursed to himself, pushing his body to one side and forcing himself up onto still unsteady legs. "Wait! Just... just wait. Damn." The youth rubbed his forehead, trying to clear pain filled cobwebs from his mind.

Ryn's hardened look as she stared at Augustus faded when he asked the question, and she shook her head. "Not a one. I probably wouldn't be stuck around here if I did," she replied softly as she started to leave.

Aria paused and turned around to face him with the nastiest glare she could muster. "Why should I? Give me one reason, buddy, and if it ain't good enough, then I'm outta here. Come on, make it snappy. I need to knock some sense into the head of a dear friend of mine, you see."

"What are you doing back here?"

Nathaniel was sitting in a large chair, staring past a figure standing in front of him into the orange flames dancing in the fireplace.

"I got into some trouble," the figure replied. "I at least know he's alone out there. Our sister's nowhere to be seen. Thanks to some moron blowing himself up in the middle of town, half the marketplace's a mess. It was hard enough to get around out there."

"Julius."

"What?"

"There's something else, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Terald says if you 'pull that stunt again,' he'll kill you."

Nathan smirked. "He's got a lot of audacity, considering what he's been up to these days. Listen, Julius, go back out there. Tell Terry I said the feeling's mutual. Next time you come back here, make sure Kenneth is with you. Alive."

Johnny leaned against a building, "Because there are some bad people running around."

Aria snorted and turned to leave.

"Because I don't want them to do you, what they did to me!" The youth suddenly yelped out stumbled forward and falling unto his knees again.

The girl stared at him for a moment, considering the words. She then shrugged and started walking again. "You're just tryin' t' scare me," she said, resuming a brisk pace. "Aria Stiles doesn't back down or run away, not ever."

Terald had just placed the canteen back in his pocket when he looked up. His brown eyes reflected the tension he was feeling.

"She's just too hard-headed," he whispered to John, "always been that way. She doesn't know what she's headed for. She's feeling pretty scared now, but she really doesn't let anything keep her back." He felt his throat start to dry. "If you can't stop her, then at least make sure she's okay."

He heard Terald, for a moment he just tried in vain to get up, it was like something had sapped all the life out of him.

*clap*

The rabbit's hand clamped down tightly on a dumpster, grunting to pull himself up as if his whole body was simply dead weight. But there was a an odd look to his eyes, they seemed to sparkle every so slightly, both intent on the way Aria had gone.

*clump*

His other hand grabbed further along the lid of the refuse bin, and a little further, slowly but surely moving forward, leaning on the bin for support.

He never imagined just how bad things truly were here.

Kenneth had to shield his face as he walked into the smoke, but it stung his eyes. The further he walked, the harder it was getting to breathe. Buildings were still on fire, collapsing, smoldering. Aside from the occassional faint cry for help, which the boy didn't know whether it was real or not, there didn't seem to be any sign of life around.

He felt his foot trip over something and he fell over. Turning around to get a look, his heart nearly stopped at the sight of a burnt corpse staring at him. Gasping and coughing, he scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could. His eyes were shut tight, he didn't know where he was heading to. After a moment he lost his balance and fell. He coughed still, rolling onto his back and gasping for air.

He had to get up. He had to keep going. He had to find that other kid...

The half-rotten wood front door slammed open, knocking it off its rusty hinges as it collapsed to the floor. The fennec fox stalked through the entryway, obviously in a bit of a foul mood. As she leaned against the wall on the other side of the room, Watts and Stump entered, both gaping at the broken door before turning to her.

"Somethin' got that sheila all riled up, eh?" the wallaby commented. "'Spose we all had a bad day, mate. See ya later."
"Sure thing." The panther waved him off absentmindedly as he sat on a bed near the left side. His piercing yellow eyes looked at the fennec. "That's the second time you've done that, Kat. What's eating you?"

Katrine glared at him, her hardened look softening. "It's one thing right after another. First Chain, and now Bones. Our comrades are falling one after the other, Watts. What are we all going to do?"

"What we always do: rebound and hit 'em harder. Remember that we have a purpose, and we have to accomplish that, even if it cost us our lives. When the new world is created, only the strong survive, and the weak perish. Of course, the weak are going first."

"You say that like I'm dumb."
"Didn't say you were."
Katrine turned away and headed for the the back doorway, calling, "Kiri? You there?"

"She probably went out again. Damn half-breed's more trouble than she's worth."
"Don't test me today, Watts. You know what I'm capable of."

Ken felt himself being pulled up to his feet. It was a smooth, gentle movement, as if his weight was nothing. Then the choking smoke dissipated, his eyes cleared, he could see the smoke held at bay by a milky field of energy. There was a wolf holding him by his shirt, he was massive and wearing a dirty white overcoat. The lupoid's eyes never looked at him when he spoke, "You should consider yourself fortunate I happened by this place."

Speechless, the boy could only nod in reply at first. It never really occurred to him that anyone else would be out here, yet he couldn't help but think that this newcomer seemed... odd.

After a moment of silence, he managed to finally speak up, "Thank you... uh... wh-what's your name?"

"KENNY!? I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR SKINNY NOBLE ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, I'LL BE SURE TO GIVE YOU TWO EXTRA KNUCKLE SANDWICHES WHEN I FIND YOU!!"

Aria inhaled deeply, exhaled and crossed her arms. "If he didn't hear that, he must be deaf," she muttered. "There's gotta be something wrong with him, running off on his own like that.

She looked ahead, staring into the smoke still hanging in the air like a toxic fog. "If he actually ran off in here he wouldn't last five seconds."

"Do you talk to yourself all the time when you're mad?"

Aria's ear twitched. "No, I'm just pissed off... wait a minute..." The rabbit looked around, finally spotting a young fennec fox sitting on the ground in front of a building across from her... or was it a cat?

Aria rubbed her eyes and stared in disbelief. She'd never seen anyone like this girl before. Her black-tipped ears were too large to be a cat's, and fennecs certainly didn't have forehead stripes, from what she had seen before. She had a long bushy tail like a fox, too, tipped in black at the end like her ears. She wore a white tank top, pale yellow pants with a long orange ribbon tied around her waist, orange and white sneakers, and shorter yellow ribbons tied loosely around her wrists. She looked up at Aria with kind eyes and and a smile. The rabbit pointed a finger at her. "What the hell are you?"

The girl chuckled lightly. "I am just me. Are you a Lepoid? I've never seen one before that wasn't in a book."
"You're kidding me, right? What, have you been living under a rock or something?"

"No. My mother always told me never to associate with one, but I can see you're not bad. You're a bit loud, though, I heard you from pretty far away. I didn't know your kind had such huge lungs. I thought you'd be much bigger."

Aria opened her mouth, but no words came. She just didn't know what to say. Finally, she turned and started walking toward a side alley. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I'm outta here."

"Don't go that way. It's dangerous."

"And who are you to judge... whatever you are..."

"Kiri." The halfbreed girl stood up, brushing her bangs out from in front of her face. "I'm not judging, I'm just telling the truth. I don't think it's right to lie."

The wolf set him down on his own feet, Ken couldn't help to look up in awe of the man. "Kane." He spoke the word firmly, "Are you the only survivor in this area?"

"Survivor? Oh, no, I'm just trying to look for someone, that's all." Ken waved his arms in front of him, making him look almost comedic. "I haven't seen much of anything around here... not that I could, with all the... uh... yeah..."

He scratched the back of his head, starting to feel a little silly.

---

"Kenneth!"

Ryn's hands dropped to her sides. This had to be the umpteenth time she'd called out, and yet there still was no answer. She couldn't shake the feeling that if someone else was really lurking out there, then she'd be in a bit of trouble.

Stepping through piles of debris and junk as the few enforcers who were around tried to clean up and help the wounded with the squirrel following at her heels, the young woman thought she had seen someone pass by at the other end of an alleyway right in front of her. Was it him? No, but from the brief glimpse she figured it was still some kid.

She looked to her left. No one in their right mind would go that way unless they wanted to die from smoke inhalation.

She paused a moment to let herself think and wait for Sam to catch up. She really didn't want to drag him around like this, but her own inner fear was starting to get the better of her.

Terald watched the rabbit as he left, then turned about face. "Doesn't look like there's anything else for me here." He briefly glanced at the trampled forms of the children and winced, whispering, "I'm sorry..."

The wolf narrowed his eyes, looking out into the fog, ears erect, "You can't go that way. Raven is there." The wolf's ears turned like radar dishes for few moments, settling in a perpendicular direction from the previous, his head turned to follow them. Finally a large gray-furred hand rose and pointed the same direction, "This way, another innocent... or two. Stay nearby, he's watching." With that last threatening command the imposing Canoid started walking, striding, eyes never moving from their forward position.

Sam limped along as best he could, grateful he could at least walk. Suddenly he stopped, ears straight up, still several yards from catching up to Ryn. His eyes started to grow wide his mouth managed a few broken words, "Bad place."

"Nice piece of work. Whats there to be sorry about?" The voice wasn't far from Terald, more than close enough to be directly at him. Much to his dismay it was, the snarky line coming from the very same human that had virtually paralyzed John with fear not an hour earlier. He was leaned against a wall, arms crossed, face twisted in a grim smile under the dark curls framing the dark visage grinning straight at Terald.

This had been the last thing he was expecting to see. "I don't believe that's any business of yours," the tomcat replied bitterly, shouldering the sword sheath as though it actually held a blade. "I've had a bad enough day as it is, so just leave me alone and we won't have any problems, right?"

"Can I touch your ears?"
"No."
"Aw, come on, just a little."
"HELL no."

Aria's fists were clenched at her sides as she turned onto a side street only to find that the building next to it had collapsed.

Kiri had paused behind her, ears drooped and paws clasped behind her back. "Aw, you're no fun."

"That's because I'm trying to find someone," Aria growled. "Why the hell are you following me anyway? Don't you have somewhere else to go?"

"You're interesting," Kiri said happily, as if she didn't look depressed just a moment ago. "I only wanna see what kinds of things you can do."

Aria gave the halfbreed a perturbed look. "Look, do whatever you want, just stay outta my way, all right? And NO, you cannot pull my ears."

She waited a moment for a response. Kiri stared blankly back at her before pointing a finger at her and grinning.

"Hey, look over there! There are others around here, too!"

"You don't understand, though, I really am looking for someone, another kid. My friend said she'd seen him run off somewhere around here." Ken almost had to run to keep up with the wolf, although he felt a bit out of breath.

Ryn didn't do anything right away. Once the boy had almost reached her she knelt down next to him. "I'm sorry. I must be selfish, running around like this while you're still hurt. I'll stop here for now, if it's okay."

"Why do you furries always resort to violence? Sometimes I think you're no better than humans." The man said snidely. "Can't you loosen up and have some fun? Who was the cute little guy ya were just talking too? Hardly a place for someone like him."

John was at least moving under his own power now, the further away he got the better he felt. The area was getting worse, who knew what was going to happen to that girl if he didn't find her.

Sam shook his head and pointed ahead of them, he seemed to have no intention of staying there.

Terald's eyes narrowed. "Didn't you hear what I said before? I said it's none of your business," he growled. "Are you deaf or something?"

Where the strange girl was pointing to, Aria didn't know, but she was suddenly pushed aside as she ran ahead of her and stopped beside an injured rat crawling away from a building.

"H-help me," he rasped as the rabbit caught up to them. "Please, my son is still inside."

"What about you? Aria asked.

"It's too late for him."

She turned to look at Kiri, who's expression and again changed. This time, she seemed not to show any emotion as she gazed at the gray-furred rat. "What do you mean, it's too late?!"
The halfbreed didn't say anything right away. Aria could feel chills going down her spine, this girl was starting to give her the creeps now.
"You should go find the child before it's too late," Kiri suggested. "This man will die soon." Her eyes closed as she shed a tear. "I can feel it."

Aria gave the girl a confused look, then did as she was told.

Kiri opened her eyes to make sure Aria was gone, then opened her fist, revealing the scalpel in her hand. "Mister, you won't mind if I end your suffering, will you?"

Ryn looked ahead for a moment, then turned back to Sam, slightly puzzled. "You want to go that way?"

In the back of her mind, her search was going to have to wait. She could only hope that Kenneth would be alright without her...

"Oi! What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

A hand reached out and seized Kiri's wrist firmly. As the girl looked up, she was face to face with a highly furious Aria and a tiny Roboid child cowering behind her. "You were about to kill that guy, weren't you?"

He was gone. The wall he'd been leaning on was empty, a shadow vanishing down a nearby alley.

"You like talking to air? Or is that just when you're pissass drunk?" A familiar voice came from one side. It was Kenneth, or at least it looked and sounded like him. The boy's arms were folded, a scowl forming on his face.

Sam nodded, looking around feverishly.

At first, Terald stared wide-eyed at the sight, but he shook his head. "No, you're not him. He just left," he said.

"Answer me, kid! Were you going to kill this boy's father or what?" Aria said loudly, keeping her paw gripped on Kiri's wrist.

Kiri only stared blankly at her, then nodded. "He's hurt too bad. He's suffering."

"And that gives you the right to take his life?!"

"P-please," the injured man rasped. "Let me see my son."

Aria and Kiri both moved aside as the child scrambled towards his father and threw his arms around him. "Papa!"

"Thank goodness... you're alright," the father replied through labored breathing. "Now I can go and join your mother in peace."

"No..." The boy burst into tears and hugged his father tighter as the man closed his eyes and his hand fell limp on the ground.

Aria was at a loss for words. She helplessly looked at Kiri, who's orange eyes were staring right into her own.

"I didn't want the child to see his parent like that," the halfbreed spoke. "I only wanted him to go in peace."

The words made something in Aria snap. Before she knew it, she had grabbed Kiri's shirt and slammed her against the wall of the crumbling building, causing some debris to rain on them. Her fist was just inches from the other girl's face.

"What the hell kinda logic is that?!" she bellowed. "I oughta kick your ass right here and now for even spewing *#&$! like that. All that man wanted was to see his kid one last time and you aimed to take that away from him! What kind of parent in their right mind would tell their kid what you're yammering on about, huh?!"

OOC: This came to me suddenly. It was about this time of the storyline that Raven was laying low from something, messing with things in the background as if he didn't want someone to find him. I never said who because I was, as usual, saving it for a rainy day. Even though it isn't rainy, it's good enough, plus I really don't want to push the censor TOO far with Raven's obscene way of getting his "point" across. God did I just put quotes around a pre-emptive pun you won't see till you read like the rest of the post? And how the hell is point even a viable pun for penis? Shoot me for my ignorant arrogance... please.

ANYWAY! I'll say right now the lead character of the pack I'm introducing as never appeared since his creation in probably mid '05, because of what he is and some rather large scientific leaps of faith that have to be taken even from storyline standpoint to believe he was real. I'll explain. Around that time I realize that god-creatures I was invented were overpowered and began limiting things about them. Save Raven as he was the central evil figure for... everything. The character with the least reasoning for doing some of the twisted immoral crap he does. I realized that from a character standpoint he should have just appeared and won as noone, not even the other symbionts are ready to fight him at this point. So I created some to fight him, to made him keep his head down. The only full bred Usinoid I will ever make. I created three groups back then. Sodalitas aka Russell's Warden. Servi aka Kane's (Kenji II) Warden. And the Otrium which I never explain much about. The where the only group at this time to fully understand the symbionts and what they were to any real degree. Al-be-it their solution was to eradicate the ones they felt threatened by. Their leader was a Bear, yes a bear, named Damon Ki. Middle aged meaning he was and will probably always be the oldest living character in this universe.

Just wanted to clear it up so it doesn't look like I'm arbitrarily adding an Ursinoid character in.

And when the hell is JC going to post again?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

"Of course he did, that doesn't mean you weren't talking to air." The boy smoothed the fur on his head red eyes blinking almost in enjoyment, "You know it's always irritated me how you have all this potential... yet waste it." He played with the fur on his cheek the same way he had just done his head, "I always thought Terran were the most self-destructive race. Then I came here." He sat down and rolled a pantleg up to his knee, examining Kenneth's leg and petting it gently, "As cute as you guys are you're collectively the most infuriating and flat out stupid race I've ever come into contact with." The boy pulled his tail around and started the same examination on it testing it all the way to where it entered his pants. He rolled the other pantleg up and stood up. "I mean, look at what you've got here." He pulled his shirt off off and tossed it aside. "Look at this kid. Any real person would give their left nut to save a kid like this. Any real mother would be insane with worry right now." He walked straight up to the cat, grabbing his wrist and putting Teralds hand on his chest, "Look at me you drunk piece of !$%%. I'm small, cute, brave, polite, have my whole life ahead of me." His red eyes glared daggers at Terald, "And you're too busy drinking to stop him from wandering into a warzone. Stop trying to get away!" The boy's hand was like a vice, the harder he pulled to get away from this... thing, the tighter that small hand gripped. "Feel it you son of a ##%##, feel my heartbeat? You're the one that's going to stop it. You and all the others that should have been there to save him." Suddenly the boy grabbed him around the waist and held on... he was hugging him. He could feel the warmth of the "Feel this? You'll never feel it again because you don't deserve his love. You're a horrible sibling and a horrible person, not because anything you couldn't stop though, oh nono. You choose to be this way. You make me sick. Me." He released the cat, letting him fall backward in shock. "Let me show you what kind of a person you're worse than. The kind of person you just threw you little brother into the arms of." The boy's face twisted into a grim joyful smirk, running his hand down his chest, "Soft, so innocent, so meek. How could you let this happen." He jerked the waistband of his pants outward and held up his hand, wiggling his fingers over the opening as if taunting Terald with what he was about to do to his brothers body.

*BAM*

A gunshot rang out, throw the boy's arm out of it's rather omnious positioning. Kenneth's voice suddenly letting out a high pitched scream.

With a loud thump an immense creature dropped from seemingly the sky itself and leveled a rifle on the injured Kenneth look-a-like.

OOC: I haven't the foggiest. And that whole thing was real creepy. I'll have something later on, I've got to make in through class tonight without dozing off for once.

OOC: Anything including Raven is going to be creepy. It takes a stomach of steel to try to make posts like that. So don't expect me to do to many run-in's involving him. This is so he gains his Keyser Söze level reputation, and in later RP's so people don't wonder WHY Rico and Kevin are so catatonically afraid of him.

OOC: No worries. It's not like I haven't read or seen anything worse.
_____________________________________________________________________

Terald's mouth went dry, he was unable to utter a word. His brown eyes were wide with fear, his expression, one of pure horror. It were as though his soul had just been sucked out of him and he remained an empty shell. He didn't even seem to be aware of anything else. He just sat there on the ground, seemingly... broken.

Ryn's ears twitched as she looked once more ahead of them, drawing both her knives. She definitely heard something from that direction, and she wasn't taking any chances.
"Stay behind me."

Kenneth's walking pace slowed. "Mister Kane, where are we going? I said there was another kid around here I gotta find."

Augustus slowly walked up to Ryn and Sam from behind, however, noticing her knives, he held back a bit. It seemed the reason why he didn't keep up with Ryn and Sam was because he had to fetch a tan trench coat, which he was now wearing. He remained rather silent about catching up to them though.

---

Augustus was still at the blast sight, he went back to fetch his Doctor's bag. "Damn it. I shouldn't of allowed them to go off on their own." He put his reflex hammer into his bag, closed it up, and grabbed it. He then rushed off towards where he thought he saw Ryn and Sam head, verbally cursing himself for spacing off.

"I assume from that comment you know their location." The wolf boomed out slowing to a stop.

Sam grabbed Ryn's shirt, making sure he knew where she was. Nodding his head and still looking around nervously.

*click* The hammer hit nothing. The huge creature looked at its miss-fired weapon and snarled, tossing it aside like a toy and turned an eye at Terald, "Unless you want it to happen. I suggest you kill him."

The boy snarled gripping his bleeding hand, "You damn fool, how did you get here, you should have been on mesric by now."

Terald was still in limbo, trying to pull himself back together, but the creature was there now. It was a massive bear, nearly twice his size, he'd never seen one before but had heard the stories some still existed. It turned from him and charged the kenneth look-a-like on all fours, he watched the boy barely dive aside to avoid the claws.

Kenneth shook his head and looked down at his hands, opening and closing them as though he couldn't move them very well. "Not really, no... but in the short time I was around him, I could sense his thoughts, just a little." He looked up at the wolf. "If I just had a moment to concentrate, then maybe I could find him."

The sight still seemed a bit surreal to Terald as he tried to string coherent thoughts together again. "I... get... I get it," he spoke up, his voice hoarse.
But that's easier said than done.

Ryn was about to take a step forward, but she paused, Noticing another shadow besides her own and Sam's. She turned about face, staring straight into the eyes of the coyote wearing the trench coat. "You... you followed us all the way out here?"

Kiri didn't say anything at first, but then her eyes widened with fear. "L-lemme go, lemme go!" she cried, arms flailing as she wrenched herself out of Aria's grip. "Lemme go!"
Agast, Aria watched as she scurried away from her and sat with her knees up to her chest against a wall opposite the grieving child.
"What the hell is with you?" You act like you've seen a ghost or something?" Aria said, frowning and crossing her arms. "It's not like there's--"

She suddenly stopped speaking, an invisible force had seemingly gripped her throat, choking her. She looked at the strange girl who continued to stare at something behind her and mouth incoherent words.

"Kiri, there you are," a voice spoke. "What are you doing out here? Did you go wandering by yourself again?"

Aria, gasping for air, could only turn her head long enough to see that the newcomer was actually a fennec fox, standing with one arm outstretched in her direction, the hand gripping nothing.
This woman... what is she?!

The fennec glared at Aria with narrowed amber eyes, filled with fury and hatred. "YOU! What the hell do you think you were going to do to my daughter?" Her hand closed a little tighter, and so did the unseen grip on Aria's throat. "I ought to kill you, you filthy little $@&#."

The woman brought her arm back towards her and lashed out, and Aria found herself being slammed into the very wall she had Kiri pinned against just a minute ago, only about twice as hard. The force gripping her throat was released, and the rabbit collapsed to the ground, coughing up a little blood as she gasped for air.

She heard Kiri scream, followed by the woman's voice. "It's okay, Mommy's here. Now, let's go back home, okay?"

The halfbreed muttered something inaudible, and, a moment later, Aria heard the sound of footsteps. The fennec fox's boot stopped in her line of vision, and she looked up to see the woman glaring at her, holding the frightened Kiri by the wrist. "You try anything again, and I'll make you wish you'd never been born, you hear me?"

Aria struggled to move, but her whole body was in pain. She could only look as dust was kicked in her face and the next thing she knew, both the mother and her child had gone.

The coyote just smirked at Ryn's question. "You expect me, a gentleman, to let you and the kid go out here alone? Granted, you're far from defenseless but you never know when another set of hands could be...useful." His voice seemed calmer then it was before however the accent was the same. He then pointed in front of him. "Lead the way, after all, you're the armed one."

---

Augustus despite rushing as fast as he could still lost the trail of Ryn and Sam. He looked around a bit confused. "Damn it. Where are they?" He mumbled. He then started to wander around, in hope of finding them.

"It seems reinforcements have arrived. You can have your moment." The words rumbling slowly out of Kane's muzzle as he slowed to a complete stop, taking some sort of meditation position on the sidewalk.

"Incompetent Ursine, you think you can kill me?!" The boy scowled as the bear turned to charge again. "Makes sense to think it, e'la. Don't expect even the mighty featherduster can fight all three of us." The boy spun around only to come face to face with Myca Bant, the cowboy hat wearing coyote. He sneered then suddenly winced as the image of Kenneth vanished, revealing the mottled human from before. Whatever caused it stunned the man just long enough for the bear to make contact, suddenly the human momentarily became a ragdoll, looking like the two Kydane had won. It was fleeting though, the moment the bear tossed the man high enough he vanished. Leaving the mean to stare at empty space.

The coyote shrugged and was the first to speak, as was his custom in stressful situations, "He's a goodun, second he was beyond my control he poofed like a ninja."

Sam looked at the man blankly, then turned to Ryn as if waiting for her to decide.

"Ix-sis..." The word was odd as it came out of John, the usual mellow tones even more strained with from the pressure of the situation. She was in a heap on the ground, the blood was in such small amounts it wasn't noticeable at first. "Hey, you ok?" Kinnear called out, hoping she'd only fallen. He called again, walking faster, no answer or movement. John felt his heart drop into his gut the moment he noticed a spot of crimson on the girl's mouth. "*#%!!" The youth let out a hoarse whisper suddenly darted forward and falling almost clumsily beside her crumpled form, he cursed again pulling Aria's head into his lap, "Hey, no, come on. Dammit, what the hell happened, who did this!"

Her eyes seemed out of focus at first, but then they blinked and looked up at him. "Dammit... was I out or something?" She tried to sit up, but pain shot up her back and chest. "That big-eared $&#@ and that strange girl. Where'd they go? I'm gonna put my foot up that lady's ass and rip her a new &$%!* next time I catch her around here."

She forced herself to sit up again, then coughed again and spit out a bit more blood. "#&*!@ it hurts so much... $%&@!! Think she cracked a rib..." Aria seemed to shudder a bit, she lacked her typical boisterous attitude now. She turned to John. "That drunk bastard Terald told you to follow me, didn't he?"

Ryn's eyes narrowed, something seemed a bit off about this guy, pretty much suspicious. "Just stay out of my way," she muttered, starting slowly down the street. "You try anything funny, you're gonna have a problem."

Kenneth nodded. To be honest, he hadn't really done this in a while, and given the state of things, he didn't know how long he had. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he closed his eyes and tried to focus.

Empty your mind... and concentrate...

A brown Canoid paced around the room, looking into the faces of various students who all sat on the floor cross-legged and eyes closed. They were all of different ages and noble races. The dog came to a stop at the last student, a younger Kenneth, whose eyes were shut tight.

"Sonata, you're trying too hard," the dog said, gently kicking him.
The boy's eyes opened, and looked up to him. "Eh?"
"Relax your face boy. You look constipated sitting there."

Several snickers broke out from the remaining students lining the walls around the room. Kenneth's ears drooped. "Sorry."
"Quit apologizing to me, Sonata," the instructor told him. "That's why the others are always walking all over you. Try again."

"Yes, sir."

"What have I told you about wandering off alone, Kiri?"

"That it's dangerous."

"And what have I told you earlier today?"

"That we can't be found."

"Why?"

"Because we're trying to make the world a better place."

"Good girl."

Katrine stopped walking for a moment, pulling Kiri along by the arm so she stood next to her. Kiri's ears were drooping, and she tried to clean up her tear-stained face with her free arm. The fennec fox glared at her with a mixture of repulsiveness and contempt. "It's bad enough Watts was spotted and Bones is dead," she said in a low voice, but to have you running around here when you KNOW what our situation is makes me SICK. Nothing… and I mean NOTHING EVER seems to register with that half-breed brain of yours. Do you know why I put up with the likes of you?!"

"B-because no one else will," the foxcat said, her voice small and scared.

"And do you know what will happen to you if you wander around out there?!"

"The enforcers will get me."

The girl shook her head, fighting back tears. Katrine tightened the grip on her wrist. "Right. And you damn well better listen, because without me, you'll be all alone in this world. You understand, Kiri?"

She nodded, trying to keep what was left of her composure. Her mother turned her loose and was about to resume her brisk pace, but she paused again. "What's this? Kiri, is that guilt I sense coming from you?"

The girl looked up at her mother again, wide-eyed. Katrine scowled, taking a step towards her, amber eyes void of emotion. "I see… You feel sorry for that girl. Get that look off your face; you act like I'm not supposed to know what goes on through your head."

Kiri took a step back, but she soon found her arm in Katrine's firm grip again. "I suppose I should have expected behavior like this from someone like you. Despite being a 'noble' half-breed you're no better than the rodent filth that roams about the streets. You ought to be grateful you're able to scrape out some sort of existence, you miserable, dimwitted poor excuse for slime."

Katrine glared at her for a moment longer then turned her loose. "Let's get back," she said. "If you get left behind, you'll have to find your own way, you hear?"

"Y-yes," Kiri murmured, half-heartedly following at the fennec's heels.

Something landed on her arm, a light tap, as if a small object fell only to vanish. Blood? Maybe she was hurt worse than she thought.

"I didn't see this coming... not in time. But Raven, he... he must have already known. He didn't do that to me to stop me from finding Rick, he..." the rambling was from John, suddenly she realized the drops on her arm were water. Tears from the older rabbit's eyes. A suddenly look of terror swept over him, "Oh... oh no. He knew about you. He must have. He did that so I wouldn't be able to concentrate. So this would happen, so those people would hurt you." He looked down at her, "Terald... I don't even remember him, everything was a blur back there. I.. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do..." His face had the same look as before, he looked completely helpless.

Sam nodded, gave the coyote a second blank look, and limped along behind Ryn.

"He got away. Your kind was better trained, I heard." The bear growled lowly. The coyote shrugged, "Even Null Arts have their limits, e'la." The massive creature snorted and retrieved his weapon before muttering, "Tailing him. You?" Bant shook his head, "Kid here is pretty shaken, got other messes too. Maybe next time. Never seen you before, though I knew all the hunters. Name's Bant." The creature turned and came to his full height, dwarfing the canoid stated flatly, "I, Nencopan Ecocxok. You are cocox. Good bye." He turned and lumbered off, leaving both Myca and Terald standing in his thundering wake.

"I'll be skinned... This is a day. Bet Ken's already sitting somewhere trying to sort this through." The coyote said removing his hat and adjusting his messy hair before replacing it and turning to Terald. "You just saw a lot my friend." He removed a silver canister and offered it to the feline, "Murrieta's finest, kiddo, this occasion's well deserving of it."

A few minutes passed, suddenly the wolf's voice rumbled into the kitten's ears. "You have been trained. That is... unexpected. What school?"

"You pick yourself up and keep walking." For once, Aria's voice didn't carry a nasty tone, though her expression looked quite the opposite. Her eyes shifted to where the child still knelt over his father, sobbing into the corpse's chest. Her features softened somewhat. "It's the only thing you can do to keep yourself going."

Terald looked on at it for a moment, then shook his head. "As much as I'd like to, I think I'm starting to get tired of the hangovers. Thanks, anyway."

"Dark." Kenneth finally opened his eyes. "I hated that school."

Kane snorted, "That, was a pointless effort. The look in your eyes alone should have told any takey sapep* that you are too... soft, too learn the Art of Shadow."

Bant shrugged, "'ever yer pleasure." The took a swig and replaced the cap, "I gotta ask, kiddo. You know what just happened here?"

"It shouldn't be." The rabbit muttered out, "Emotions shouldn't be the enemy. Without them... there is no compassion. No love, no friendship, just... solitude." It was odd, he almost sounded sage-like. Speaking as if he'd seen and felt a long life of experience and was relating what those long years had taught him. He suddenly looked embarrassed, "Um... I never did get your name..."

*takey sapep - Empty head; no brain.

"Even so," Kenneth spoke, looking Kane right in the eyes, "it's the one thing that I know I can do."

Terald shook his head. "It'd be better off for the both of us if I spared the details. I've just gotten my head back together, for starters. That bastard tried to use my little brother against me. That's all I'm willing to tell."

"Aria. Aria Stiles." The girl slowly got up to her feet, leaning against the wall for support. She swore loudly as pain stabbed her chest and back. "$%#@! Must be worse off than I thought," she said through clenched teeth. "Too bad I can't learn any of that magic crap, else I'd fix myself up."

"Indeed, you must work with what you have been given. Restarting your training would be even more foolish than continuing." As the boy stared the wolf down he could feel those yellow iris's all the way down his spine. "Those eyes are defiant and stubborn, you remind me of very stupid boy who thinks I can train him." His ears twitched suddenly, he broke the lock that was between their eyes, "A fight. If you were telling the truth about another child in this area we should find them. I do not like what I am sensing."

Myca took a second drink and put the flask away, looking rather confused. "Eh? Oh, I see, ya misheard me. I wasn't askin yer experiences, I was asking if ya KNEW what just happened. As in who you just faced down. I saw the play out, don't offer my sauce to just anyone for no reason. You just met so pretty dangerous faces. Course you knew that."

John winced looking concerned for a moment before reaching into his jacket and pulling a bottle out. "These should dull the pain without too much impact on your brain." quickly popped two out and handed them to the girl.

"Like I said, I've just gotten my head restraightened. Although... was that Ursanoid really here? Dammit, I feel like crap." Terald slumped against the wall. "And that shape-shifting human... thing... bastard used my brother against me..."

He straightened himself up quickly, though, noticing something in the distance steadily approaching the two. He recognized the lead one immediately. "Ryn...?"

Aria looked reluctant as she took them. "Thanks," she said hastily as she ingested the painkillers. After a few minutes, she seemed a bit calmer, almost drowsy looking. "You know," she said, stifling a yawn, "you never did tell me your name either. Seeing as how I've told you mine, it's only right... that..." She trailed off, looking slightly confused. "... what was I talking about again?"

Myca took a second gulp and put the flash away, "Yeah, he was. Considering who he was chasing? Conjure we just saw Damon Ki, himself. Assume ya heard the stories about that one. Secret societies, demon hunting... Never thought I'd see a ghost, 'specially a living one." The coyote looked distance for a moment, then smirked, "I got plenty of stories, maybe I'll get inta one later. You just faced down Kolakawax himself, the infamous black bird of corruption an death. Should feel proud of yerself, e'la. Eh, Whats that?" Bant shielded his eyes, trying to make out the figures.

John's concern grew, "I made those myself, they shouldn't be adversely effecting your focus like this, dammit. I can't do anything right." He sighed, "I guess I'm back to apologizing again, sorry, now you're hurt AND you can't fight back. My name's John... John Kinnear. Useless apprentice of... well anyone that bothers."

"That's my sister." Terald walked a few steps ahead, waving one of his arms. "Over here!" After a moment, he turned around and addressed Bant, "I don't know whether to be 'proud' or to vomit. This is the craziest &$%@ing day I've ever had, really. Although, maybe I shouldn't have let a couple of kids go wandering around here, considering the situation..."

"Oh? I guess it's safe to assume that Kenneth is one of those kids, right?" a young woman's voice said from behind.

Terald froze up, turning around to see Ryn standing behind him, hands on her hips. Behind her limped a young squirrel, and standing further away was a coyote wearing a trench coat.

The tomcat ran his fingers through his messy hair. "Uh... I don't think so. Haven't seem 'im."

Ryn didn't look convinced. "Your face says otherwise."

"What do you mean I can't fight back?" Aria snapped, looking furious. "I can still take on anybody, anytime, anywhere, and kick their asses a thousand times over." She got off the wall and glared at John with her arms crossed. "You keep beatin' yourself up, then you're never gonna get nothin' done. Damn, you're worse than Kenneth. I still don't know what he thinks he's gonna accomplish meddlin' in other people's affairs and #@^*%..."

Kenneth nodded and pointed ahead of him. "I think it's coming from that way, at the center of all this." Where the scent of blood and death are strongest, and exactly where something else more malicious is headed...

"Perceptive little lady, E'la." Bant said smirking and bowing to the arrivals, "I see Sammy's here as well, guess I should be glad Ol' Joe's keeping tabs on the scene."

"Maybe he cares about you. I don't wanna sound rude but sometimes... nothing is the best thing too do. At least then you know the outcome and can prepare yourself to deal with the outcome." The young rabbit said sighing, "I didn't mean to doubt your fortitude, but he seemed to be unable to focus and I was worried." He suddenly started to become aware they weren't alone once again.

The wolf nodded and took up pace down the street.