Ravenwood - (Open)

[Heinrich Drake]

5 Miles Outside Hush Hills

Ravenwood.

No matter how hard he tried, Drake was constantly hounded by those vile mercenaries. It seemed that wherever he went, they followed him. Freelance hunters were easy meat, but Ravenwood was ridiculously prepared to fight to the death. Drake was convinced that Jasten Beckett was one of Ravenwood's troopers, or at least connected to them in some way. In time, Drake would investigate his suspicions, tonight, however, he decided he would drive and take time to think.

He was five miles outside of Hush Hills when it happened. The road was almost deserted, except for Drake and his car. He was coming around a bend in the road, when a Humvee pulled from the shadows of the trees in front of him. Though he tried to avoid it, Drake was taken by surprise, and couldn't stop in time to completely miss. He plowed into the side of the Humvee, shearing off most of the passenger side entirely. The impact sent him into a roll, until he came to a rest about twenty feet away from the Humvee, upside down.

As a vampire, Drake was barely affected by the damage, which he was thankful. A human would have almost certainly been killed, if not by the impact then by the roll. Another trait of vampires that was at least a pro, versus a con.

He pulled himself from the wreckage, dizzy and shaken. Crawling out of the window, onto the moonlit road, Drake managed to take in the extent of the damage. Debris was everywhere, and his car was utterly destroyed. He would not be getting home that way, that was certain. However, getting home was not exactly the biggest problem right now. A small detail stood between him and there.

That small detail took the form of the Humvee he had had. The vehicle had withstood the impact like it was nothing, barely moving at all. Re-enforced, obviously. But whatever it was re-enofrced with mattered little, because in the dim light, Drake was able to see all four doors open, the occupants exiting. Four men, dressed in black body armour, lifting assault weapons in their hands. But even the dangerous nature was not the most alarming prospect of the four. On their shoulders, and over their hearts, Drake spotted patches. The insignia of Ravenwood.

They had found him.

Seeing this sent Drake into action. He pulled himself to his feet, and took cover behind the mangled ruin of his car. Normally, these fools wouldn't have posed a threat, but these men were a Ravenwood kill-team. They had equiptment made exclusivly for the slaying of immortals. That meant phosphorous. Something not to friendly to a vampire.

Sure enough, the kill-team took aim and fired, peppering the ground and the car with shots. With each impact, a small spark lit up. Phosphorous coated rounds, each deadly enough to burn a vampire in the most painful way possible.

To leap from cover was suicide. These men would massacre Drake before he got within a yard of them. Which left Drake with only one option, and option that was strapped to the shin of his right leg.

He drew the 9mm Pistol from its holster, and blindfired over the top of his car. This act of defience led the kill-team to redouble their efforts, and the gunshots began getting closer and more accurate. One shot actually winged Drake, tearing through the steel of his car, and glancing his side. An immense pain wracked his side. Clenching his teeth in pain, Drake forced himself to his feet, and popped his head over the top of the car. He took aim, and fired. He dropped one of the mercs with a shot to the head, and hit a second with a shot to the chest. A third merc was already down, the victim of Drake's blindfiring.

The forth and last merc realized that the tables had turned, and set his weapon to full auto. Too late, however, he realized his clip was dry. He struggled to reload, but it was all in vain. Three shots from Drake's 9mm later, and the merc was dead, his left leg blown off at the knee.

Drake stumbled out of cover, still in pain. He fell to his knees in the road, and fell over, clutching his side. Under normal circumstances, he would have dumped the bodies, fed on them, and went on his way. But the agony was too much. As it were, adreniline was all that was keeping him from blacking out.

So, 5 miles away from home, Drake lay in the street, hoping that he might get lucky, and help would arrive. Who it was, didn't matter.... He'd accept help from another vampire at this point....

[Twilight Black]

OOC: OOH OH! Me Me!

Nothing like a good run. Twilight thought. Her breath sped up minutely as she increased her speed. She was already flying though. Her paws thudded in a rapid tempo on the forest floor. It was a thrill feeling like this. There was little effort in the running, so the pleasure was even greater. Muscles pulled and contracted even faster yet. The trees would have been an utter blur is she had been a human. Alas, she was not human. Being a werewolf had it’s perks. It wasn’t something she would take back. She may have her bad days, but the good days were very good

Twilight raced past the city limits. Her pace slowed until she was in a gentle lope. This was a pace she could literally keep up all day. She had before. It was hard to believe that she was supposed to be on a patrol around the town. Hey, I’m ‘extending’ my patrol. She argued with her self. A wolfy smile formed on her lips. To anyone not familiar with werewolves, this toothy smile would be frightening. There was no one around to be frightened, however. Not tonight. An acrid scent suddenly came to her nose. She had reached the highway leading out of Hush Hills. Spotlights were visible on the road. Then they were gone in a flash. Her wolf lips stretched even further as an idea popped in her head. It was stupid, yes. If one of her pack did it, she would probably scold them. Yes.

Now racing along the road, Twilight was keeping pace with the car on the road. The thrill of the race was even more exhilarating. She made sure to keep enough distance between herself and the road so that no human vision would see her. The sight of a giant wolf racing along beside a car would definitely end in a call to animal patrol. An unnecessary harassment. Whenever any locals had complaints about dogs, Twilight was the first one to get a finger pointed at. Although she had proved again and again that her dogs were better behaved than the callers children, people were still suspicious of her small pack. Especially of Thor. People in the town were still terrified of him.

Suddenly, another car was visible on the road. A huge hulking contraption, obviously a Humvee. It took Twilight a few seconds to notice something odd about the vehicle, 1: It was coming from the forest. And 2: It pulled in front of her racing partner on purpose. The collision happened moments later. Twilight slid to a lurching stop. A silent snarl formed on her face as something ripped a small cut on the bottom of her paw.

Then the gunfire started. While Twilight had been busy focusing on not rolling head over heels, she missed the vampire getting out of his car and the humans get out of theirs. She realized almost subconsciously that the male in the car she was racing was a vampire. Twilight’s fur bristled as her hackles rose. Though the guns were pointed at a vampire, her mind still shouted out a warning to the vampire. Also, subconsciously, she recognized the insignia the four men sported. She had seen it once before. This man had also been against her. Suddenly her mind recognized the vampire. Heinrich! Twilight snarled. Before she could leap out of the forest at the men with guns, it was over. Heinrich was still alive, but worse for wear. Her mind cleared. She hadn’t realized it had gotten jumbled in the fast pace of things. She growled at herself, but trotted out onto the road.

She had to do this quickly. If either of them were spotted out here, it would not end well. Twilight stood over the injured vampire, inspecting his wounds. Hopefully he would recognize her, and not try and attack her. Twilight brought her head down to his level, and soon her body followed. She pressed her side against his quickly, nudging him. Keeping eye contact with him, she stared intently into his eyes, waiting. Ugh, I hoped this would end better then giving an injured vampire a piggy-back to the town. This is what happens when I goof off. Twilight didn’t let it weigh in her mind the possible consequences if she hadn’t been here though. Heinrich was a friend of sorts, and despite her denial, she care a smidge about his well-being. Durn my protective instincts! Twilight cursed herself.

[Heinrich Drake]

Cursing the technology of the mercenaries, Drake rolled onto his back in time to see a large shape move towards him, into the road. A split second later, the scent of werewolf overcame his nostrils. At first, he was alarmed, but relaxed when he recognized the smell. It was a werewolf he knew, and respected. Twilight.

He tried to sit up, but failed horribly, falling back onto his back. Still, he managed to form a weak smile, as he stared at the werewolf looming above him. Drake watched as she lowered her head, then her body, to his level. Summoning what little strength he had left, Drake tried to force himself up, this time succeeding.

"Well," Drake spoke. "Arn't you a pleasent surprise, eh?"

The pain was lessen, but not by much. Drake silently thanked whatever higher powers there might be that the shot had been but a glancing blow. HAd it been dead on, Twilight would be cleaning his remains with a broom and dust pan.

[Twilight Black]

Twilight watched the recognition dawn in his eyes. Good. This was one thing she wouldn’t have to worry about. It did surprise her a little bit that he did recognize her. They did only meet once. Oh well. She was wasting time. Heinrich struggled to rise, and fell back, a smile forming on his face. She returned his smile. He had been around werewolves long enough that he should recognize it.

Pleasant for you, or for me? Twilight thought to herself, rolling her eyes quickly. She shook her large head at his state. Twilight stood up to inspect Heinrich further. He was injured, but how badly she didn’t know. Gently, she nosed him up and down. When she reached his wound, she drew back immediately. A small grimace formed on her wolfen lips. He definitely wouldn’t be getting home himself.

The possibility of leaving him here flashed through her mind. It was instantly rejected though. Leaving him here to die, or whatever vampires do, would certainly cause unwanted tension between them. That wasn’t the real reason. She would feel guilty leaving him here. Ugh, I’m going soft. Twilight thought to herself. Not leaving an innocent to die is not softness. She argued with herself. She lifted her head again, looking down on Heinrich again. How would she get him home? Twilight growled in frustration. Suddenly she stopped. An idea had struck her. Twilight took off, trotting away from Heinrich. She stopped in front of the Humvee. Hopefully that hunk of metal was still in condition to drive. It was either this, or carry the vampire on her back. All the doors were still open, so Twilight stuck her head in the door. Good, the keys were still there.

Glancing back at Heinrich, another toothy grimace formed on her lips. When they find a way to shift clothes back on yourself, I will kiss that person on the mouth. Twilight heaved a sigh, then shifted. Within a few seconds she stood human. Twilight hopped into the side of the gigantic vehicle, started it, and put it into park. Twilight stepped on the gas, pulling it up to where Heinrich lay. She hopped out again, a jacket pulled around her unfortunately very human form. Twilight crouched beside Heinrich.

”Need help getting in the car?” Twilight asked.

[Heinrich Drake]

The smile that formed on Twilight's face would have alarmed almost anyone else, but to Drake, it was recognized for what it really was. So much time spent around werewolves had made Drake used to the expressions used in their wolf forms.

Then she began to trot off, and Drake's smile turned into a expression of confusion. Or it did, until he realized Twilight was going to the Humvee. She seemed to be checking it out, for what reason, he knew not.

As he watched, Drake realized Twilight was beginning to shift back to her human form. Despite the fact that now was not really a time to worry about modesty, he turned his head away, not wanting to embarress either of them by viewing her exposure. Of course, as he did so, Drake fell back to the ground again, with a sigh. This was ridicoulous.

He heard the Humvee's engine start, and propped himself up on his elbows in time to see Twilight pull up beside him, at the wheel of the vehicle. She hopped out, clad in a Ravenwood jacket, which did little in the way of covering her up, but did a fair enough job, covering the places Drake knew she would not enjoy showing off.

She crouched down beside him, and spoke. ”Need help getting in the car?”

"That would be... most appreciated, if you could spare the effort. I doubt I'm getting up anywhere myself." Drake nodded at the jacket, a grin that had no buisness being on his face at the time forming. "It suits you, you know."

[Twilight Black]

Twilight was thankful for Heinrich’s eye aversion. As far as Twilight was concerned, this was the only downfall of being a werewolf, but a big one at that. A wry smile twisted her lips upward.

”I figured as much.” Twilight sighed. She stood up, then stepped behind Heinrich. Hooking her arms under his, Twilight lifted the vampire. She had just enough time to see the grin inch it’s way on Heinrich’s face. As he spoke, Twilight’s smile turned into a grimace again. She thrust her arm under the vampire’s legs, and hoisted him into the passenger seat. Instead of placing him on the seat gingerly, she let him drop a few inches. She buckled him in and stood up straight, facing him.

”Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind if I decide to try pole-stripping.” Twilight’s voice was the epitome of sarcasm. Running around to the passenger side, Twilight hopped into the driver side. She roughly put the vehicle into drive, and gunned the engine, and sped off away from the carnage. It would take about ten minutes to get to her house. That’s where she was planning on going. If Heinrich had better ideas of where to go, he better speak up. Well, I planned on inviting him over sometime, but I didn’t expect it like this. Twilight thought, amusement tingeing her thoughts.

[Heinrich Drake]

Twilight helped Drake up, and hauled him to the passenger side seat. The smile that formed on her face left quickly at Drake's comment. She dropped him in the seat, none-too-gently, causing the vampire to cry out in pain. Now it was his turn for his smile to change.

"Okay, Okay... I guess I deserved that one, eh?"

He watched as Twilight ran around to the driver's side, hopped in, and gunned the engine away from the wrecked cars and bodies. Drake thanked the heavens that his car, and his gun, were not registered in his name. That would make things quite better off for him. The authorities wouldn't be able to trace the bodies to him.. only to Ravenwood. That would make for a pleasant news report... 'Four contractors from Ravenwood Military Contracting were found dead outside the town of Hush Hills, apparently killed in a fierce shootout. No suspects have been apprehended.' It made Drake laugh just thinking of it.

As they drove, Drake kept his hand on his side. The pain was lessening dramatically now, but even so, it was pretty bad. Where ever Twilight was taking him, it better have water. That would help the burn alot.

[Twilight Black]

(Post at Twilight's house next?)

A small smile twitched across Twilight’s face as she drove. She looked over at Heinrich, the smile still there.

”Yeah, kinda did.” Twilight said, turning her head to watch the road as she sped along the winding road.

”Apology accepted.” She added, a slight chuckle trickling from her lips. The engine revved up another gear as Twilight put more pressure on the gas petal. Though this was much easier then carrying Heinrich herself back to Hush Hills, frustration nagged at her as she drove. She wasn’t used to having to put up with driving if she really wanted to get somewhere. And now she did. Besides, this would certainly cause a stir with the neighbors if any saw her. Twilight growled quietly at this thought. The intrusions of immortals were also threatening her animosity. Twilight glanced once at Heinrich, making sure he was still alive, or whatever vampires are.

---fast forward---

Twilight finally entered her driveway. She barreled down the narrow lane, then broke hard to stop right in front of her house. Thank God that the houses are far apart in this neighborhood. Twilight thought as she hopped out of the door, leaving it open. She ran out to the passenger side, and opened the passenger side door. Twilight looked Heinrich up and down, surveying his condition. She hopped up to his level on the step-up beneath the door, putting her arm under his and around his torso, careful to avoid the wound.

”What do you need?” Twilight asked quickly as she waited for him to put his weight on her and slide out of the vehicle.

[Heinrich Drake]

As they pulled into Twilight's driveway, Drake glanced out the window at the property. He hadn't been here before, and would have rather been invited instead of coming out of neccessity, but fate seemed to have other ideas.

When Twilight stopped, Drake struggled with the seat belt, unlatching in time for Twilight to open up the passenger door, and climb on to the running board. She put her arms around him to help him out, and Drake didn't hesitate to put his weight on her. He slid out of the car, with Twilight's help, leaning up against the side of the car when he got out.

Hearing Twilight's question, Drake offered a quick response.

"Water... Just water."

[Twilight Black]

Posted at Twilight's house

[Phoenix]

Phoenix wasn't getting any sleep as it was in his bed, so he decided to go on a midnight stroll around the city limits of Hush Hills. It was about 2-3 AM he guessed by the position of the stars and moon when he came to this one road that led to town and started to catch a scent that was a bit unusual. He trotted down the road in the leaving-town direction and was not prepared for what he was about to set eyes on and stopped dead in his tracks.

There was a totalled car on its top in the middle of the road, 4 men in a uniform that looked like what a S.W.A.T. team would wear, and shell casings and guns everywhere. The scent he now recognized from his chemistry class, it smelled like magnesium or phosphorus, maybe some other quick burning chemical. He knew that magnesium was what was used for gun powder because he commonly reloaded shotgun shells after hunting or trapshooting. And there was plenty of hulls that were likely the source of such. Seeing no movement in the four men on the ground, Nix cautiously advanced to investigate whether or not any of them were alive and why they were on the ground. Three of the men were dead and one had a very faint pulse and was likely to die in a couple more hours if he wasn't given proper medical attention; unfortunately for that one guy, Nix wasn't about to call the hospital in the next town. He had no idea what had happened here and judging by the skid marks that were bearly lit by the moon, there had been another vehicle here, and by the looks of it, it was big and nowhere to be seen. Nix went over to examine the other vehicle, it was definitely totalled, the passenger's side completely mangled suggesting that that was the side that had slammed into the larger vehicle and the tire tracks seemed to back that up. While by the driver's side door he picked up two more scents; one being the scent of a vampire by the name of Drake, he had briefly met in what could've been a better manner, and one of his alpha leader Twilight. It was slowly starting to make a little more sense as to why there was only one vehicle nearby, Twilight was on a patrol (hopefully) when she saw Drake possibly in need of some help judging by the blood on the ground, and then stole the other vehicle that was likely still operative and took Drake somewhere where she could help him, probably being her house. At least he hoped that Twilight was on patrol and not caught up in the crossfire and then maybe hauled off withe the vamp in the vehicle by a fifth person. Nix went back to the one of the men on the ground to get a better look at what they were wearing, he noticed that they had an insignia with the word RAVENWOOD stitched in. Twilight hadn't told much of the werewolf enemies beyond vampires but he remembered her saying something about Ravenwood. All he could remember was that it was some sort of government agency that's soul purpose was to get rid of all immortals. The rise of immortals in Hush Hills had been exponentially growing over the last year and if this special agency team was here, then it would not be good for any of them.

It was a good thing nobody had been down this road since this accident occurred otherwise there would be police tape up and CSIs. Nix would have to work fast to get rid of the mess before morning. First thing first, he had to get the bodies away from the road. Phoenix dragged the bodies down the embankment and 50 yards into the trees so that they would not be noticed by any passerby. When he went to drag the agent with the faint pulse, the agent suddenly tried to react and get free; as quick as a whip, Nix wrapped his jaws around the mans neck and shook violently and broke it. And then he got his first taste of human blood as a werewolf. Hmmm, salty. Someone needs to lay off the Big Macs. But very delicious, none the less. The agent's body went limp and Nix dragged him off to where the other three were. He had never dug a hole as a werewolf before and found it to be exhausting work, especially when the hole was going to be two feet deep and seven feet long. But alas, Phoenix got it done and covered the men with the dirt after fitting them into their deathbeds. He hurried back to the road to try and get some of the shell casings off the road and covered them up with leaves. Nix wasn't sure of what he was going to do about the car. It wasn't large so he thought he would try and roll it down the embankment. He morphed back into human form to accomplish the task easier. He knew that it would take the momentum to roll the car back off its wheels once it got back on them to get it where it would roll the rest of the way on its own down to a less noticeable spot. It was no easy task as Nix grunted and huffed struggling against the car and just as beads of sweat were starting to form, gravity finally pitched in and dragged the car the rest of the way down. He grabbed all of the guns and back to the area of where he buried the bodies; he had noticed an old hollow stump and decided to store the guns there and would come back with one of the four-wheelers and roll some fallen trees over the fresh dirt, then return home and store the firearms in a safe place since it was illegal in the U.S. for a citizen to possess a full auto gun.

It was now almost 5 AM and the glow on the eastern horizon announced the sun was about to rise. Phoenix morphed back into a werewolf and rushed home. On second thought thought, he figured he could miss his first period history class at school and should instead pay Twilight a visit. He continued to head back towards town until he came across a common scent path that would lead him directly to her house without being seen very easily. For the simple enjoyment of the abnormal speeds, Nix jumped to a dead sprint.