Pandora's School for the Magically Gifted (Dorm 221)

There was a glassy look in Amin’s eyes as he smirked back at Ki, something- was it affection? Brewing beneath the surface.That is until he was rudely discarded to the floor. Amin was surprised- he didn’t think Ki cared much when anyone else was concerned, to be honest. “It’s our room!” Amin hissed, “she has to knock! Just tell her you’re busy.” Nonetheless, rolling his eyes Amin did as he was told and high tailed it to the bathroom. Lucky they had theirs in their rooms. He shut the door, but not before giving one more longing look at the Goblin- or rather, his shaft beneath the sheets, and turned to slide to the floor. He released a huff of air, agitated, and set to turning the faucet on, though his attention was completely on the conversation on the other side of the door.



The drive home had been long and daunting, and Kalyani struggled to remain awake during it all. She was sure she had drifted off into a light slumber more than once, though Isobel made no comment and seemed nonplussed over the matter. The twilight hour was nearing it’s end, the sky was devoid of light except for the stars, and within a few hours it would be time for her kids to sleep. Guiltily, she thought of how that time couldn’t come quickly enough. She found her thirst for social interaction waning- she wasn’t sure she had it in her right now to answer their questions, talk about what needed to be done or addressed. Bambi’s questioning glances and persistent quest for information- usually what brought such pride in the tiger, caused a ripple of anxiety to wash over her. Would Ryker be there?

She hoped so, she really did. She didn’t know what she would say to him, Lord Ganesha knew she was still furious with him, and even...dare she think it? Scared. However, he was one of her wards, like any of the others, and his presence was important not only for her but for the kids especially. She knew he was old enough to care for himself...yet, he was unstable- the emotional turmoil was playing a toll on him as much as any of them. He was stuck in the mindset of a confused teenager, and right now he couldn’t care for himself adequately,

Silently she steeled herself as the house grew in size as the car drew closer. She made to unbuckle herself, thanking Isobel for the umpteenth time for all she had done.

There was something about walking into a house after a whole night and day at the hospital. What it was, she couldn’t exactly say. All she knew was that now that Isobel was pulling out of the driveway, and she was safely settled on the couch with a cup of warm coffee in her hands- she was exhausted. She couldn’t deny it any longer. Despite her nap at Alice’s bedside, her eyes were dangerously heavy, so close to closing it took Bambi repeating her name to wake her back up.

“Forgive me, Bambi. It seems this coffee isn’t working as quickly as I had hoped.”
She carefully avoided the concerned look on the young Witch Doctors face, sighing as she took anbother sip. Isobel’s words playing in her head.

"Alissa will be fine, you need to go home; eat, sleep, shower, pray and not necessarily in that order..."

Of course, her friend was right. Now that she sat at home, she could feel the complete lack of energy she had been struggling with since she had dozed off and had that frightening dream. That lack of energy added to her emotional distress was doing little to help her- she found herself twitching occasionally with unrest and chewing the inside of her cheek in display of a nervous habit she hadn’t exhibited since she was a teenager.

Yes, she needed to recuperate. Get herself back together. She couldn’t eat right now, her appetite wouldn’t allow it, but she was content in the knowledge that the kids had all been fed a reasonable dinner. She would wash up before bed and take a real shower in the morning. What she needed right now was sleep- legitimate, 7 hour deep sleep. Soon enough, she told herself, once everyone was accounted for and ready for bed.

“I’ll likely be heading off to bed quickly enough, once Rayna has returned,” from whatever god awful activities she’s set for herself. She finished silently, the thought coming unbidden. Curfew wasn’t for another half hour, but with the recent events, she was surprised the Necromancer had still had the gall to stay out like this. Kalya would be worried, if it was anyone else from the house. Rayna was more than capable of handling herself, though.

Even so, she had sent a text message soon after arriving home and finding her absent.
As for Ryker…well, she hadn’t crossed that bridge, yet. She knew he was here- the heavy scent of cigarettes on the front porch and his fresh scent told her that. Where in the house was a matter of debate, but as long as he was home and safe, she wouldn’t bother him. At least not yet.

“So far, Alice seems to be…a little more stable. The hospital is doing everything they can to make her comfortable, and with each passing our she’s closer to being right on her way to great recovery. They’re still keeping an eye on her, though, as her injuries are great- as three of you have seen.”
Kalya spoke frankly, though she didn’t voice the fear she still held to. Alice wasn’t completely out of the woods yet. She refused to let that crippling fear overcome her, though.

“Seeing you all lifted her spirits more than you may have realized. More than Alice may have realized, even. I’m very proud of how you’re all handling this, and thank you for giving Isobel no issues while she was in charge.” At this she smiled at them, and the warmth in that smile was genuine if not fatigued. She let it settle over them, and her gaze lingered on Ki, whom she was happy to have downstairs and a part of the conversation- even if he found himself separate and apart from the majority of the house, he was still a part of their clan. Having him here proved that.

They settled into conversations, Bambi asking questions and Kalya answering. She made syre to inquire on normal aspects opf their lives- schoolwork and club activities. Mundane everyday things that were still important, and served to provide a fitting distraction from the more awkward and hard conversations.
When Rayna finally arrived home strange smug smile on her face, which was horribly off-putting considering the circumstances Kalya set everyone off to bed. With a quick word to Bambi, she asked her to fetch Ryker from the pool area (she had finally managed to pinpoint him) and ask him to come inside, while she went to her room and prepared her night clothes.

----

Once changed, Kalya had emerged from her room to Bambi and Ryker still being in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones. Everyone else was nowhere to be found. Clearing her throat, Kalyani leaned against the doorframe, tired eyes settling on the two as they looked at her. She gave a wary look to Ryker, mentally reminding herself to resist the urge she had to cross her arms protectively over her chest. She compromised on gripping on loose arm with her opposite hand. Not completely shielding herself away from the vampire boy, but still providing the comfort that crossing her arms would have brought.
“Bambi, may I talk to Ryker alone, please? If you’d both like to stay up a while, that’s fine. I just need to have a conversation with him…”

She waited until the Witch Doctor left them, exiting out of the kitchen door and (hopefully) going towards her bedroom.
The tiger and the vampire stood opposite each other, not saying anything for a few moments. Finally, Kalya made eye contact with him and sighed.

“Want to sit?” she motioned to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting in it with a hmph.

She rested her chin on her folded fingers, closing her eyes.

“Should I start, or would you like to?”

Ryker
Ryker felt his spine itch as Kali sent Bambi from the room. He could tell she wanted to argue, but it was Kalyani and Bambi worshiped her so if he was expecting any sort of help it sure as hell wasn't coming from her.

His back leaned against the marble counter space, his right hand clutching a painted coffee mug tightly. He wanted to focus on anything but the tiger, but that was impossible when he couldn't even figure out who had painted the mug. Shion? Alice? It was one of the two children, the splotched thing didn't have any signature on it proclaiming who it belonged to, like the rest of them had done. There were many like them in the cabinet another project Kali had insisted upon their first week in. Even Rayna had been forced to participate, hers of course was painted all black, and most likely hexed. For obvious reasons that was the one shoved to the very back of the upper shelf, that he only saw on occasion when looking for his favorite cup. Not that he would tell anyone that it was his favorite. The white surface decorated with small flowers, his name scratched on it with a heart. It had been a cute gift, he'd been affronted at first but it had grown on him, but like the maker it was nowhere in sight. So after opening the cabinet he had chosen the one resting in his palm.

He was waiting for it, the accusation, the screaming, the anger. It was hard to imagine anyone in stripped socks to be terrifying but that was Kalyani. She looked like a cream puff until she almost bit your head off. He'd seen her go at Hiroki enough to know where he stood; down river without a paddle.

"No Me Diga," he paused his spanish leaking out unexpectedly making his nose scrunch up before he reluctantly put the half drank cup of blood back down. Trying his best not to break it as he did so. "Yeah, I know... No Spanish," he paused knowing that she disliked not knowing exactly what he was trying to say, like Bambi, even if she wouldn't admit it.

"It's not like I can change your mind," he huffed pulling the chair from the table before straddling it, resting his head on the back of the chair in what looked like exhaustion. It's not like he didn't know what she was going to say, what she was going to do. He was done for and he was tired.

Bambi
Bambi couldn't help but feel anxious as Kali asked her to leave the room. Ryker was so close to bolting she wondered what Kalyani could say to keep him here... There was nothing she could do about it though, so Bambi did her best failed to try and put it behind her like her fears for Alice and instead tried to do something familiar.

Opening the bedroom door she skirted around the frame watching the fox carefully as she assessed that he was indeed in his pajamas and getting ready for bed. "Have you brushed your teeth yet?" she asked more awkwardly than usual, her arm rubbing her other forearm as she tried to check on how he was doing.

Leah & Val

"You should accept the ride Val," Leah grumbled folding her hands across her chest as she shifted her weight between her hips. The Fae making sure she was still clearly under the porch light. Val was being difficult again no surprise.

"It's too early to go home," The Siren argued at the same time not inviting the group to accompany her as she was suggesting taking off-on her own.

"It's dark out," Leah objected, giving Edgar a dirty look as if he should be doing more to stop the stubborn blonde from taking off, even if he was currently pretty useless with that cast of his.

"I'm not afraid of the dark, last time I checked you weren't either Leah," Val snorted from her spot on dorm 45's front porch step. Her blonde hair the only thing which glowed in the light as the rest of her sat in the inky dark. It was past nine and they were effectively being kicked out. Something about Maggie finally coming home, apparently Alice had been pretty adamant it wasn't the walking-disaster. Eddy was supposed to be taking them home, but Val was being difficult and Leah had a pretty good idea why; she'd seen Ashton's text pretty clearly back in the house.

"Valerie," Leah groaned hitting her fist against the porch railing as she considered spilling exactly what her stupid friend was up to.

"Leah," Val snorted shaking her blonde locks as she looked back with irritation. "With Eddy's driving history I'd be safer walking," She joked grinning at the Witch boy as if nothing was the matter. As if no one should be on edge.

"I have to agree with Miss Leah, it does not appear to be a good idea for you to-" Bart's faint steps forward were serious as if he planned on touching the Siren.

"Oh yeah, because traveling with the two of you idiots is safe? You couldn't even handle a child..." Val snorted giving Bart a disgusted look as she pulled away from his grasp. "I don't need your help welp," she hissed directed at the boy who had no business at even being there. Bartholomew was not her friend. In fact she was quite sure that he wasn't anyone's friend. Was he supposed to protect her? One thing jumping out in the night unexpectedly would send the kid into cardiac arrest from the sounds of what Eddy had let slip. "Oh wait it's because you guys have dicks, that's right... We poor damsels need protection, ah I get it now." Val shot at Eddy enjoying him cringing as she mentioned his appendage.

"Cool it Val, it's not like we're immortal, safety in numbers and all..." Leah explained slowly as if speaking to a child, her words felt true, she was old but not immortal, neither were the boys. It would be nice to have someone to throw the murderers way if she needed a distraction.

"You know, I've been wondering, anyways I'm hardly scared, in case you forgot I actually am a murderer." Val smirked sarcastically. Ashton had texted her, his dorm wasn't too far away from Eddy's but nearly a twenty minute walk from her dorm.

"Be like that then!" Leah growled yanking Eddy along hard as she passed the blonde who seemed not at all concerned with the past events. Val may be an idiot but that kid was Seelie and so was she... She was going accept their offer and take the ride home.

Valerie
Valerie watched the taillights of Eddy's car disappear down the lane as she took her time making her way down the drive. Her back pocket buzzing as she walked in the opposite direction of her own dorm 17. Her hands were quick to grasp at her cellphone, eyes devouring the words on the brightly lit screen.

Cum Now. Whr R U?

She stayed silent, lips pursed in thought as she nodded to what Ryker was saying- digesting it, contemplating it. Trying to determine how to respond.

He was so determined to believe he knew what she was thinking. Her lips quirked as she assessed his rigid posture, the terrifying way he seemed to be manhandling his mug with an iron grip it didn't require. The boy was tense.

Really, really tense.

She was sure she looked it too.

Gods, how she wished she had something to occupy her hands with like he did. She was oddly relieved when he put the mug down, the once horrid and questionable scent emanating from it practically invisible to her nostrils now that she was so used to it...

Her thoughts were sluggish to form, and hard to keep up with once there. Nestled in her core was a discontent, a fear mixed with anger at what he had done earlier in the day. Behind that, or was it over, there was a concern for the boy and why he did what he did. Perhaps it was a good thing she was so exhausted. It was always harder to hold on to your feelings when you lacked the energy to create or posess them. She could approach this critically- or that's what she idealistically told herself.

"I didn't realize your kind also had mind reading abilities. I thought those were simply stories." She tried for humor, but it fell flat between them. "I don't know what to think, Ryker. I don't know."

She inhaled roughly through her nose, lips pressed firmly in a harsh and straight line. "You...What you did...I can't even fathom what was going-"

No. She couldn't beat around the bush with this.

"Gretta says it was illegal. Illegal Ryker. I- that' not even talking about the ethics behind it. I just- explain it to me, please. You think you can't change my mind? Prove yourself wrong. Prove me wrong! Because as far as...whatever this is? I'm as lost as anyone else. It's disgusting. That's what I think.-" She cut off, realizing the horrible way that could sound to someone, how horribly Ryker might react to that. "The- the act, Ryker, not you. Feeding someone vampire blood? Dangerous, dark. It's everything my family raised me to disapprove of..."

She shook her head, placing her head in her hands and staring at the table. She continued on, talking more to the air than Ryker....

"Yet I know you. I've lived under this roof for a enough weeks with you kids- yes, you're kids, Ryker. Even you, the centuries behind you aside. You put up fronts, act like it's a horrible inconvenience when I make you 'babysit.' But you care. You would never do anything to hurt the young ones. Not intentionally. So tell me. Tell me what you were thinking. Please."

Her voice was heavy, but it didn't crack. Despite everything- her exhaustion, her confusion- she was still Kalyani. She didn't lose composure. Not in front of her kids. Not if she could help it.

Rocket
From behind she looked like her. Nothing but long blonde hair, blue jeans, and sneakers. In the dark he could have sworn it was her. The it child. It was enough to make him bolt upright, his sweaty palms heaving the empty bottle towards her head, hoping to make contact and being discouraged when it sailed down to her feet instead.

She should have been dead; six feet under and erased. He wanted her to be rotting underground not some disgusting flashing celebrity brought up nonfuckingstop. He was so sick of hearing about her, hearing about all these stupid reasons people thought she was attacked. She should have been dead; he should have killed her. Why did they leave her? He’d soaked her in her own blood, she should have died. Fucking roach.
The moment she turned he saw it obviously wasn’t her. His eyes noticing her breasts before he took into account her face. Her flat ass was pretty deceiving but this wasn’t that girl. She hadn’t come back to him to finish off. He wanted her to. Maybe it was the beer or the lack of sleep meddling with his brain making something as impossible as Alice suddenly appearing unharmed for him to kill again reasonable. A hopeful turn of events. For a roach she’d been pretty, he’d give her that. It was a pity Patrick had stopped him from having any real fun. He wouldn’t make that mistake again, he could still feel her breath under him the panic in her eyes delicious. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“DICKS!”

The world swirled and his lust filled thoughts were crashed as his eyes pulled up from the teen’s breasts. Valerie. It was a pity she wasn’t on the list. A traitor no doubt, but she wasn’t bad luck unless you had the unfortunate turn of events to fuck her. Hiroki hated her, he’d said so before. But he’d already done the Goblin a favor, and things were not as easy as they were before, they had to be careful. It was what Patrick kept whispering in his ear over and over and over and over again. This was why he couldn't go and finish her. He wanted to go and finish her. He needed to end what he started, but for now... Patrick said to wait. Her wounds would heal and she would come back out of hiding, someone would get sloppy, she wasn't exactly smart. He'd have his chance, and this time, things would turn out differently. Maybe this time he wouldn't bother with Patrick.

Rocket knew the truth though. Patrick was afraid, they had thought she would be dead, there were no masks, no hidden identities the dead can't testify. Even if she'd been summoned it would have been too soon, she would have been too shell shocked to give any real information if she remembered it at all. By time they would have sorted out her spirit they would have many others in the ground next to her. Like Patrick, the girl was afraid, he knew her type, cowards, sniveling, fearful mice. She wouldn't turn them in. She didn't dare.

Patrick
They were supposed to be coming up with a plan, not getting caught! What was he thinking? Throwing beer cans at girls, right after they'd...

Patrick twitched in his spot next to Rocket as Val's words rang through the air. They thought this was a Seelie thing? How were they supposed to know that, unless the little bitch talked. She'd talked hadn't she?! They were going to jail and they hadn't even killed anyone. It hadn't been his idea and he was going to jail.

Alice hadn't been his idea. They were supposed to kill the Anderson girl, she was the one who had it coming. She was the one who was evil. Having her around wasn't safe, it was halfbloods like her that caused the badluck; they didn't have a clue how to control themselves, the Ice bitch didn't even use her powers.

Rocket kept claiming that he'd done it for his sister, that he'd done it for Hiroki, that he'd done it for everyone else but himself. This was all bullshit, Rocket had done it for Rocket. For as long as Patrick could remember he'd had a thing for blondes, young blondes. Alice for all accounts was a young blonde. He kept saying if they'd stumbled upon Maggie or any of the others on the list he would have done the same. Patrick found this hard to believe. Even though Maggie had been the first on the list, Alice was the one Rocket kept going on and on and on about. Hiroki's our friend, Hiroki is dealing with this evil everyday, he'd not shut up about cleansing her for weeks. At first Patrick had believed him, believed that they were doing good ridding the Seelie Court of those unworthy to have the blood in them. He'd even held true to the tale while holding her down, but trying to sleep with the unclean swine was not part of the ritual. How was he going to banish any badluck by having his way with their victims? It had become quite clear from the moment he'd tried forcing himself upon her that Rocket was only in it for torture and sex. Even though they were supposed to be laying low it was all the freaking idiot would talk about, how Patrick shouldn't have interrupted, and if he had been allowed to do things the way he'd intended to she would be dead and not a liability. Patrick knew he was just pissed he didn't let him fuck her.

His stomach rolled with beer as he wallowed in his own choices, an accomplice to a sadistic pedophile. He'd wanted to be a crusader. Now he was stuck with him.

Ryker
Ryker ground his teeth together, tasting his own blood as his extended fang bit harshly into his bottom lip. He was quiet shooting daggers now across the table at the woman who would never understand what it was like.

"The only thing 'Illegal' about it is if I told you what I really did." He mocked with a cynical undertone. His eyes flashing dangerously as he considered the many things Gretta could possibly do to him. Withholding sex falling quite high on that list next to asphyxiation.

His fingers tapped along the top of the chair, "We're not Witches, our secrets aren't for commercial sale; despite what that bullshit romance writer Delos Mathers might send out from his trashy little apartment in Chicago. We don't exactly want the real truth all over that gawdy Witch Magazine, Bambi's runt brings around..." He snarled making a surprising poke at Bambi's least desirable family member. He was sick of every girl in the school gushing endlessly about the new Mathers Vampire boy heartthrob Roberto who had a rather fucking familiar backstory. No one needed to know that though and hopefully Fredrick was well on his way to hunting down the little sniveling secret spiller to slice open his throat and shove those trashy gossip novels down to the pit of his acidic stomach so it could decompose like the biodegradable garbage that it was.

But that was his personal history, not this secret... And Gretta had left him along with Sofie. What were they going to do, tax him again?

"She was screaming in pain so I helped her, because I could help her and you couldn't, okay. I hypnotized her and fed her my blood and she freaking liked it, because you guys with your fancy medical equipment were doing shit and she was screaming and I-" He stopped speaking looking away as if embarrassed. "She asked me to end her pain so I did it. Vampire blood is addictive in large quantities, but it's also helpful in small amounts... Pain relief is something we really don't advertise or we'd end up with too many cases of people keeping Vampires as portable blood packs." He didn't bother explaining that the reason it was so addictive was because of the sedative quality. He knew this first hand, how tempting it was to push away the pain for something numbing.

Resting his head on the back of the chair he closed his eyes, "I've never given blood before, not like that at least, not to someone who wasn't dead already. I don't like knowing why she did it..." He whispered no longer talking about Alice, if his heart could beat, it would be racing in his chest. That moment when he realized he was the only one who could help, that he could help her, that she needed him. That she could continue to need him if he choosed. There had only been one answer at the time, now though he felt murky. He regretted doing it, not that he'd admit it to Kali. He felt different, it was like he was still there at the hospital. He couldn't shake it, couldn't stop thinking and worrying about her in the back of his mind. Was Alice okay? Ryker didn't want to think about it. He was back at the house, he needed sleep. This wasn't the time to be thinking about the child, but he'd made the mistake and now they were connected and now he was paying the price. This wasn't something to tell Kalyani though. She wasn't a Vampire, this wasn't something she could understand.

Her shoulders shook slightly as she visibly grimaced, mouth twisted in a small show of discomfort and displeasure. She disliked it when her children cursed, but mostly she disliked thinking of Alice actually liking something like a vampires' blood magic. It was a small comment, flippant and unimportant in the grand scheme of the nights events. That did little to quell the bout of nausea his words elicited.

Think of the demon, think of the demon. It isn't much different from his magic, it isn't....too much different.

That wasn't true. Kalya had done her research. She new, on a shallow level, there were multiple significant differences between what Ryker did and what the Demon assistant had done. Hell, Ryker was explaining that himself.

"Addictive. I- I see. That's why Gretta was insistent you stay away? So Alice wouldn't depend on you as a crutch while the blood was in her system."

Kalya talked the logic over in her head, eyes scanning the table as she processed how this worked and what it meant. She knew this was something...big. Big of Ryker for Ryker to share, and that the fact he bothered trying to talk about this was a good sign. He could have easily tried to run away from the confrontation, after all...

"You shouldn't have done it. Obviously. I- I have more of an inkling of of why you did it. I won't say I get it, because I don't, not completely. Nor how it works. I want to, Ryker. Maybe one day I will, but for now, I will just have to respect those things about you and your kind that fly too high above me."

Kalyani sighed, rising from her seat, hands rubbing her eyes for a moment as if to wipe the weariness away. "You shouldn't have done it, but Alice- I know she was in pain, Gods, she was in pain." Kalya choked on those words, admitting what they both knew. "That was distressing for all of us, and you acted rashly, but you acted to help." She hesitated, waving a hand to the kitchen door. "It's late. All of us need to sleep...we'll discuss this more, but for now, I think it's best to call it a night."

Valerie
A dull aching pushed its way to the surface as she took in Rocket's wandering eyes. So Young. So Stupid. It had been too long since she'd stolen those pieces from Alexander in the pool. His misery sustaining, but nothing ever took away the longing in her soul for her favorite fix. Would this one burn hot? Like molten lava in her chest when she drained him? Would he fight... she liked it when they fought. God she was starving maybe Alex would be asleep and she could sneak back-

Her phone went alive in her pocket, and she could barely control the shaking in her grasp as she pulled it free. Swallowing hard as she tried to push the thoughts of these stupid children squirming under inky water as she pushed the cellphone against her ear. A smile coming to her lips as she watched the irritation register in the boys faces as she answered the call effectively blowing them off.

"Where the hell are you?" Ashton's needy voice rang through the phone like a crashing wave bringing her back out of the dangerous place she had been about to go. Her throat surprisingly dry as she tried to summon words.

"Cool your tits, I was thinking about picking up some takeout, maybe a little desert.." She paused a smirk on her lips as she pictured Alex again. Did Nicole know how good he tasted? Sure had enough energy to keep the Dreamweaver wired.

"I said now," Ashton's voice threatened in a way only he would.

"Now, now now, always now, you know I have needs too, and I'm starving" Val threatened through the phone looking at the children like they were steaks. She loved the way Patrick squirmed his face uncomfortable like so many she had devoured. Rocket on the other hand, didn't seem at all bothered by this obvious threat and honestly it was a bit of a turnoff.

"So you don't want to go swimming?" Ashton shot back his voice dragging as if this was some sort of game and knowing full and well she'd bite.

"Does this include dinner, because if I'm supposed to jerk you off or something I better be well compensated," She demanded raising a finger at the boys as if she would be right back to them any moment if this didn't turn out.

Whatever he whispered into the phone was enough to perk up the blonde and her to assure him that she was well on her way. Not even bothering to address the boys again before taking back off in the direction of her dinner.

The Next Morning



There were few moments in Shion's life where he could say he felt genuinely tired- exhausted, run down, completely fatigued. The time he had learned his uncle died. The night of the funeral. The weeks following afterwards.

Then there was the time his mother had been named the new Matriarch. Everyone had been thrilled- celebrations had taken place, she had set to work right away- and he had had a bout of insomnia for a week afterwards.

Those had all been a part of the very, very few stressful times he had had to deal with in his life, and they were the only times Shion could ever really remember not being able to sleep. That was, until last night.

He laid back in his bed as he stared up at the ceiling, his eyes puffy and weary from the crying and lack of sleep that had greeted him when he crawled into bed about 9 hours ago. Ryker was already downstairs, he could hear Bambi saying something to Kalya at the breakfast table, and somewhere in the house the poignant smell of cinnamon body wash told him that the product was being abused. The whole house was awake and prepping for school, and still he laid back and stared at the blank ceiling, being unable to bring himself to get up.

Skipping his morning classes wouldn't be so bad, would it? Ryker said he would tell Kalyani for him, and maybe, maybe she would understand. He grabbed his covers, bringing them over his head and cocooned himself in his blankets as he hoped to get the allowance of more sleep.

Ryker
Ryker would be lying if he said he hadn't been awake the entire night. He would be lying if he said he hadn't heard every fluctuation of Shion's heart or rasp in his breathing or sound of him trying to be quiet as he cried. He'd heard everything. Neither of them had slept a wink, only laid in silence pretending that they in fact were not agonizing about what had transpired. Focusing on Shion was painful but not as painful as the small jabs in his chest every time he felt Alice's condition fluctuate. At first he wasn't sure what he was sensing, just every now and then a sharp ache would threaten to make him vomit up the almost excessive amount of blood he'd consumed that night. Perhaps he was ill? Vampires, despite what others said, most certainly got sick. He was tired, blood drunk, and desperate, maybe that had made him sick as well? He'd been in the rain, it was entirely possible, the children tended to pick up diseases like nobody's business anyways. He'd wanted to think it was that until he'd checked his phone for the time and noticed around a hundred texts from Sofie asking what the fuck was wrong with him. Even now as he sat the picture of death at the breakfast table he could still feel her scratching at him. Alice was scratching at him. They were doing something wrong and she needed him. He couldn't think straight, he just wanted the scratching to stop so he could take a bloody nap. For now he brooded sipping his coffee as he evaluated Kalyani.

"I want to see Alice, oh and Shion is skipping school today," he diverted.

Ryker
Ryker's bloodshot eyes glared hatefully at Kalyani as she shot him down as if she was his mother. His mother was dead. He didn't need her permission.

"You're not my mother," he snarled under his breath slamming the coffee cup down as nausea overtook him at the smell of Hiroki's breakfast sandwich coming out of the microwave. He heaved as if about to throw up on poor Adel who was unfortunately sitting next to him. Luckily for them both he was able to control it.

"She's calling for me. I need to go see her," he shot back pushing the sunglasses closer to his eyes trying to block out the light from the kitchen window that just had to be blasting in his fucking face. His lips screwing up in a deep set frown as he tried to keep the rest of what he was saying from slipping out. All he needed was the rest of the brady bunch to know exactly what was going on. He dreaded the idea of Ki knowing he had a personal connection to the little girl, he knew that if that asshole found out that he'd be listening to creepy rumors of him being a pedophile for the next ten years.

Gretta
"Was I ever like that?" Gretta asked blowing smoke into Fredrick's face as she took an exaggerated drag from the cigarette she'd bummed off him.

"Sweet?" Fredrick smirked pulling the half finished stick from her fingers before pulling it to his own lips, "Can't say I remember," he couldn't quite smile, he wanted to, but in situations like this he wasn't that graceful.

"Didn't you have a date with Yoko Aoki today? Something about corrupting a minor with beer in a foreign country?" Gretta teased trying to figure out what could have Fredrick dressed and chipper so damn early. Hopefully he wasn't trying to get Philippe to give piano practice another go.

"Alas that will have to wait," he paused still not answering her first question, as his back pushed against the brick wall outside of the school's hospital. They were a respectable distance away, the small alley between wings, where smokers were permitted to do their business as to not disrupt any sensitive students. Six thirty in the morning was apparently too early for any of the other chain smoking immortals or perhaps these doctors actually listened to their own advice as the two Vampires had been uninterrupted for the past thirty minutes. It had taken just that amount of time to get Gretta to admit what was really bothering her. "It appears the school is on a lockdown, and your shift will be up soon, someone has to keep an eye on casanova." He stated with no real enthusiasm as he watched Gretta flinch with disdain.

"You think he'll try to come for her then," Gretta hissed between closed fangs her eyes narrowing into dark slits.

"I think Ryker sucks at self control. I think Ryker has always sucked at self control. She's been calling for him, hasn't she?" Fredrick asked not even bothering trying to spare Gretta's feelings.

The female Vampire was silent for a moment an irritated sound rumbling from her throat as she ripped the cigarette from Fredrick's hand and focused on inhaling deeply as if to consider her words before speaking.

"No shit; she's been mewling for him all night, it's not her fault she's like seven and he should fucking know better but..." her voice hitched smoke rising from her mouth as she tried to hide the hurt in her eyes. "It's going to hurt." she paused averting her eyes.

"Who are you more scared of it hurting- him or her?" He asked softly watching Gretta as if inspecting an injured animal.

"He's my... We're.. You know. God he's so thick." She groaned stomping out the cigarette with her shoe before rubbing her face hard with the palms of her hands.

"So her." Fredrick nodded as if he suspected it all along.

Gretta hated this. How he seemed to know every fucking thing that went through her head. She shouldn't care for this girl. She didn't know this child. She should be absolutely pissed that every time she walked by that fucking room the little brat was crying her boyfriend's name. Yet no, at the very moment she was worried how this stupid bonding would affect the child, not the boy she might love.

"I wasn't like that," she mumbled folding her arms across her chest as she turned away from Fredrick. "When you helped me, I wasn't like that, I was never like that." She stated more for herself than him.

"We were all like that, let's just make sure he doesn't make it worse- for him or the girl." Fredrick stated as more of a promise than anything else.

Ryker's lips ground together as he pushed his coffee away from him in anger. "Fine" he seethed marching past his so called guardian with dagger like eyes. "I'm going back to bed," he stated not bothering to inform her that he had absolutely no intention on going to class today. Bringing Fredrick up was a low blow, one he wouldn't get over for a long while. He was excellent at giving people the cold shoulder (just ask Sofie).

Shion awoke with a start, eyes struggling to stay open as he made a peephole out of his blankets to see an angry Ryker storm straight for his coffin. He glared from the door to Ryker, back and forth for several minutes, before closing the peephole and laying his head back down.

Breath in- breath out. Breath in, breath out. He focused on nothing but his breathing for what felt like a long while, his mind drifting off. Soon he was very nearly asleep, when a soft knock sounded from the door. Making a small noise of distress, he detangled the sheets from himself and went to answer it- Ryker seemed in no mood to do it himself, after all.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kalya asked, keeping her voice down and quite. Shion nodded, trying his best to ignore Bambi, who was staring obsessively from the staircase at him. "I couldn't sleep much last night," he explained, eyes downcast. It was obvious to anyone that he wasn't lying- the circles beneath his eyes were proof enough. Kalya nodded, sighing. "Alright, that's okay. You can stay here for the morning classes. I'll check in during lunch to see how you're feeling. If you're feeling up to it, maybe you could make the afternoon classes?"

Shion nodded meekly, though he honestly just liked the idea of missing the day entirely. Just the idea of going to class and seeing everyone stare at him made him exhausted. "Thank you, Kali-sama."

"Here, you need breakfast," Kalya informed him, handing him a glass with a liquid, sweet smelling and cool to the touch. "Banana breakfast shake," she smiled, affectionately patting his cheek, before giving him the other glass. "This one's for Ryker, as he decided he wasn't hungry earlier. Don't take it from him- trust me, you won't like the flavor."

She crinkled her nose with a silly smile on her face, feigning distaste, then sighed as she heard Rayna's cold voice from downstairs.

"Madam Akhtar! We have projects in my first period, I can't be late! Hurry-please!" The please came out awkward, more of an afterthought, but Kalyani still listened and shooed Bambi downstairs.

"Alright now, the school just came off of their lock-down, so be careful. No adventuring today for any reasons. You both know my number, in case you need anything." Kalya knew Ryker could hear her, and that he was listening. "Ryker, I'm trusting you to keep everything safe here and to respect the rules I've put forth. Stay home and get rest, please. Shion," Kalya intoned, lowering her voice just slightly. "He cannot visit Alice today, okay? He's sick. Make sure he drinks lots of liquids. I'll stop by later to check on you."

Shion nodded, stifling a yawn as Kalya left a few more instructions and then rushed downstairs. The door clicked, the lock turned, and Shion flopped back on his bed.

He couldn't say how long he slept for, but all he knew was that when the doorbell rang and he was forced to wake up again, well....it was definitely not enough time.