Honey You're A Shipwreck, With Your Heart Of Stone

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


His words were soft, and kind while also touching on notes of firmness- making the hellhound smile, if nothing more than to herself. "If you say so." Her voice retain an air of playfulness, though not as sharp as it usually was in her words. She was... Mellowed. Calm. His earlier words still rang about her ears, making a delicate blush taint her cheekbones. He was there for her. Always. Just that promise alone made her almost... Giddy. Too soon they arrived at her door- his was close by. She didn't want to say goodnight but Cyren never did. Rather the two lingered together, neither quite ready to say goodnight though both knew they could not linger much longer. It was her who moved first, and leaning towards him much like she had the other night rested her cheek against his chest in an embrace. She didn't jump away as she had any other time they'd embraced- rather stayed there for a solid minute; listening to his breaths fill and leave his lungs, memorizing the way his heartbeat in her ears.

Cyren had no idea if things would pan out between them. But as Finn's arms slid around her, holding the little hellhound against him Cyren liked to think it would. "The same goes for me by the way." She murmured, taking a step back and making sure to keep her voice low. "I'm always around if you need to talk or something. And Finn? You're making my last year here better than expected." She mimicked his earlier sentiments back, a smile gracing her lips. Sure they weren't really dating, but they weren't quite just friends anymore either. And while it was a little bit of a strange place for the very black and white hellhound to be, she was simply elated that things were sorted out between them. "G'night. See you tomorrow- try not to miss me too much." It's whispered, and rather cheeky as Cyren turns letting herself back into the temporary room. God, the brunette felt like a lovestruck calf, mooning over their first crush. But... That's kind of how it was. Cyren wasn't one to get attached to anyone- especially those of the opposite sex. Hell they only person that Cyren could of been concerned with for years was Marlee- and to an extent Daniel. Crushes and love were just another way to get hurt.

To have people leave you. So she had never really felt a tug of attachment to many people. Finn challenged many of the walls that Cyren had put up since she was a child to protect herself from the world. And... And the brunette thought that perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing. Her lips still remained in a subtle smile as she shucked off her clothing, allowing them to crumple in a heap on her floor. If nothing else, English was going to be interesting tomorrow. In high spirits the hellhound crawled into her bed, wrestling with the blankets for a few minutes before she got enough wrapped around her to feel warm. Still she squirmed for a few more minutes, though stilled when she found the perfect spot for her head upon her pillow. With a contented sigh, Cyren closed her eyes relaxing her body and soon enough, sleep found the hellhound- luring her off into a deep slumber for the remainder of the night. Her soft breaths were the only thing that filled the room, until the caterwauling of her alarm broke the peace. It roused the brunette from her slumber, in a fleeting state of disorientation. Though once Cyren rubbed the sleep from her wide eyes, she groggily switched the alarm off and began getting ready.

She went through her morning routine rather effectively, and for once she was early leaving her room. The hallway was pretty empty, leaving Cyren to her thoughts. Which mostly lingered on last nights events. Thankfully there was no one around to witness the hellhounds foolish grin as she made her way to the main hall. The brunette wasn't hungry, nor was she ready to disclose what had happened last night to Marlee, and the fae would end up guessing for sure if she caught her friend grinning like a moron in the morning. So she went to the one place that she could think of, Finn's classroom. Her steps were jaunty as Cyren headed in that direction, noting that very few students were about. They must all be in the dining hall, or sleeping. By the time that 'Ren had made it to Finn's classroom the room was empty though the lights were on and the door unlocked. Shrugging, she let herself in, taking her normal seat and pulling out the book that Finn had assigned to them. She had mostly taken notes, but had the last few pages assigned to finish before class started. It wouldn't be a lot of work, and the hellhound knew she could have this done by the time class started.

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Daniel Roberts | Vampire



Dan didn't want to worry Marlee, so he simply smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you're all safe here." He agreed, statement riddled with a forced cheerfulness. He was worrying about nothing. No one had been stupid enough to launch an attack at the school before- they wouldn't be now. Sure, the Rebellion was growing in numbers and strength and the Community was having a harder and harder time staving them off- but the school wasn't involved. These kids were everyone's future. No, the Rebellion would have to be stupid to go after them here. And if they were that stupid, there were plenty of defense lines put in place. Him, and every other professor would be willing to throw down their lives to protect the student's. Dan just prayed it didn't come to that. There would be no battles and the students wouldn't be dragged into this stupid fucking rebellion. But he didn't want to think about that. Rather he wanted to be focusing on the here and now. Who knew how long he would have with the fae curled up in his arms. And Dan was going to cherish every moment.

“It’s fine. I feel the same way about them as you do, but we can’t do anything about them. And you’re my old fool,” Dan grins at this a chuckle working it's way out of his chest. "Your's huh?" He asks amused. "I'm okay with that. I guess I'm yours." He agrees. “Just don’t let Cyren know about this. She’ll volunteer to help you two out and that’s the last thing I want to happen, but thank you.” She asks, regarding the Hamish matter and Dan actually snorts at this. He could only imagine Cyren figuring out about his and Finn's pact to keep an eye on Hamish. The last time the wolf had stepped out of line she'd choked him out and slammed him against a wall. Sometimes it was easy to forget the kind of power her little body held. "If Cyren found out, I think she'd very well may neuter him. And since I doubt the Headmaster would take kindly to that- she'll be kept in the dark. Long as Finn doesn't say anything to her. Which I doubt he will." Dan promised, rambling a bit. He almost wanted to ask Cyren what her impression of Finn was, though refrained. It wasn't really his business when it came to those two.

He'd barely gotten the statement out when Marlee leaned forward, their lips meeting abruptly. Dan's response was automatic. He shifted, so he could better gain access to her lips. Gods know he wanted more. Dan wanted to commit every inch of her skin to the memory of his fingers. He wanted to touch and feel, wanted to be entwined and close as he possibly could to her. But he honestly didn't know much about her dating history. Was he her first? Or had there been someone else? Dan knew she dated Hamish at one point, didn't know how far they had gone. And moreover, he wanted them to know each other better before delving into anything more intimate then the make out they were currently engaged in. It was an effort to keep his fangs retreated into his gums, so they wouldn't break her skin as he carefully took care not to kiss to roughly. It would be difficult for him if she ended up bleeding. Just the tiniest drop would be hard to pull away from. When they were both panting and out of breath he pulled away, tugging the blonde against his chest while he absentmindedly traced patterns on her hips with his fingers. It was getting late. He'd need to go soon but the vampire wanted to stay with her.

He disliked going back to his own cold, empty bed. But it had to be done. Besides, if he stayed here any longer, there would be temptation to take the relationship to places it wasn't quite ready to go. "I need to get going Sugar." Dan informs regretfully before he gives in and sleeps in her room for the night. Carefully untangling their bodies he gets to his feet, running anxious fingers through his hair. "Sleep well. I'll see you in class. If you need something, or the potions aren't working come find me okay?" He moves towards the door though at blurring speeds doubles back- planting a firm kiss to her lips one last time, his hand tilting her chin up towards him before Daniel once again breaks away, and with that heads out of her room carefully and quickly heading back to his own. He has plenty of work to do before he can fall asleep, and he starts off with putting a load of his teaching clothing in the wash so he'll at least have something to wear.

From there he goes over a few lesson plans, and when it's ready transitions the wet clothes to the dryer. Never far from his mind is Marlee. By the time he finishes the work that night and to the time his head hits the pillow. He's stopped asking himself if what he was doing was right. Because he had seen how that affected Finn. And at the end of the day- Daniel couldn't ignore deny or otherwise scorn his heart for who it desired. He would rather be with someone he loved than be alone- above all other things. The next morning was busy for Dan. He'd woken up early and had gone about his routine. Shaving his face back to it's normal clean shaven state, showering dressing- all that good stuff. When he was confident he looked more like his professional self he headed downstairs and rather than go to the dining hall, only stopped by to grab a blood pack and then head to his room. He wanted to be early, go over a few things and take some quiet time before he had to deal with rowdy seniors for the rest of the day.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


For the past few hours, Finn had been stuck in the Abilities classroom and he wasn’t allowed to leave until the large room was completely decorated for the dance that night. He was on strict orders on what he had to do and that was carrying the tables where food and drinks was going to be served, before bringing in chairs to place around the room. He was working with Daniel and they were getting things done pretty quickly, neither spoke much as they wanted to finish setting up so they could have some time to themselves before the dance started. Finn also thought if he worked faster than time wouldn’t appear to move so slowly and he would be able to see Cyren sooner, however the whole day had dragged on for him as he was just excited to see the dress that the beautiful brunette had brought for the dance. Although that is all he’d be able to do, he couldn’t ask her to dance or talk to her for all that long but he could still watch her and make sure she was enjoying herself as she did deserve it.

“I’m glad the girls decided to attend the dance, I’m still surprised that Cyren is coming tonight and that she brought a dress for it.” He chuckled to Daniel as they placed chairs around circle tables where the kids could sit and have something to eat, but he was glad that Marlee would be there with the Hellhound tonight. He couldn’t imagine Cyren attending the dance on her own, he could however imagine her causing some kind of trouble away from the dance because it would be easier for her to get away with it. That thought caused a smile to form across his face which he tried to hide from everyone in the room, although he highly doubted that anyone was looking at him. It would seem strange if someone did caught him smiling to himself as he placed chairs around the room, the Professor’s had really out done themselves with decorating as the gym looked amazing. There were bunches of balloon, flowers in vases, streamers hanging along the ceiling, different coloured lights moving around the room and a huge dance room at the back of the room with an actual DJ.

Finn carried the tables and chairs through the courtyard which had also been decorated, although it was a lot nicer than inside the gym. The courtyard was surrounded with fairy lights which made the space look quite romantic, if Finn could have taken Cyren into the courtyard then he would have. But sadly he couldn’t, however if things did progress with her in the future then he would be making something similar so they could have a nice sweet moment. Standing up straight Finn stretched his back after he had placed the last chair down, he felt a few bones crack lightly when he stretched and he was happy to have finished his part in setting up. Now all that was needed was the food and drinks to be brought in, which would wait until right before the dance begun as half the kitchen staff were still cooking food for the dance while the other half were cooking for all the other students who weren’t old enough to attend the dance just yet. “I’ll see you tonight,” He bid Daniel a quick goodbye as he slipped out of the room before he could be asked to do anything else, and he was pretty sure that Daniel wasn’t far behind him.

Making it back to his room, Finn instantly pulled his clothes off as he had worked up a sweat and wanted to jump into the shower so he could freshen up. He washed his body and hair before stepping out and drying himself off, he towel dried his hair and ran a brush through but he left it at that. He shaved before applying some cologne so he would smell nice, mostly for Cyren but he was keeping that to himself. Pulling out some black trousers, a light grey shirt with a matching black vest, Finn got himself dressed extra nicely. But he felt he could do better so he found a black tie and added that around his neck and tucked it behind his vest, black shoes came next and he was done so he decided to grab some a pre-made sandwich which he had kept in his mini fridge. The sandwich had been from lunch that day, he knew he’d be busy after classes and he couldn’t be bothered heading down to the staff dining hall.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


Classes had finally finished for the day and Marlee was walking extra fast through the hallways, she hadn’t made any plans with Cyren on how they’d go to the dance but that didn’t mean the fae didn’t have a plan in her mind. Marlee made it back to her temporary dorm in record time, she dumped her school work on the desk in the room before she rushed around grabbing everything that she would need. A small bag with her makeup inside, her curling wand, her dress, heels and jewellery, with her arms full she made the dash from her dorm to Cyren’s and even though a few Professor’s saw her none of them said anything which she was grateful for because nothing was going to stop her from getting ready with her best friend. Finding Cyren’s door she lightly knocked before letting herself in, which wasn’t unusual for her and it was something that the Hellhound was used to.

“Surprise! We need to start getting ready for tonight,” Marlee smiled at her best friend who clearly had been expecting her, she hung up her dress so the fabric didn’t crease. Setting the rest of her things down she turned to look at her friend, “What should we do first? Our hair?” Marlee suggested as she was still planning on doing Cyren’s makeup for her, she was going to make sure that Finn saw what he was missing out on. “A certain professor is going to die when he sees you tonight,” She had a cheeky smile on her face and sent Cyren a wink, Marlee couldn’t wait to see Finn’s reaction when Ren walked into the gym and lit the room up with her beauty. She plugged in her curling wand and used a clip to section off her blonde locks, brushing any knots out she curled different sized sections of her hair to give it more bounce when she moved. She was going to leave most of her hair down and pin back some of the hair around her face, just for something a little bit different.

“How are things between you and Finn? Did you talk about things? What did he say?” She asked as she hadn’t asked for the details until now, they haven’t had many times to themselves where they were alone. Marlee didn’t want to risk anyone over hearing what they were talking about, it had been hard for her not to ask any sooner and she was dying to hear what happened and what they spoke about. It was obvious on her face how desperately she wanted to know, “You need to tell me everything,” Marlee was eager to listen to what Cyren would tell her, after all this is what this part of getting ready was all about. They could talk about whatever they wanted and just enjoy each other’s company, like they had been doing since Thomas decided to try and ruin a lot of things in Marlee’s life.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


The day of the dance had come and Cyren was a bag of nerves. She wasn't one to get dressed up, and especially not one to attend social events around the school like a dance. Yet, this year she would be going. It was strange when she had woken up, her eyes falling on a couple unread texts from Greg and Nix. Still going tonight- G and from Nix, Get your ass down to the dance tonight. Or I'll burn your dorm down <3 From Nix. The Hellhound had chuckled and assured the twins she would be at the dance. If nothing more than to keep Marlee comfortable and maybe check Finn out dressed up. The rest of the Hellhound's day had been pretty slow and lazy. The teachers were setting up for tonight so her abilities and extra abilities class had been canceled. Sure Cyren was a little disappointed, but not enough to really put a damper on her day. The slender brunette was on her bed scrolling through tumblr pictures of different hairstyles when the door opened; and Marlee poked her head in. At once a large grin was plastered onto Cyren's face. “Surprise! We need to start getting ready for tonight,”

At once Cyren sat up, tucking a wayward strand of brunette lock behind her ear before nodding. "Perfect, because I'm rubbish at doing my own hair and makeup." It was true. Other people? Fine. But if she couldn't see what she was doing- Cyren was disastrous. "Hmm... Let's put on our dresses so we don't mess our hair up. Do our hair, and then our makeup for last. I have some setting spray so if you sweat it won't run." The Hellhound informed proudly. One of the flip-sides of being a Hellhound was it had to be very hot for her to start sweating. With that she was up, changing out of her clothes to put her dress on. It fit perfectly over her curves, the fabric soft and comfortable against her skin. With Marlee's help, the back was zipped up and after looking in the mirror hanging on the back of her temporary dorm, began to feel honestly excited about this dance. It was going to be a good night- it had to. This was going to be one of the last dances she'd attend as a senior. “A certain professor is going to die when he sees you tonight,” Marlee's comment had Cyren looking up; her cheeks flushing a bright red.

"We'll see. It wouldn't be the first time I've rendered someone speechless." Cyren joked, a small smile touching on her lips. “How are things between you and Finn? Did you talk about things? What did he say?” As Marlee began to brush her hair, Cyren was already heating up the curling wand. Her hair was going to be simple. An elegant, basic updo, with a few stray locks left down to frame her face. Almost like Hermoine when she'd gone to the ball with Viktor Krum- but simpler as Cyren was working with limited time. "That? Yeah kind of. It's weird. I mean he's... He's into me too I guess, but he's not really looking to jump into anything. And I guess I understand. It's his career. But it just feels good knowing its not one-sided." Cyren admitted, her voice soft and shy. This was a side of the Hellhound that was rarely seen. And then an even quieter, "I think I really like him." Tumbled from her lips. No sooner had it been uttered did she glance away and added in a gruffer voice, "So we're not really anything, but we're not nothing. It's a weird place to be in."

The two continued to chat as they got ready, Cyren doing Marlee's hair first, making sure everything was even and then letting Marlee fix the parts of her hairdo which was pretty much all of it. "God I really miss rooming with you. It's been cool to hang out in the staff dorms- I now know where everyone's staying for my senior prank, but I hate being alone. I hope the headmaster fixes the gate soon." Cyren admitted when Marlee had finished her hair. And it was true. Cyren missed her own room. She was pretty sure everything in her room was collecting dust. Eesh. By the time the girls had moved onto makeup, Cyren was buzzing with energy. "I hope they didn't just get someone's iPod and put it on shuffle." She remarked as the Hellhound carefully applied eyeshadow to her friend's eyelids. Once Cyren was sure it was even and stunning, she pulled away a grin on her lips. "Alright you'll have to do your own eyeliner. I'm 'fraid I might poke your eye out or something." She stated as she handed the eyeliner over to her friend.

Once Marlee was done, it was Cyren's turn. It didn't take too long. Marlee was a goddamn professional and by the time that Cyren checked herself out in the mirror she was the speechless one. Marlee had done an astounding job. Suddenly, she was a little worried that Finn may lose his jaw. Once she'd finished checking it over in the mirror the Hellhound squealed happily, throwing her arms around Marlee's neck happily thanking her. And after a quick selfie uploaded to her Instagram, for a Hellhound she was very up to date with human social media the two were off to the dance. The hallways were empty- until they got to the main hall. Kids were milling about dressed up and some even on the arms on their dates. It would be nice to be able to do that with Finn. But tonight she'd settle for simple, stolen smiles from across the room. That'd have to be enough now. Several pairs of eyes were on Marlee and Cyren as they made their way into the abilities room, and she was pleasantly surprised with how this dance had been set up. Streamers and balloons decorated the room while the sweet scent of flowers wafted from their places in vases. "Wow. It's like a different place." Cyren remarked to Marlee over the sound of reverberating dance music.

Students had already flocked to the floor, and eagerly her gaze scanned about for the staff. A few of them were standing at the dancefloor, making sure students didn't get too carried away. Most were just leaning against the walls off to the sides and a few more were stationed near the punch table. It took Cyren a couple moments until her gaze sought out a familiar face, Daniel. He looked irritated already and she couldn't help but snort at this. It couldn't be fun to keep an eye on kids and pretend not to notice your girlfriend from across the room. The vampire's gaze flickered to Cyren and then Marlee. Almost at once the tension slackened in his face and Cyren's sharp gaze make out the small smile on his face. He was utterly taken with Marlee tonight- not that Cyren blamed him. Her friend was enchanting and positively gorgeous. Gently she nudged Marlee subtly jerking her chin towards his direction. "I think your boyfriend noticed you. Why I'm surprised he didn't absolutely faint." She purred beneath the music.

"I'd say go get him tiger, but that would lead to his termination... So longingly stare at each other from across the room. You crazy kids." Cyren teased impishly. She would of kept making playful remarks, she had several lined up mostly about vampires in pop culture as Daniel detested them, though her gaze had fallen on a familiar figure not too far off from Dan. Which in retrospect wasn't really a surprise. Yet, her breath still caught when she noted Finn. Cyren didn't think he had seen her yet, and that was probably for the best. She couldn't be staring at him all night after all. Rather she turned her head away and muttered to Marlee, "I think I may be joining you in staring longingly across the room at someone you can't have in public... Anyway we should get some punch or pretend to dance or something before someone catches me checking my teachers out." Cyren hadn't anticipated how badly she wanted to go over and just be close to Finn. Talk with him- but that was the opposite of discreet so she'd refrain. She'd have to lest they get in trouble.
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Daniel Roberts | Vampire



Setting up was a pain in the ass, but at least setting up with Finn provided some entertainment. The basilisk was proving himself to be excellent company. “I’m glad the girls decided to attend the dance, I’m still surprised that Cyren is coming tonight and that she brought a dress for it.” Daniel had chuckled at this. "Yeah well she'd do anything for Marlee. From dislocating a shoulder to dressing up and enduring a night with her classmates if she had to. Not sure which she considers worse though." Dan also thought that Finn's presence certainly hadn't harmed Cyren's choice in coming down tonight. "So you two are alright? I know she's difficult sometimes." Dan asked casually as he worked fast as he could, setting chairs with the newest staff member at their academy. He thought they had, after all they both seemed to be in better moods now. Which was one less thing for him and Marlee to worry about. And with all the shit going on outside the walls of their school, they all needed less things to worry about.

By the time that they had finished setting up tables and chairs, the other staff members had worked seamlessly to decorate with streamers balloons and vases of flowers. It was almost unrecognizable in here; and Dan did like that. Now watching kids awkwardly dance with one another and have to seperate the particularly bold ones? That he didn't like. But hopefully everyone would be well behaved this year. And no fights would break out as had last year. God that had been nasty- bit by one of the werewolf students Daniel hadn't been in that much pain in decades. The last time he decided to try to pry two students apart over a boy. He mused quietly to himself as he did what was directed of him either by Callum or the Headmaster. Garret looked actually happy for once. If nothing else everyone needed this distraction; and he got to see Marlee and Dan was positive that she was going to be stunning. He was eager to see her. God if he could, Dan would ask her to dance with him in a heartbeat- but that wouldn't fly from his peers.

One day though Dan hoped that they could dance together in public. By the time the gym was finished he had a short time to bid Finn a See you later, go back to his dorm, and get ready. He already had his tux picked out, and his hair was styled subtly. He didn't want his peers asking if he was trying to impress someone. And for an extra touch added a light dab of his cologne that blended notes of lemon, ceder, lavender and bergamont. It wasn't too overpowering, spicy, or musky; but it was nice. Even for his overly sensitive vampiric nose. And then finally it was time to go to the dance. He wasn't nervous but at the same time he was. It wasn't that he was afraid of losing control over himself or anything, but he really just hoped that everyone could be on their best behavior. He didn't want to play babysitter all night. Daniel got there just as the doors were opening and helped direct students into the abilities room in a calm and orderly fashion. Music was already playing, and there was a spark of energy in the air.

It wasn't until Daniel had already settled into a spot in the gym, towards the courtyard's doors when he spotted the duo. It was Cyren he noted first, and actively had to suppress the eyeroll as she waggled her eyebrows at him. She seemed happy enough and well... Looked nice he guessed. In a big brother way. It was when his gaze shifted towards Marlee did his fucking world stop. Mouth going dry Daniel couldn't tear his gaze away. She was rolling her eyes at something Cyren said, and Daniel felt his dead heart skip a beat. His cheeks were warm as he took her in. Not a soul held a candle to her, that much Daniel was sure of. Shit he wanted so badly to go over to her and tell her how beautiful she was. How beautiful didn't even come close to describing what she was, ethereal maybe, celestial and absolutely striking. But he couldn't so instead when her gaze slid to his from across the gym room he just offered a small smile, just for the two of them. Later when they were alone he could sing praise, and kiss those lips that were so deliciously his.

Not wanting to oust himself on being involved with a student, Daniel hurriedly made his way towards the dance floor to keep an eye on the children. Half of them didn't notice his presence as they swirled, twirled, and shook their bodies happily along to the music. Even the headmaster was dancing with a couple other staffers including Callum while a few kids laughed, whistled and clapped. That brought a chuckle of amusement to Daniel. It was an hour into the dance, and still no one had punched each other. Which was a relief. However Daniel would always find his gaze wandering back to Marlee, who'd been pulled into the draconian group by Cyren. The girls were laughing and talking- though at one point he noticed Cyren slip out towards the courtyard without Marlee. If Dan had to guess it was probably either to cause trouble or take a breather from the noise, smell, and crowds. It was probably the latter so he didn't take to hard to it. However, that left Marlee standing off towards the sidelines looking a little out of place.

It wouldn't be professional to ignore a student who was alone during a dance like this? Right? So hesitantly he approached her, his heart doing overtime. "Good Evening Ms. Hudson. I take it the dance is going well?" He asked, in a rather professional voice as he slid into place next to the fae, looking down with a faint smile. God it would be so easy to slip his arm around her, stare down the several males giving the fae looks of appreciation; but he couldn't. It was all he could do to strike up friendly conversation with her. "I don't think I've ever seen the Headmaster dance. I really hope someone took videos of it so we can blackmail him for more Summer vacation or something." Dan remarked, his lips quirking in to a grin. He would never actually do that, but at the end of the year feast that the school enjoyed, and a powerpoint of videos and pictures of that year, Dan did hope someone slipped that in. This was all besides the point however Dan quietly noted to himself.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


Finn had made his way back to the gym so he could keep an eye on the children for the night, he was glad the dance was on a Friday night as it meant if the dance went late into the night then he would be able to catch up on his sleep tomorrow morning. Passing Daniel on his way inside the gym, he gave his new friend a small smile as he stood off to the side. He didn’t want to get in the kids way as they deserved this, but he was still close enough to them if anything was to happen. Such as a fight or just two kids that were taking things too far, neither of which Finn would want to break up but sadly he would if he spotted either going down during the night. As the students filled the gym, his eyes moved over each and every one of them but he was mainly searching for Cyren. Everyone looked nice, the boys had dressed up just as much as the girls which was nice to see that the students were making an effort after everything that has happened recently.

He was beginning to worry that maybe she had a change of heart, but his head turned towards the front door of the gym and his eyes finally landed on the Hellhound. His breath was taken from his lungs, there weren’t any words that he could use to describe how stunningly gorgeous Cyren looked tonight. He wanted to walk straight up to her and tell her, but he didn’t want to attract unwanted attention so he would keep his comments to himself until he could get Cyren alone. Although he wouldn’t go looking for alone time with her, she needed to enjoy the night and let her hair down for a change. After everything she has been through she earned this and he wasn’t going to ruin that, just because he wanted to be close to her and shower her with affection and compliments.

Finn had passed Daniel on the way in and told him that things between himself and the Hellhound were back on track, but seeing the brunette now did make him rethink what he had told her. He didn’t want to take things slow, he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and made her dance with him. Have her body close to his so he could feel her warm body engulf his own, kiss her sweet pink lips whenever he felt like it. Though he shook those thoughts from his mind as it would only cause him trouble, he sent a small smile in her direction before he looked away so he wasn’t caught staring at a student by anyone. Even though it was hard for him to tear his eyes away from her, she was glowing and she really did light up the entire gym. No one compared to how spectacular Cyren was, even out of the striking dress that clung to her body perfectly. No one would ever come close to her natural beauty and he did feel so honoured to have her in his life, and to know that she saw him as more than a professor and more than a friend caused his heart to beat faster in his chest.

He continued to keep an eye on the kids once everyone had seemed to arrive, but his eyes did seem to always find Cyren. She was currently with Marlee and the draconian kids, although it wasn’t for much longer as she stepped outside into the courtyard and this was the only chance that Finn had seen so far for them to actually speak. Following her outside he pretended like he was just going to check up on her, but he didn’t feel eyes on him so maybe no one was watching as everyone was having fun. Even the staff were enjoying themselves, he had actually watched the Headmaster dancing for a good five minutes. “Better not be planning any trouble out here, the punch will be constantly guarded so you won’t be able to spike it.” He grinned as he walked over to where Cyren was, thankfully they were the only ones in the courtyard. “You have no idea how elegant and beautiful you look tonight,” Keeping his voice soft as he looked at her, “I can’t keep my eyes off you.” He admitted very easily to her as it wasn’t hard at all, the words just flowed from his mouth and he wasn’t trying to stop himself.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


Marlee agreed as she took her clothes off and carefully stepped into her dress, the zip was hidden in the side as the back of the dress was beaded and see-through so she was also going braless. "That? Yeah kind of. It's weird. I mean he's... He's into me too I guess, but he's not really looking to jump into anything. And I guess I understand. It's his career. But it just feels good knowing it’s not one-sided. I think I really like him." Cyren admitted quietly as she did Marlee’s hair for her, “At least now you know that he feels the same way. Besides you two have plenty of time, it won’t be all that long before we graduate and then you two can either stay friends or take things further.” She smiled as she knew all her friend had to do was talk to Finn about how she was feeling, and now because Cyren had she knew that the professor also shared the feelings she held for him.

They continued talking as they finished helping each other get ready, they did each other’s hair and makeup which made the time fly by but it was just nice to spend time with Cyren like they always used to do. Marlee really hoped that the gate would be reinforced soon as she wanted to go back to their old dorm and cause trouble together again, it surely wouldn’t take much longer. But once they were dressed and ready to go, Marlee headed out with Cyren right by her side as they made their way to the gym. Stepping through the doors a wide smile shone on Marlee’s face when she saw how beautiful the gym looked, "I think your boyfriend noticed you. Why I'm surprised he didn't absolutely faint." Cyren purred to her as she glanced over to where Daniel was standing and seeing him in the tux caused her heart to skip a beat, suddenly she couldn’t see anyone else and she could see her body becoming warmer as she stood there. “I’m pretty sure vampires can’t faint,” She stated as she rolled her eyes at Ren’s comment about longingly staring at each other from across the room.

"I think I may be joining you in staring longingly across the room at someone you can't have in public... Anyway we should get some punch or pretend to dance or something before someone catches me checking my teachers out." Cyren spoke which caused Marlee to chuckle softly, “I knew I wouldn’t be the only one.” She winked at Cyren before she pulled her friend onto the dance floor, they danced for a little as she kept her eye on both Daniel and Finn. They were both trying not to look in their direction but they were still stealing little glances, all she wanted to do was pull Dan onto the dance floor and have his arms around her. To kiss him as their bodies moved to the music, but for right now she would just have to day dream about that moment until it actually did happen which wouldn’t be any time soon. An hour past and the night was still going well, she was talking and laughing with the draconian group which surprisingly had always supported Marlee after her father joined the Rebellion and it was nice spending time with them.

Until Cyren excused herself so she could get some fresh air, so she got herself a glass of punch and stood off to the side as she was suddenly not feeling as confident as she had been with Ren by her side. Although she wasn’t alone for long, "Good Evening Ms. Hudson. I take it the dance is going well?" The familiar smooth voice hit her ears and she looked up at her boyfriend, “It is going well, Professor Roberts. But it could be better,” She smiled at him as he would have made the night so much better, but it wouldn’t happen just yet and she was dealing with that. "I don't think I've ever seen the Headmaster dance. I really hope someone took videos of it so we can blackmail him for more Summer vacation or something." Daniel remarked causing Marlee to laugh softly as she shook her head, “Don’t be mean. The Headmaster is enjoying himself and he has a right to, just let him dance.” Smiling she couldn’t look away from him, “The tux suits you. You’re so handsome,” Her voice was a whisper which no one would have heard over the loud music, apart from Dan only because he was so close to her, handsome didn’t even cut how amazing he looked tonight.

Sipping the glass of fruity punch, she scanned the room with her eyes. Everyone there was having the best time, people were dancing, eating, laughing among friends. Nothing could improve the night, it was exactly what she needed. “I really don’t know why you always complain about being a chaperone, you just like complaining about things.” Marlee teased him, it would be too easy for her to entwine their fingers together or to lean against his body. Instead she stood somewhat close to him but still far enough away, so it wouldn’t alert anyone to the fact that they had a secret relationship.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


The night was going well. She had danced a little, braved the noise and crowds, even had hung out with the draconian group for a little bit. Greg and Nix were welcoming as they usually were, Greg stuttering out a greeting once he laid eyes on Cyren, though she just pretended not to notice. There was really just one person that Cyren noticed; and it wasn't the blonde draconian boy. Unfortunately the longer they all stood around, chatting and catching up with one another, Cyren began to feel... Overwhelmed. The music grinded against her delicate ears, and all the smells of perfumes and colognes and sweat was beginning to give her a headache. "Hey, Marlee I'm heading out to the courtyard for like... Ten. Just need a little bit of fresh air." Normally Cyren would of just sucked it up, plodded along through the rest of the night. After all the last time she had to step out for fresh air Marlee had nearly been abducted by her father. But Cyren was hopeful that if no one else in the room noticed her being lured off, Daniel would. "I'll be right back. Try not to wonder off yeah?" With a nod to the twins Cyren turned, heading off to the courtyard.

The second she made it outside, the cool night air washing against her face the Hellhound sighed with relief. It was quiet out here, she didn't think anyone was out there. As she walked slowly beneath the fairy lights, intent on going to sit on the gazebo steps soft music leaked out into the night air the only thing keeping her company. That is, until she noted a familiar figure approaching her; and Cyren had to remind herself that even if it looked like they were alone, to not rush over to him barrel happily into him for an embrace. Rather she simply stood but remained in her spot, letting Finn approach her. “Better not be planning any trouble out here, the punch will be constantly guarded so you won’t be able to spike it.” He teased, amusement in those dark eyes. "Damn it. There goes my plan to slip wolfsbane into the punch." She joked back, an arid tone that hardly hid the smile on her lips. “You have no idea how elegant and beautiful you look tonight, I can’t keep my eyes off you.” If Cyren had been drinking something, she would of choked. Her eyes carefully scrutinized his expressions for any fallacy; though she found none. He was being sincere as far as she could tell.

"Then don't. I don't want you to look away." She murmured gently a note of hesitancy in her voice, her cheeks burning with a well-pronounced blush. Honestly, she liked his admittance that he hadn't been able to look away. Because Cyren hadn't been able to look away from him either. They were close, close enough that all she had to do was take a couple steps and she'd in his arms. And fuck it was tempting. Really it was. There wasn't a damned thing that Cyren wanted more in that moment than to kiss him. But if they were caught than that was it for Finn. And he still wanted this job, he didn't want to get fired. Understandable, so Cyren didn't act on her desires. "You pulled off a tux better than I thought." A teasing note crept into her voice as Cyren glanced away from him. The two continued to chatter for awhile, away from the noise and crowds of the dance. Eventually Cyren's head began to feel better, her senses less overwhelmed. The peaceful night air, and the pleasant at times flirtatious and flattering conversation with Finn were certainly helping her headache. But unfortunately Cyren knew they had to go in or people would begin to become suspicious if they noted the two had come out here.

"I'm heading back in. But, I'll see you tomorrow." She stated with a small sigh. "The last time I left Marlee alone this long she almost got abducted. But... I really enjoyed spending time with you." Slow soft music could be heard beneath her words. At least she'd chosen a slow song to waltz back into the room during. Less people would be dancing and hollering. "And, Finn? At some point, you owe me a dance." Cyren informed with a kittenish purr before turning to head back indoors. She absolutely was not blushing from her bold statement. Once entering the abilities room again, her gaze was instantly drawn to Marlee standing towards the sidelines- and next to her Daniel. It took no time to wind through the crowd of kids and staff, reaching her bestfriend and her boyfriend. Daniel noticed her first, and shortly after Marlee. Grinning slyly Cyren managed to keep her remarks about the duo to herself. "Hey Marlee sorry for slipping out. However I'm relieved to find you in one piece and not being lured off by the dark side." She quipped before glancing towards Daniel. "Professor Roberts, nice to see you."

The vampire smiled aridly before looking at Marlee doing his damnedest to look professional. "And I believe that's my cue now that your shadow's back. Have fun you two alright?" Wow, he was actually in a pretty good mood; though with the way that Marlee was trying to hide her smile it wasn't hard to guess why he was a good mood. Once he was gone Cyren turned back to Marlee with an impish grin. "Well he's in a good mood. Still having fun?" The Hellhound suspected that the fae was. But if not it wasn't like she would be against going back to their dorms. Tonight Cyren figured she could just crash in Marlee's room, or Marlee could sleep in her's. It didn't really matter; but it would be nice to spend more time together. Once Marlee assured her that things were still going well, she nodded. "Yeah... This is better than I expected. I'm glad you talked me into this." The brunette admitted. Because Cyren was willing to take this dance for what it was. A distraction from all the shit going on outside these walls. And maybe that had been exactly what everyone needed.

The night continued onwards, at one point the staff ushering kid to the tables set up for dinner, and a nice one at that. Cyren had noticed Matilda being one of the ones bringing out food, though she didn't have time to greet the woman before being ushered to her table- with Marlee, Nix, and Greg. She had managed to nab the seat between Marlee and Greg, while Nix sat on Marlee and Greg's other sides. While there was another seat open no one took it leaving the small group of friends to themselves. Dinner had been ordered ahead of the dance, so 'Ren had ordered a simple steak with mashed potatoes and green beans. Matilda had even snuck her a small bowl of cheddar and broccoli soup to go with the steak. "Jeez Cyren, I don't think I've seen you look so enthusiastic all night." Greg joked after a few minutes of everyone eating. Nix snickered into her own food, something spicy by the looks of it. "Food? Or dancing? No competition. Food every time." She played back.

"I think I'm about to lapse into a food coma. Anyone else?" Cyren asked once they had mostly finished their food. Conversation had trickled and flowed between them, and people were beginning to head back to the floor. The dance would be winding down within the next hour, though with a tummy full of food she really didn't plan on going to dance any time soon. In fact, she was blinking wearily as she let her gaze wander 'round the gym again. Finn was sitting with Daniel and a few other staff members at a table, a couple plates left out. His back was to her and Cyren quickly glanced away not wanting the other's at the table catching onto where her gaze was lingering. "Cyren?" Hearing someone call her name she glanced over to where Greg had gotten up. Nix was already gone something about going to find someone to dance with. "Oh, what's up?" She asked, really just hoping he was going to ask her to watch his jacket or something. "Thi-I mean I don't want you to feel like you have to or anything but, um this is a pretty good song. Do you want to dance?"

Her delicate hearing picked up Marlee's hushed giggle, and Cyren leaned back in her chair. "Uh.. I'm actually feeling pretty sleepy. I'm probably just going to hang out here. But feel free to go dance." She let him down carefully picking her words. Greg was a nice enough friend, but that was it. He seemed to get the hint as he nodded. "Alright, have fun you two see you around!" With that he was gone leaving Cyren and Marlee together at the table. "Well that wasn't awkward or anything. Poor kid." She remarked, grinning at her friend. "After this crash in my room. So we can gossip and have a pillow-fight and whatever else the media thinks girls do." Cyren directed, sarcasm lacing her words. Normally sleepovers between these two consisted of movies, some gossip, and food. It was when Marlee began to speak that Cyren's ears picked up a scream. Not like the shrieks of laughter- but an honest to goodness one. By the way that her fae friend continued to speak. Before Cyren could say anything there was a resounding Bang! that seemed to shake the very foundation of the school. This time Marlee heard it and the fairy's face paled. A feeling of foreboding washed over the Hellhound as she got to her feet.

What the hell was going on? The music suddenly cut off and a horde of staff had begun towards the door. They didn't make it very far as the sound of fighting moved closer towards the door of the abilities room. It came to a crescendo as the door was flung open, revealing unfamiliar faces. Werewolves fully shifted out, witches with their hands encased in magic, a few fae and even some vampires. Cyren just knew it was the rebellion. At once chaos dissolved around the gym. There was no warning, and for a moment the Hellhound was frozen in fear as the rebellion launched their attack against the students and staff in the abilities room. There was shouting and screaming, people were running about some trying to flee from through the door that led to the courtyard, only to be met with more rebellion faction members. They were blocked in here and Cyren had no idea what the Rebellion's intentions were. To kill? Or to make a statement? Either way she wouldn't go out cowering in a blubbering mess.

"Find Daniel, Finn, or the Headmaster! The Rebellion may be looking for you- so go! I'll try to keep them busy." Cyren barked at Marlee, already summoning up her half-shift. If nothing else Daniel would keep Marlee safe. He'd have to. With one last glance she made sure that Marlee was okay before rushing into the fray herself. People fought one another with a ferocity that made Cyren's blood run cold. What was worse she couldn't find Finn. "He's okay. He has to be okay." She told herself. Forcing her mind back to the battle unfolding around her, Cyren took a deep breath, summoning her flames. They roared to life on her arms, cloaking her hands right down to the deadly claws, up to her shoulders. Her canines had elongated into fangs while her eyes glowed their deadly currant. In this thick of battle, she couldn't find her friends. A few staff members brawled bravely around her, and only a couple students assisted in trying to drive the Rebellion back. It was in that moment that Cyren felt utterly and completely fucked by this surprise attack.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



“Don’t be mean. The Headmaster is enjoying himself and he has a right to, just let him dance.” Daniel chuckled at her words, trying not to look too delighted with her. "Me, mean? Yeah right." He countered a subtle tease beneath his words. Keeping things casual at the dance were proving to be more difficult than he had originally anticipated. “The tux suits you. You’re so handsome,” Her next words surprised him, but in a pleasant manner. "I don't think I or anyone else in this school holds a candle to you Love." His voice was just as quiet as her, and honest and sweet. It was true; and Daniel was flabbergasted that no one else had asked the blond to dance. Which was for the best- vampires were jealous things and Daniel was no exception to that. If anyone had asked Marlee to dance, Daniel wasn't quite sure how he'd react to that. Broodingly glare are the floor? It wasn't like he could stare the student down.

And it wasn't like anyone knew or could know that they were together. “I really don’t know why you always complain about being a chaperon, you just like complaining about things.” Daniel's smile didn't fade at her next words. Rather he had to stifle a laugh into his arm to mask it as a cough. "You got me. I just love complaining. That's what I have in common with you students." He was quiet, so no one heard his conversation with Marlee. Someone might think it suspicious and decide to look into his personal life. And if they found Marlee in his personal life, than that would spell trouble. "However, I can see you're having a good time. And while this night could be better I agree with you there, I'm glad your having fun." It was nice to see the seniors just getting to be seniors. Enjoying one their last dances with their classmates, dancing around like there wasn't a care in the world.

Daniel thought that it was a good thing for them. Morale was higher than it had been in a while; all a welcome change of pace from the heavy atmosphere that had descended on everyone as of late. "Marlee, your dress is absolutely stunning by the way. If I had to breathe, you'd take my breathe away." He complimented, his gaze turning serious. He didn't want the fairy to think he was simply teasing her. That would be so far from the truth, and Dan needed her to know how sincere he was about this relationship. Even if it was unorthodox or frowned upon by the other staff members; Marlee needed to know how much he truly and deeply cared for her. How gorgeous she was tonight, everyday really, but she'd gotten all dressed up for tonight. Put extra effort and attention into how she looked and Dan didn't want her to think he hadn't noticed it. While he was sometimes a little hesitant about what to say to her, or if what he said was right- Dan didn't ever want Marlee to question his true feelings for her. Never was there a day that Dan wanted her to wonder if he still liked her, or if he was losing interest. Because the vampire simply didn't see that happening.

The staff if they noticed him talking with Marlee didn't care. No one gave them careful looks that scrutinized every action. No one came over and politely suggested Daniel go find something else to do or Marlee go back to the dance floor. "You know, I think this has been the most relaxed dance I've ever had to staff. S'not a bad change of pace." He remarked, with a little casual shrug. People were pretty well-behaved, Dan had half a mind to extend his senior classes deadline for their first projects. This was turning out to be an easy and fun night, for everyone. He and Marlee chatted a little longer until Cyren appeared back into the gym her cheeks uncharacteristically red. And not far behind her came Finn. Dan said nothing though, just nudged Marlee and nodded towards Cyren. "Ah, seems like 'Ren has returned." They'd have to say goodbye soon, Dan would have to go back to making sure everyone continued on their good behavior and Cyren and Marlee would spend much needed time together. "Hey Marlee sorry for slipping out. However I'm relieved to find you in one piece and not being lured off by the dark side."

A scoff left his lips- if anyone was able to turn that into a joke it was Cyren. Professor Roberts nice to see you." That mischievous sparkle was evident in her eyes. She knew that they were together and she was hinting at it then. Not that he cared. He suspected the Hellhound would tease him time to time about it, but as long as he treated Marlee well he doubted Cyren would care very much that he was dating her best friend. "And I believe that's my cue now that your shadow's back. Have fun you two alright?" He wanted badly to press a gentle kiss against Marlee's temple, but he refrained. Instead offering a small nod before heading back into the crowd. There wasn't much for him to do so he found a quiet place to stand and watch the night unfold. It was all going well, so, so well. By the time that dinner rolled around he was in a good mood, sitting between Finn and Callum. They chatted about everything and nothing, Callum bemoaning how far away Christmas Break seemed. Apparently he was going to visit his wife in Naples. Daniel didn't really have any plans. He could go anywhere but he'd probably stay here.

He mostly only traveled during the summer. His dinner was simple, O negative in a simple glass. Which was just in time as his throat had begun to itch. The three staff conversed on which aspects of the curriculum they were dreading on teaching, Dan always thought that March was the worse time to teach, not because of any content but they were dead in the middle of the year and he often lost steam. Callum wasn't looking forward to cramming his students for final exams. The three chatted well until students had gone back to the dance floor to continue dancing. Soon enough this thing would wind down and kids would go back to dorms. No doubt the rest of the weened would be spent with students happily recounting tales about the dance to other students. Once his dinner was finished Dan too got to his feet heading back to the crowd of students. Marlee and Cyren were still sitting by their table, and if he could Dan would of joined them now that the Draconian twins had taken off to go dance again. As the dance began to wind down, a few kids already ducking out, Dan was ready to clock out.

But, it would seem there was different plans in store for those at the school. Beneath the music, another slow song and anyone from couples to friends, to a group of three trying to slow dance together, Daniel heard a scream. Instantly his brows furrowed, and his confusion turned to fear when there was a resounding Bang! that seemed to shake the school from the foundation up. At once kids paused, looking at each other with confusion. Was it just some kids screwing around, or something more? Dan was about to figure out when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The Headmaster. "Daniel, we need to get the kids out of here now! That was the alarm I put in place until I could finish securing the gates. I fear that the Rebellion is here." The Headmaster spoke in a hushed tone, panic wreathed in his voice. Fuck. There could be sounds of fighting heard coming from the halls, and Daniel pushed himself into action "Everybody head out the courtyard! Stay in groups and try to stay with a staff member!" He began shouting as students seemed to realize what was happening.

A few listened, most panicked, and Dan tried not to look as worried as he felt as he rushed towards the abilities room door. He had intended on barricading it, though was too late. The door was flung open and a horde of Rebellion aligned creatures began streaming in. From behind him more Rebels had stormed the courtyard- effectively boxing everyone into this room. There were no words, no declarations just a furious attack. It seemed to happen so fast as Daniel found the room erupting into a battleground. Fuck. Marlee. Where was she? It was absolute madness, blood splattering onto the floor, some onto his clothes and he could only picture the fairy being dragged off by the Rebels. No He couldn't let that happen. With a sense of desperation Daniel threw himself into the fray, trying to locate the Fae. There were too many scents he couldn't sort her out that way. Few were foolish enough to approach him; and Daniel dispatched with them quickly. A snap of the neck, a heart dislodged from a chest, there was no one who would be able to slow him in his search for Marlee.

It nearly stopped his heart when he noticed her darting around; though he felt sick when he noted Cyren wasn't with her. Had something happened to the brunette? There had been a distinct lack of flames from this battle so far, but Dan couldn't let himself think like that. "Marlee!" Dan thundered, rushing to her side and frantically checking for cuts. He found none. "Marlee, are you injured?" At her confirmation that she wasn't Dan nodded. "Okay, stay close to me. We need to clear a path out through the courtyard. These students are going to get shredded if we stay like this. There's too much panic." He asserted, though it was then he noted Marlee staring at the blood which stained his clothes, hands a splash on his cheek. "It's not mine, but we need to get moving." Dan assured. This wasn't going to be easy, the door that led to the courtyard was on the other side of the room. They'd have to make it through the worse of it while trying to gather up students to move them out of here. And even when they got to the door, Dan couldn't leave until the students were evacuated safely and the Rebels were fought off. But Marlee didn't have to know that- Dan didn't want to give her a reason for staying.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


"Then don't. I don't want you to look away." The Hellhound’s voice was gentle as she spoke to him and there wasn’t any chance that he would look away from her, “I’ll never look away.” His voice was a whisper just in case there was someone hiding close enough to them that their conversation would be overheard, he didn’t sense anyone in or near the courtyard but he was still being careful. "You pulled off a tux better than I thought." Cyren teased him and it caused a cheeky but easy smile to form across his face, “We both know that I can pull off anything.” Smiling he didn’t allow his eyes to linger on her for too long, but it was nice just being there with her and talking to her. He wished it would last longer but if they stayed outside in the courtyard any longer, people would begin to grow suspicious and eventually come looking for them. He watched as the brunette stood up, her dress moving lightly around her body with her movements and Finn engraved the image of Cyren into his memory.

The moon light bathed her in a glow and made her milky skin shine, she was always beautiful but tonight he was speechless from her beauty. Even though she was all dressed up, her hair was pinned up and makeup covered her skin. She hadn’t gone over the top, she still looked like herself and the makeup simply enhanced her stunning features rather than covering them up. "And, Finn? At some point, you owe me a dance." The bold statement caught Finn off guard as he hadn’t been expecting it, even if he knew to expect the unexpected when it came to the Hellhound. “I’ll keep that in mind,” He grinned noticing the pink blush that tinted her cheeks before she turned and made her way back into the abilities class room, he stayed outside in the fresh night air for a little longer before he also went back inside.

Walking through the gym Finn decided to keep an eye on the different groups of kids there tonight, the werewolves were messing around like most young boys did and were trying to flirt with the pretty girls although most of them were ignored and it caused Finn to chuckle. He knew what it was like to build up the courage to speak to a girl he had a crush on, only to have it fail and it took time to get over the rejection and the embarrassment. He was glad he wasn’t a teenager anymore, those years had been hell and tough on him but he came through on the other side. The vampires were surprisingly well behaved, it seemed like they were having more luck with the girls as a few of them were on the dance floor although the hands were a concern for Finn. A few boys were keeping their hands low on a girls waist, but for now Finn didn’t see any harm in that as he was sure the girls would keep the boys in place if any hands went further down. After a while the dinner was brought out to the table, Finn grabbed a seat at the table which already held Daniel and Calum. Two of the staff members who he had gotten the closest to since being there at the school, they talked about whatever came to mind but it shortly fell back onto the students.

“I find my worst time is always coming back from a break, I’m worse than the kids. I never want to come back and start teaching again,” Finn chuckled as after a break he was used to relaxing and not doing anything, it was always a struggle for him to get back into his classroom and teach. He ate his dinner which was a simple roast chicken with roasted vegetables and gravy covering it all, a good roast was always his favourite meal to eat and he knew the kitchen staff did a wonderful roast and he hasn’t had one for a while. It wasn’t long before they all started sharing stories of being a professor as they finished off their dinner, the night would slowly wind down now that the kids had eaten. Though the dance floor was still being used like it should be, the night was such a good success that hopefully the kids would be more relaxed now and would focus on their school work. It seemed like the world outside the gates had been completely forgotten about, this night was all about the students and the dance wasn’t disappointing anyone.

Finn was still on his chair when a bang hit his ears sharply and within a second his body was tense, he was alert and on his feet within another second. Overhearing what the Headmaster said to Daniel, he along with the two vampire professors were off. He rushed over to the corner of the gym that was the furthest away from either exit, “Come on! Let’s go right now!” He ordered as he raised his voice at the students who were already panicking, however he couldn’t panic he needed to stay calm so he could get the kids out to safety and hopefully keep them from growing anymore panicked. “Stay calm and stay close to a staff member, we’ll get you out safely.” He assured the kids that were close enough to him, his heart was racing inside his chest and it took everything in him to stay with his students. When all he wanted to do was find Cyren and get her out of the gym, he saw the front door was blocked in by various Rebellion members so he steered the kids towards the door that lead out to the courtyard but it was also blocked by Rebel members who had taken it upon themselves to fight anyone who tried escaping.

The fact that the Rebellion had boxed them in like this, caused his blood to boil with rage. Everything had happened so fast that he wasn’t even thinking about staying in control, “Go stay with Professor Haworth.” He ordered the students as he turned away from them, his normal brown eyes turned a deadly bright yellow as the familiar heat engulfed his body. He didn’t care right now who saw him change into his Basilisk form, right now all he cared about was keeping the school and all the students safe from harm. As his body morphed and green scales covered his entire body, his eyes did find the warm glow of fire above the crowd of people. However the fire was close to the front entrance of the gym, meaning Cyren had moved closer to the fight that had broken out and to Finn that meant she was in danger. He knew she could take care of herself, she was getting stronger over her flames with every session they had together but that didn’t mean he wanted her anywhere near an attack from the Rebellion. Once his transformation ended he lifted the front half of his long, thick serpent body up off the floor as it gave him better movement and he could see more. His scales were a dark forest green but in dim lighting looked black, the deep scarlet plume that sat on the top of his head was the only way to tell that Finn was a male. Sliding across the floor, he moved quickly for being such a large serpent but it was extremely easy for him to move and dodge through the crowd that was formed.

He was getting closer to the front where the fighting was taking place, it was then that he first saw Cyren. Her fire burning on her skin and her eyes glowing with anger, she was ready to defend the school she loved so much but did he think she was ready to fight? Finn wasn’t sure, although it was too late for that now. He moved between two werewolf students and came face to face with an unfamiliar vampire, a Rebel who would have attacked the scared students if Finn’s deadly eyes didn’t lock onto the vampire’s. The vampire instantly dropped to the floor, this time he was actually dead and wouldn’t come back to life. Though as Finn moved over the cold dead body, he reached down digging his fangs through the arm of the vampire to pump his venom into the body just to make sure. Finn continued on like that, killing any member of the Rebellion that he saw and there a few that he had killed. This was something that he hadn’t done for a very long time and he didn’t want to kill anyone, but he wasn’t going to allow the Rebellion to attack the school and his students in this way. He would protect the kids with his life and nothing was going to stop him, but while he was fighting he lost sight of Cyren and he couldn’t pick up her scent. He could smell too many scents and emotions to pick out just one, the kids were terrified and the staff were shocked while the Rebels were enjoying themselves.

Hissing loudly he felt pain shoot through his tail, spinning around he saw a fully formed werewolf had used his claw to slice through half of Finn’s tail. That had been a big mistake, his slim red tongue flickered past his lips as he didn’t allow his eyes to kill this werewolf. No, that death would have been much too quick and no painful enough. Instead Finn curled his body up and acting like a string would, his tail pushed off from the group and he flew through the air directly at the werewolf. His body wrapping around the werewolf’s torso, Finn pierced through the skin with his fangs and let his deadly venom seep into the blood system and muscle of the werewolf. His venom took a few minutes to kill but it was said to be the worst pain in the world, slithering away from the werewolf Finn continued on his fight. He wanted to check the other door to see how that was being handled and if there was a way for the students to get out, but it was at that second he heard a yell loud over every other sound. Calum had formed a path out the main door, the old vampire was using all his strength to hold back the Rebels with the help of a few other staff members. So Finn joined in as this was the only chance for most of the students to escape to safety, a witch had broken past but she didn’t even have time to attack as Finn was right there. Using his body to push her down onto the ground, keeping her from causing any more harm and he forced her to look into his yellow eyes which instantly killed her.

Watching the students run towards the safety of the school, it was then that for some reason the Rebels all stopped fighting and struggling. The smirks on their faces urged Finn to go after them as they all retreated in the same direction, they were leaving the school but no one followed as they knew it was a waste of time. Finn slid back into the gym and transformed himself back into his human form, thankfully when he did transform his clothes stayed in place although his clothing was ripped and dirty and stained with blood. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and tied it around his leg, the wound was deep and bleeding heavily but he was the king of all serpents and his body would heal the wound in a day or two. It just looked worse than it was, but it was still painful even for him and he cursed under his breath as he sat on the floor of the gym. All the decorations and tables had been thrown aside, windows had been broken and walls had been dented by bodies, blood stained the floor and there were bodies. Dead bodies and injured bodies that needed tending too, Finn was one of those bodies as he couldn’t walk on his injured leg as the wound was far too deep and he didn’t heal instantly.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


"I don't think I or anyone else in this school holds a candle to you Love." Daniel’s compliment sent a shiver down her spine, she would have told him that he was just saying that. All the girls looked amazing and Cyren would totally get the award for the best dressed and most beautiful, but she didn’t as she just let the compliment sink in. She smiled when he commented that he saw she was having fun and she agreed with him, she was having a lot of fun and anything that had been bothering her wasn’t tonight. The Rebellion and her father had been forgotten about, she was there to have fun and that is what she was doing. "Marlee, your dress is absolutely stunning by the way. If I had to breathe, you'd take my breath away." Daniel spoke quietly just so she could hear him and no one else could, the compliment caused a blush to settle on Marlee’s fair skin and as she looked up into his eyes all she saw was seriousness which she didn’t doubt for a second. “Thank you, I hoped you’d like the dress. I loved it the second I saw it, but you need to thank Ren. She picked it out for me,” Marlee told him gently as she took her eyes off him, even if no one seemed to be paying them much attention she still wanted to make sure she didn’t cause him any trouble.

She was tempted to lean into his chest and have his arms surround her, have him hold her close and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. But sadly that wouldn’t be happening any time soon, in fact it wouldn’t happen tonight either as she was planning on sleeping over with Cyren in either of their dorms as it had been so long since they had been able to stay together through the night. The next time she was alone with Dan, she’d just need to get in all the touches and holds that she could. They talked for a little while longer before Cyren returned from getting her fresh air, and it was only because she knew that she noticed Finn coming through the same door that Ren had come in from. Her cheeks were the same pink shade as Marlee’s and she wanted to ask her friend what had happened outside with Finn, but that was a question for later when they were alone and Daniel wasn’t standing there beside them. "Hey Marlee sorry for slipping out. However I'm relieved to find you in one piece and not being lured off by the dark side." Ren teased as only she could make a joke out of what happened, Marlee rolled her eyes as she knew neither Cyren nor Daniel were going to forget about that night.

“It was one time, you two need to forget about it already.” The fae grumbled as her lips formed a pout as she looked at her best friend, Dan took that as his sign to leave the pair and all Marlee wanted to do was lean up and press a kiss to his cheek before he walked away. Instead she sent him a sweet smile before turning to the Hellhound, "Well he's in a good mood. Still having fun?" Cyren asked and it was obvious to the blonde fae that bringing the Hellhound to the dance was the right decision, neither of them had to like the other students for them to have a good time. “I am having fun and it seems like you are too, maybe this proves to you that school events aren’t so horrible as you’ve always thought.” Marlee smiled as she knew she was right, Cyren knew the fae was right because they were both having a good time at the dance. It wasn’t long after that they the students and staff were told to take a seat as their dinner was being served, Marlee ordered herself mixed meat noodle dish with sweet and sour sauce with extra pineapple. It was a dish she first had in her first year at the school and a meal she adored, she could actually eat this noodle dish every day for the rest of her life and she would be happy. Sitting beside Nix and Cyren at the table, the four of them talked about everything and anything. They laughed at the jokes that both Ren and Nix brought up, and it was just easy for Marlee to enjoy herself.

It was the first time that night when she didn’t have time to steal a glance at Daniel, partly from all the talking they were doing but also so the twins didn’t catch where her eyes were going. "Thi-I mean I don't want you to feel like you have to or anything but, um this is a pretty good song. Do you want to dance?" Greg’s voice sounded after his sister had rushed off to go dance with someone, if Marlee didn’t know about who Cyren harboured feelings for then she would have made the Hellhound dance with Greg. She bit down onto her bottom lip to keep her giggles soft, she did feel bad for Greg as he did have the biggest crush on Cyren and has done for a long time now. But of course Ren gently let Greg down, “You couldn’t have just given him one dance? It would have made him so happy,” Marlee smiled as she leaned back in her chair, her tummy was full of delicious food and she was beginning to grow tired. Marlee nodded her head when Ren suggested they have a sleepover, she didn’t care what anyone said as her father hasn’t tried anything since that night so they should be fine to stay together now.

Marlee was talking about something that she couldn’t even remember now, as her voice was cut off by a loud bang! that sounded from nowhere. But it was a noise that she had never heard before and in the pit of her stomach a very bad feeling grew, her face became pale as she looked over at her best friend. The music stopped and it was when the staff rushed towards the main door of the gym, is when Marlee knew something terrible was going down. Getting to her feet she stayed close to Ren, the two thick wooden doors of the class room were thrown open revealing faces of the Rebellion. She just knew it was them, that caused the room to erupt in panic as staff tried to get the students somewhere safe but it seemed the Rebels had them cornered. "Find Daniel, Finn, or the Headmaster! The Rebellion may be looking for you- so go! I'll try to keep them busy." Cyren barked the order at the blonde fae who was now torn, she didn’t want to leave her best friend to fight alone but she also knew she could be a target. “Stay safe and be careful, I love you Ren.” She had to shout over the loud noises of other people yelling and the fighting that had already broken out, Marlee moved quickly towards where she had last seen Daniel and in that time she had thrown her high heels off as the stupid shoes were only slowing her down.

Panic gripped her body when she couldn’t find Daniel or Finn or the Headmaster, she felt like her lungs were being squeezed and she gasped for air. Her eyes weren’t finding anyone that could help her, until her name was being called out and she turned around to see the man she was falling in love with. He was over to her quickly and she shook her head at his question, she wasn’t hurt but he had blood on him. "It's not mine, but we need to get moving." He spoke so fast that Marlee barely understood what he said, but she knew what needed to happen so once Dan started to move towards the courtyard door she was right there behind him. While he made the path across the room, Marlee grabbed all the students that she possibly could and made them go with her. It took several minutes for them to reach the door, but somehow they made it. Daniel ordered them to get to safety but he wasn’t coming with them, “Dan… kick their ass.” Marlee told him as she knew what he was doing, he couldn’t leave the gym until all the students were safe and the Rebels didn’t pose a threat anymore. She was going to need to step up and take charge now, “We need to get back to the school…” She was again cut off by an evil laugh, she had gotten the group of students into the middle of the courtyard when they were stopped.

Rebels surrounded them but the laugh came from one of Hamish’s Uncles, he stood there smirking for a moment before lunging forward. Marlee raised her hand up into the air which cause the werewolf to fly back nearly twenty feet away from the students, apparently that didn’t please the other Rebels but she wasn’t alone in this. The group of vampires that Daniel teaches stood beside her, Vin and Mack on either side of her and it wasn’t long before Calum appeared with them. None of them were going to back down and let the Rebel hurt the school they loved, as the Rebels closed in around the group most of them fought back. Some were either too scared and frozen or they were waiting to see which side was stronger, Marlee didn’t pay much attention to those students. She was too busy using her magic to hold back the Rebels and to also protect who was fighting alongside her, she could feel her magic and power flow through every inch of her body and mind. It gave her a buzz that she hadn’t felt before, but it urged her to keep going as she was doing the right thing. She continued pushing the Rebels back when her feet left the ground, at first she thought it was someone else’s doing but it dawned on her that it was her doing. Her sparkly vibrant blue fairy wings were fluttering on her back, which gave her a different angle to attack from.

Her wings also helped her move faster so she could do more in defending her home, when she noticed Daniel wasn’t too far away and was fighting off another vampire she felt proud of him. However it didn’t last long when her eyes landed on Hamish’s uncle once again, he was sneaking up on her boyfriend so Marlee used her magic and this time she lifted his body into the air. Her fingers tensed as her magic tighten around his throat, she was fuming now. Not only did the Rebellion take her father, attack her school and her friends, but now he was sneaking up on her boyfriend. The fae had enough. She watched as the werewolf gasped for air as he hovered above everyone’s heads, however her concentration broke when someone knocked into her body and sent her falling onto the ground. Hamish’s uncle also crashed onto the ground and let out a pain filled howl as a few bones cracked in his fall, Marlee pushed herself back up onto her feet as she forgot about the werewolf and continued fighting. She fought off two red haired witches before another witch with matching red hair sent a spell her way, Marlee felt her body get hit and it felt like a truck had ran into her. Her body was thrown backwards but the spell held her wings down against her back, so she couldn’t break her fall. She landed on the concrete steps leading out of the court yard, a scream broke through the fae’s lips as her left arm took most of the landing. Feeling her bone crack seconds before the side of her head connected with the top step, instantly pain filled her head and her arm as her vision blurred.

Warmth trickled down the side of her face as she lay on the steps unable to move, her heart was beating in her ears that she didn’t hear the whistle that made the Rebellion retreat from wherever they came from. The spell vanished from her wings which now lay flat behind her, she couldn’t even try to get up. Her head was spinning and her arm was causing her so much pain, her beautiful dress was now ripped in places and her hair had fallen down from the pins. “Cyren… Daniel…” She whispered as she needed to check on the two people she loved the most, she needed to make sure they were okay and hadn’t gotten hurt in the fight.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


She was bleeding from somewhere, Cyren wasn't quite sure where but she couldn't pay attention. Having flung herself into the thick of everything, she couldn't afford to lose focus. If that happened then Cyren would be dead. No two ways about it. Currently Cyren was trying to protect a staff member who'd gotten a nasty bite from a werewolf, the wolf in question had been ready to deliver a final blow to the teacher had Cyren not quite literally charged into his side. They met with a sickening Thud! and both spilled to the floor. There was a moment where the wind was knocked out of Cyren's lungs but she forced herself to keep moving. To get back on her feet and within moments called forth her bestial form. It took mere moments and by the time the werewolf was back on his feet, he was face to face with the hulking beast; it's eyes red and glowing. He didn't even have a chance to scream as Cyren launched herself onto the wolf with the fervor of a mad dog; ripping and tearing where her fangs made contact. She didn't stop until the quivering mutilated mass of wolf beneath her stopped moving.

Her tail, spaded lethally to a tip at the end whipped about with fury as she searched for her next victims. Cyren's human mind was gone; taken over by the beast's bloodlust. It went after the closest unfamiliar scents; tracking them down with a hunter's mastery. This form granted her a better chance to fight, because while she was now much larger than her human form, her senses were sharper. It was easy to rip and render this way- as her next victims found out. They were rebel fae, four of them having surrounded a student. It had been the student's frantic squalls that garnered the attention of the Hellhound. That and they were only mere steps away from her. A snarl rumbled in her chest as she charged to the aid of the student, snapping first at the fae that seemed to be in charge. The fairy shrieked when Cyren's fangs sunk deep into her shoulder blade. At once blood gushed forth in Cyren's mouth, it was disgustingly hot and thick, and had the Hellhound been in her right mind she'd of gagged then and there. The fae once recovering from her initial shock wasted no time in turning her attention away from the student to turn it to defending herself from the threat of Cyren's teeth. An energy blast against the hound's face momentarily stunned her, long enough for the fairy to wrench herself away.

The fairy was stumbling and pale from the blood loss. Pain exploded against Cyren's face and a sharp growl tumbled past her throat. Two of her three friends had been alerted to Cyren's presence, and immediately came to the aid of their friend. Perhaps it was a mistake taking on so many fae at once. Energy blasts were thrown at her, and one of them was strong enough to make herself intangible. The original fairy had stumbled off, and Cyren snarled, the beast not knowing when to back down. This fight was dragged out and not looking to be in Cyren's favor. The energy blasts wore her out, one Fae had their wings out and moving fast enough to be considered teleporting while the other would turn intangible whenever Cyren launched an attack against her. The beasts might and impressive body was taking on damage and fast, the girl was getting to the end of her rope. The hound was furious, blindly leaping and attacking to no avail. Anger and frustration clouded her brain, and her movements. "Cyren. Slow down. Breathe." Her mind whispered, and Hellhound heeded. They seemed to move in a pattern. Cyren would lunge towards the intangible one trying to catch it off guard. A blast of energy would strike her; and then another.

So, she feigned towards the intangible fae, though at the last minute whipped her tail, the boned spade slicing through something. It shocked the intangible one enough that this time, Cyren's jaws enclosed around her throat. With a squelch that would surely haunt the senior until the day she died, her teeth sliced through the thin skin before ripping out bones, and gore. A wet gurgle fell from his lips as the fae collapsed to the ground. The fae she had sliced with her tail was clutching her stomach, blood leaking from behind her fingers. Not taking any chances Cyren flung herself into the fae, targeting her stomach. She was furious, inflicting the pain the fae had cast on her tenfold. Her vision was hazy, pulsing with red while her ears pounded. The sounds of fighting dimmed and the only thing that Cyren could hear were her own teeth clacking and ripping, skin shredding, the wet rush of blood, and the fairy's desperate shrieks. Eventually she stopped thrashing beneath the weight of the Hellhound who had pinned the rebel to the floor; rather weakly twitching and whimpering. Then there was nothing. Not a twitch or noise. No heartbeat. Dead. Cyren could be disgusted with herself later- but the beast felt no remorse.

These creatures had attacked Cyren in her home threatened her friends. Her home. Anything less than doing her best to defend this place and these people, would be unsatisfactory. Red stained the thick, black fur around her muzzle, and drooled past her lips by the time she turned from the fae's corpse, nearly mauled in half from the beast's furious assault. It must of been a fearsome sight as she advanced on the last remaining fae. Her hands were wreathed with a dark purple light, the energy blasts that she'd been trying to steer Cyren from the most recently fallen. The beast could pick up on the acidic scent of fear, terror really. Her forehead was cloaked with perspire, her pupils fully blown and breathing erratic. Yes this fairy was very frightened of Cyren. Her bestial mind was amused, it delighted in this fright of the prey. Of the violence it had brought onto these rebels, these trespassers. The thrill of the hunt was not something to be underestimated. It affected even the most experienced of her race Cyren read. And if one was not careful, they could lose their mind to it. Slowly the beast advanced, her lips peeled back to reveal glistening, crimson stained teeth. However, before Cyren could finish this fairy, a bell rang. It was high pitch and assaulting against her delicate ears. With a snarl the beast folded it's ears against her head, head lowered.

The fairy took this as a chance to escape, to turn and flee. And Cyren would of given chase had there not been so many bodies pushing towards the door. So she stayed in place, panting, exhausted, and in pain. She felt drained, her body bruised in every place imaginable from those fairies. Her cheek was bleeding, as were a few cuts along her ribs. Must of gotten them from the fights she engaged in. Once her bloodlust began to fade away, so did her grip on the hound form. A familiar darkness enveloped her, cool and comfortable. When it receded, she was standing on her two human feet. Her dress was torn, dirty and stained. Her hands were covered with blood, as were her mouth, chin, and parts of her cheeks and throat. The metallic taste hung heavy on her tongue; and her stomach rolled. There was a dead silence that had fallen upon the students and staff. Though it was soon over taken by people calling out desperately for names of friends and loved ones. "Marlee? Finn? Daniel?" Cyren croaked, forcing herself to move. The girl's steps were stumbled, unbalanced as her entire frame sagged with exhaustion. She hurt all over. It wasn't fatal, but it was a hindrance. She managed to stumble her way through the crowds, calling out for anyone familiar.

"Marlee?!" It was like walking through a war zone. Kids and staff alike sat on the ground with varying injuries. Some were crying, others were staring vacantly at the ground, a couple had vomited. Worse yet were the dead bodies. They lay scattered staring up with their dead gazes. It sent shivers down Cyren's spine. Some of them were mauled beyond the point of recognition. Again that bile rose to her throat. "Daniel?" It was spoken more of a plea. She needed to see her friends. They all needed to be okay and so far she hadn't seen anyone. An ominous pit opened in her stomach. "Cyren?" Then a voice was calling her and with hope she whirled around; only to find Greg sitting. His back was leaning against the wall and his clothes were stained with crimson. Concern washed over the Hellhound as she approached crouching down next to him. "Do you want me to get the nurse? You look rough." She managed to get out, and Greg just shook his head. "Nix will get her. But we want to make sure the kids with the worse injuries get taken care of. I was worried about you." Guilt stung her veins.

Cyren hadn't even considered how he had fared during this. "Thank you. Are you sure you're going to be okay?" The draconian boy just nodded. "Nix has done worse when I steal the last of her lucky charms." Nodding Cyren bit her lip, thinking of Marlee hurt, or Finn dead. Daniel wounded- she needed to find them. "Have you seen Marlee?" She asked of the blonde and he nodded; his lips twitching as if he were in pain for the briefest of moments though it was quickly replaced with a smile. If Cyren had been paying attention she would of noticed the blood seeping out from beneath his tux, would of scented the new blood, or his face covered with sweat, and the pain hidden in his leafy depths. "I saw her at the beginning of all this. She and Professor Roberts were trying to clear a path through the courtyard for students. After that I went..." He paused coughing into his sleeve lingering there for a moment before continuing. "I went to find you. I wasn't sure if you'd be okay. I got held up by a vampire. I'm sorry I didn't make it to you. You're bleeding. Are you alright?" They were mostly shallow little cuts. From the werewolf's claws. Her ribs were surely bruised if not cracked but they'd heal. "I'll be okay. Most of it's not mine, don't worry about it. Just hang tough until the nurse comes, okay? I need to go find Marlee." Greg opened his mouth as if he were going to say anything but just nodded.

"Okay... Go find her. Make sure she's alright. Best of luck." He bade, and Cyren felt as if something were wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it. With a nod she shakily got back to her feet. At once her vision spun, making the first few steps difficult. With a hand to the wall to steady herself, the Hellhound set off with her teeth clenched in determination, trying to block out the noise. The wails, the panicked screaming for the nurse from various locations in the room. She was so dazed, Cyren nearly tripped over another figure. About to apologize and move on her gaze happened to flicker across a very familiar face. Finn. His eyes were closed, breathing ragged. At first Cyren thought he was just tired until her eyes flickered to the thick, pool of ruby blood pooled around his leg. Fuck. "F- Professor Huxely?" Voice rising in pitch the Hellhound sunk to the ground ignoring how her body screamed in protest. Her small hands shook his shoulders, panic clouding her gaze. At her voice, Finn's gaze snapped open and Cyren almost cried out with relief. Words died and bloomed on her tongue before she could get them out. "You need the nurse." Cyren pointed out in a tiny voice. She wanted to curl up in his arms. There were so many awful things she'd just witnessed. Just inflicted.

But she couldn't. Rather her eyes began to mist as Cyren's own breathing became shallow and ragged. "I killed people." She finally blurted out, her throat thick and voice wavering. She had done it out of necessity, but she could still remember how it felt as their skin was torn beneath fang. As her bestial self had ripped people apart until faces weren't recognizable. But worse of all, how she had enjoyed it. The hunt. How the bloodlust had overcome her. Bile rose in her stomach threatening vomit. "He needs you. Don't fall apart." Cyren warned herself, forcing her body to take down deep breaths. "Wh-what do you need me to do?" She didn't think cauterization was something that would be useful. He wasn't bleeding enough for that not to mention that was incredibly painful. Cyren didn't know if she could do that without hurting him further. It was instinct when her hand sought out his, fingers subtly entwining with his. No one was paying attention to pay attention to them. She didn't think that would was fatal enough that he would die. He was losing blood and fast. And it was deep, but just to be sure Cyren was going to keep him awake until the nurse came to heal up the gash. "How'd that happen?" She wanted to keep him talking. That was what they did in movies, and if he was talking he couldn't be passing out from blood loss or something, right?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



His head was buzzing as he ripped into his arm, blood springing forth and offering it to one of the more injured students. His head struggled to comprehend what had just happened. One moment he had been having a nice time. Admiring his girlfriend and then the next chaos. A horde of rebels, all the fighting just to find Marlee. It had been the most difficult thing letting her go with the students to safety. But it had to be done. Daniel blinks; pulling his arm away from the injured student once they healed up. He wouldn't have enough to do this for everyone, but Callum was helping as well. In a trance he headed to the next kid that needed his help. This had been a furious battle. He had been with Callum mostly, the two trying to fend off what they could. Fairies, wolves, other vampires- it didn't matter. For the first time in centuries Daniel had to confront the monster in him that he kept so carefully locked beneath lock and key. The part of him that craved this violence. The part of him that was cold, ruthless. The guy he had been before Callum found him.

His hands were soaked with blood. Some that was his, most from plunging his hand into the chests of his enemies and plucking their heart from them. His hands still vibrated with the necks, twisted until death. The ones that he had caved beneath his hands as if they were nothing more than empty foam cups. A shiver runs up his spine as he recalls the violence his hands had been seeped in tonight. He had seen kids trying to protect one another, even staff. And he had seen the staff fight with everything they had. He had felt panic when he had to send Marlee off. He had to tell himself it was for safety. Daniel had to push the thoughts of the sweet fae from his mind whenever his opponent was a fairy. It was the thought of the fairy that drove him to violence. To make sure that no one was going to come after her again. No one would be left standing. Daniel was ready to continue to tear his foes apart when that odd little bell had sounded and like silent signal they all fled. Leaving the staff and students, injured, hurt emotionally, and confused. He hadn't seen Cyren, or Finn since the fight started. But he'd found both their work in the aftermath while he was walking around offering blood to whoever needed it.

Especially those without healing powers. Some of the witches scrunched their noses but accepted. Sure, vampire blood was gross, but it would heal them up. And for those who already had healing powers, enhanced their natural abilities to heal. He had been towards the end of his rope when he noted two figures sitting down, Finn and Cyren. Upon approaching he noted Cyren's hand clutching Finn's. She was covered with blood, mostly her face and Daniel actually shivered to think what she'd looked like in the middle of the fight. Her heart was hammering about, breathing shallow and uneven. For a moment he felt sympathy. As tough as she liked to act, it was very likely that this was too much for her. "Here. Drink." Daniel directed, crouching down next to them and opening into his veins once again. "The nurse won't be here for awhile. She's making sure students get healed first and... And it's not pretty. You'll be healed up on your own before she gets to you." Daniel demanded of Finn. The leg looked pretty bad and he'd lost blood. Cyren had quickly pulled her hands away from Finn when Daniel had began talking, her eyes downcast. As Finn hesitated before accepting, she cleared her throat. "Please tell me Marlee is okay."

"I got her to the courtyard. She should be alright. Took a group of students away from the fight. I'm looking for her after this." He was too tired to carry out a conversation and Cyren nodded. "I'll help you." She looked a wreck. On the verge of tears at least. "Go back to your dorm. Shower. Rest. Finn, make sure she gets back. I'll let you know how Marlee is once I've found her. She's fine though Cyren she has to be. She's tougher than either of us give her credit for." Getting back to his feet, he paused and carefully added, "Stay together. I don't know if there's more rebels in the school. The bell seems to have drawn them off but just stay vigilante." With that he was back into the crowd. He needed to find Marlee. He had wanted to go the moment the fighting washed out, but there was a sense of responsibility to his students. They were hurt, some wounds were pretty nasty. Not to mention Callum had asked for help with donating blood. With his last bits of energy Daniel pushed his way towards the courtyard door. At once a pit formed in his stomach. There were the group of students that were supposed to have broken away from the fighting. The group that Marlee had supposed to of led off. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Daniel's mind chanted, conjuring the worse scenarios. Marlee broken and bleeding, as mangled and mauled as some of the bodies in there.

His vision seemed to pulse with black, and brain kicked into overdrive as he wordlessly pushed his way through the crowd of students who were huddled around something. That something was Marlee. Her breathing was a little shallow, and heartbeat increased. She was hurt. Within the span of a second Daniel was by his side. "Someone tell me what happened." He demanded in his best professional voice, though it shook slightly. One girl sniffled, breathy tears in her voice as she answered. "We got out here sir, and they ambushed us. M-Marlee held them off. She was fighting some witches, and was flying and crashed." He nodded, and without thinking kneeled on the ground next her, carefully lifting her head up so it was in his lap and bit into his arm once more. "Marlee, c'mon open your eyes. Drink. You've been hurt." Dan all but plead. He almost fainted when her eyes fluttered open. "Professor?" Her voice was soft, a little weak and nodding Dan heaved a sigh of relief. "Yes. Do you know your name? Where you are? It looks like you hit your head." It was the hardest fucking thing remaining professional. God he wanted to smother her with kisses, apologize until he was blue in the face that he had left her.

He had thought it was safe, he was wrong. Once it was clear that Marlee was okay, he waited a little while for his blood to take effect. He had given too much. His face was paler than it usually was, his hands shaking- though that could be because of the situation he'd found Marlee in. "Cyren?" Marlee asked, her voice cracking. "Safe. She's fine. Can you stand?" He waited until she felt ready and lurched to his feet, keeping one of her arms around his shoulder. Had no one else been around he'd of just picked her up. But the students were still staring wide eyed. "I...Is she okay?" One asked, their voices soft. Dan nodded, grunting. "She'll be fine. She needs to lay down and have a good rest. As do all of you. Stay in a group get to your dorms." He directed before taking slow careful steps back inside. No one tried to stop him as he helped Marlee back through the gym. "Close your eyes. You don't want to see." Dan murmured, exhaustion lacing his voice. Honestly the vampire didn't know how they got out of that damned room to the hall. "We'll know who's hurt tomorrow. The headmaster will hold an assembly I'm sure." He offered as they trudged along towards the vampiric dorms. How could this happen?

Disgust welled in his stomach. Was there something they could of done to prevent this. And why? Why had this happened? Marlee was looking a little better, but not much. She needed a shower. Rest. New clothes to get out of the ripped dress. He'd make sure that all happened. "I'm so sorry." Daniel finally choked out as they approached the stairs leading down to their dorms. "I should of fucking been there. It was naive to think there wouldn't be more rebels waiting in the courtyard." Guilt stung his tongue, and shame. He had sworn to protect her and he failed to do that again. He hadn't caught Thomas, and now she had been injured on his watch. His head was running a millions miles a second as they finally made it to his door. "I'll get you some fresh clothes. But shower up here okay? So if you faint, or if the rebels come I'll be close by. I'll give you your privacy. Then tonight you can rest here. He didn't care about the risks of this plan. He'd sleep on the floor or in his chair. He didn't care, Marlee shouldn't be alone tonight. And Cyren was in no place to look after the fairy. Daniel didn't know if she was in a place to look after herself at the moment.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


Closing his eyes, Finn tried to focus on anything other than the pain in his leg. He knew his was losing blood and quicker than he first thought he would, he couldn’t heal himself this fast and that did worry him although he wasn’t allowing himself to think like that. He didn’t even move when he felt someone stumble into his body, until the voice he had been praying to hear sounded very close to him. "F- Professor Huxely?" Her voice hit his ears causing his eyes to snap open, Cyren was standing there and she was alive. She had a few cuts on her skin and some bruises already forming on her arms, physically she wasn’t injured badly but he noticed the blood staining her mouth and chin. Mentally she wouldn’t be okay until she dealt with the things that she had done that night, and he would be right there to help her deal with everything because he knew exactly how she was feeling right now. He had been there and he had killed people before when he couldn’t control himself, but if she hadn’t done what she did tonight then a lot more people would be in bad shape.

“I’ll be fine, the nurses are already busy.” Finn voiced as he did need a nurse but he wasn’t going to tell Cyren that, she was already hurting and her eyes were broken. There was a stabbing pain in his heart when he looked into her eyes, "I killed people." Cyren admitted to him as her fingers laced with his, and right now he didn’t care if anyone saw because she needed him just as much as he needed her. “You did but so did I, and if you didn’t then a lot of these kids in here would have gotten seriously injured. But you stopped that from happening, keep reminding yourself of that.” He knew it would take time for Cyren to feel better about the killing she did that night, it might even take her months or years to fully realise that she did what she needed to. It was easy for him to tell her that she did the right thing, it wouldn’t be easy for her to believe it and that is something they’d work on together in their sessions. "Wh-what do you need me to do?" Her tender voice asked him and if he could, he’d pick her body up and carry her away from the injured people and the dead bodies.

This attack had come from nowhere, Finn couldn’t be sure if the attack was driven by wanting more power or if it was to see how strong the staff was here. Part of him couldn’t help but wonder if the Rebels attacked to find out how strong Marlee was becoming, from what he knew of her family she was the last young Hudson fairy that clearly held the power that her family did. But there were also other rare species at the school, such as Cyren and Finn knew the Rebellion could do a lot more damage in a short period of time if they got their hands on the Hellhound. “Just stay here with me, I like having you here. So you can’t get yourself into any more trouble,” Finn tried to lightened the mood between them but it didn’t work this time, he grinned lightly when she asked who had wounded him. “A bloody werewolf, and they wonder why no one trusts them when they turn.” He wanted to say that he had fallen against a table and cut his leg, but that sounded worst then him being caught off guard by a werewolf. Admitting that he had gotten injured was like pulling teeth from him, he hated getting hurt like this because it made him feel weak and useless.

Then the warmth of Cyren’s hand vanished and Finn realised that Daniel had found them, however he was alone which he hadn’t been expecting to see. He grumbled about vampire blood being disgusting but Dan was right, he was still losing too much blood and the nurses were caring for the students first which he was happy about. The students needed help first, he could wait. But he mumbled a ”Thanks” to the vampire as he drank some blood, the foul metallic taste of his blood made his stomach twist in disgust but he swallowed the blood and waited until he could feel his wound at least closing over. His body could do the rest, he just needed the bleeding to stop before he moved and made it all worse. Nodding his head he listened to what Daniel said before he rushed off to find the blonde fae, pushing himself onto his feet his legs were a little wobbly. “You heard him, Marlee will be fine but you aren’t.” Finn placed his hand on the middle of Cyren’s back, turning her towards the main entrance and with his body he shielded her vision from the dead bodies that littered the floor. A few bodies that clearly did come from her doing, but he also saw the bodies that he had attacked but he stayed silent. A witch professor caught his attention as he took Cyren outside, he asked if Finn could help get the students back to their dorms which he agreed to do. Cyren would just need to come with him as she wasn’t going to leave his sight, so he took a large group of students with him into the main school building.

Walking through the silent hallways he was pleased when the students seemed to make their own ways into their dorms, “Shower and rest. If you feel like you need a nurse, don’t hesitate to go see them or to ask for help. The Headmaster will organize for you all to have access to counsellors, don’t keep this bottled up. We all need to talk about this, deal with this and move on.” He spoke clearly to the group of students before they disappeared into their dorms, he was exhausted but knew he needed to get Cyren back to her dorm. He’d be staying in her dorm for the night, he couldn’t even think about leaving her alone at a time like this. Professors were taking groups through the hallways to the different dorm wings, while Finn took Cyren up the stairs to the Professor dorms. He helped her inside and turned to look at her, “Go take a shower. I’ll get you clean clothes to wear,” He softened his voice as he stepped into the bathroom, he turned the water on in the shower and waited for the water to warm up. Leaving the brunette for a minute he found clean underwear, although he shut his eyes and just grabbed a pair, and some clean pajamas which he left in the bathroom before shutting the door. Once he heard the glass door of the shower shut, he rushed across the hall to his room where he grabbed a t-shirt and sweat pants before walking back into Cyren’s dorm so he could wait for her. He hoped tonight wouldn’t plague her dreams and give her nightmares, although it wouldn’t surprise him if that did happen to all the students that had witnessed the attack tonight. He’d wait until tomorrow before he went to the witches and asked them to make Cyren a sleeping potion, like they were doing for Marlee. In fact a few sleeping potions might need to be brewed up for the students, “Cyren… you alright in there?” His voice asked through the door of the bathroom as he wanted to make sure she was okay, if he could he’d be in there with her but that was pushing things way too far between them and he didn’t have the right to see her in that state.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


Marlee’s eyes had closed as people started to huddle around where she lay, her arm was causing her so much pain that she wanted to fall unconscious just so she wouldn’t feel the pain anymore. Until she felt someone lifting her head up and a soft whimper of pain left her lips, she heard his voice and she slowly opened her eyes. “Professor?” She looked up at Daniel and suddenly everything felt fine again, he was there and he was safe. He asked her a few questions and a light frown formed on her face, “Of course I know my name,” She answered him before she mentioned that her arm was broken, she felt him press his wrist to her lips and she couldn’t help but make a face when she tasted his blood. Slowly the pain vanished from her head and then her arm as her bones joined together in the way they should be, “Cyren? I need to see her,” She told Daniel as she slowly stood up with his help, which is when she noticed how pale his face was. He had given her too much blood and now he was struggling himself, "Safe. She's fine, you can see her tomorrow.” Daniel assured her which didn’t sit well with Marlee, she wanted to see Ren and make sure she was okay. But she would wait until tomorrow like he said, walking beside him she closed her eyes when he told her to and she couldn’t imagine what the gym looked like right now.

It didn’t take them long to reach Daniel’s dorm and she was glad because she was exhausted but so was he, "I'm so sorry. I should of fucking been there. It was naive to think there wouldn't be more rebels waiting in the courtyard." He apologized to her which was just plain stupid, he had nothing to apologize about. “Stop it, you didn’t know this was going to happen. They hid until we got into the courtyard, they surrounded us… they were there so quickly.” She could feel the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes but she refused to cry, she was stronger than that. She had no reason to cry, so she inhaled deeply and kept all the emotions inside. “I’m just glad that you’re okay, but you need to go drink some blood. I know that you’re getting low and thirsty,” She told him as she wasn’t going to kiss him or hug him until he drank a few blood bags, she wasn’t going to go any closer to him and make him suffer for longer just because he wanted to take care of her.

Walking through his room she stepped into his bathroom and closed the door behind her, staring at her reflection in the mirror there was a trail of her blood down the side of her face. Her hair was a mess, her arm was badly bruised where the bone had broken and her beautiful dress was now ripped and torn. She stepped out of her dress and took the bobby pins out of her blonde hair, turning the shower on she stepped in and let the warm water flow over her body. Standing there she didn’t move for a few minutes, the water washed away her blood and any dirt that marked her skin. Her fingers ran through her golden locks as the water moved over her body, she wasn’t sure how long she stood there in the shower but she stepped out and dried off with a towel she found in the cupboard. Wrapping the towel around her body she opened the door, her eyes finding Daniel easily and he wasn’t as pale as he had been before. “Feeling better now?” She asked as her eyes moved over to the trash can, three empty blood bags had been tossed aside and she was glad that he had listened to her. “Thank you,” Her voice was barely a whisper as she took the clothes that he had gotten from her dorm, she got dressed in the bathroom and tied her hair in a braid before she joined her boyfriend in his room once again.

This time she rushed into his arms, just wanting to feel him and to have his arms wrapped tightly around her body. Leaning up she pressed her lips to his for a much needed but still tender kiss, her small warm hands cupped his cheeks as she kissed him. Her thumbs lightly moving over his cheekbones, the kiss lasted for as long as she could before she pulled back as she needed air. “I didn’t know if you were okay or hurt, I hating feeling like that. Very vampire I saw… I thought of you, they made me so angry. Why would they attack now? Do you… do you think they attacked because of me?” Marlee knew Daniel wouldn’t have an answer for her, neither of them knew the reason behind the attack. But she couldn’t help but think it was because of her, her father had tried to take her from the school grounds and now there was a brutal attack during the senior dance. No one from the Rebellion had tried to grab her, but they did leave the second after she got hurt. Could they have been checking up on her? Checking to see the strength of the professors and if they could protect the students? Checking to see how powerful she was? The thoughts weren’t stopping from spinning around in her mind and she couldn’t stop herself from feeling guilty over the attack, she did feel like it was her fault as it all started with her and her father. She hadn’t seen Thomas during the attack but it wouldn’t surprise her if he had been there, but at least now they knew what the Rebellion was capable of. The school gates would need to be repaired right away and there would need to be more security to stop another attack from occurring, she wasn’t even sure how the families would react to the attack that has injured their children and could have injured more of their children. Marlee wanted to break down and cry, blame herself and hide away but she didn’t. She kept herself together and stayed strong, Dan didn’t need an emotional girlfriend when he was so exhausted although she still silently blamed herself. “Let’s get some sleep,” Tomorrow was going to be hell, the nurses would be able to count the injured and the staff would take care of the dead before the gym was cleaned up.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


She had watched quietly as Dan had gone about healing up Finn, though it was like watching from another person's eyes. Like she was seeing things but not truly comprehending them. Marlee was okay. That's all she needed to hear. It was a mechanical and instinctual when Cyren murmured, "I'll help you find her." She'd even begun getting to her feet when Dan shook his head. The normally brusque and sarcastic vampire spoke with notes of concern, though it didn't really register with Cyren. "Go back to your dorm. Shower. Rest. Finn, make sure she gets back. I'll let you know how Marlee is once I've found her. She's fine though Cyren she has to be. She's tougher than either of us give her credit for." Cyren shook her head, opening her mouth to protest though Daniel cut her off. "Stay together. I don't know if there's more rebels in the school. The bell seems to have drawn them off but just stay vigilante." The little brunette huffed out a little sigh. Daniel wasn't going to budge and Cyren was too drained to fight. "Okay. Dan- Please take care of her okay? This wasn't her fault." Cyren directed in a tiny voice to which Dan nodded.

"Don't worry about it okay, I'll let her know you're okay." He promised before leaving. Soon enough Finn was on his feet, “You heard him, Marlee will be fine but you aren’t.” She made a soft noise of weak protest. She was fine. Maybe a few bruises a rib that may be cracked, though it'd be healed in the morning, and cuts. But Cyren wasn't stupid. He wasn't talking about physically. And he was right, she wasn't okay. Her brain kept playing what had happened over and over again. She didn't fight when his hand came to rest against the small of her back guiding her out of the gym. He had cleverly positioned himself so that Cyren couldn't further witness the carnage which she had a hand in helping to create. Finn had earlier told her that without what she'd done, there'd be more students and staff injured. But Cyren still felt disgusted. She was fumbling about her own mind, trying to sort her thoughts on her own. She didn't even acknowledge the students that the other professor had asked Finn to escort back to their dorms. Not that she needed to. They all seemed as quiet and distant as the Hellhound. The school was quiet, deathly so and it rose goosebumps on her slender arms.

By some grace, Finn had managed to guide the students back to their dorms, and Cyren to her's without either of them passing out from exhaustion. Together they stepped through the door to her dorm, Finn closing it behind him. It was a small comfort. It looked just the way she'd left it and even if it was only for a few hours Cyren could try to pretend that all this hadn't happened. “Go take a shower. I’ll get you clean clothes to wear,” Finn directed as he helped her into the bathroom. "Okay." The agreement was soft, and she waited as he ran the water for her. When he left to grab her clean clothes, the Hellhound listlessly unzipped the once beautiful and now ruined dress. All too eager to get out of the ripped and bloodstained thing. In a heap it fell to the floor, just as the door opened again and Finn came back with clean pajamas. She was too tired to care that he was there while she was in her bra and underwear. That seemed like a moot thing to worry about after what had just happened. They didn't say anything to one another, and after he put the clothes down he left again. Somehow Cyren managed to peel her underthings off before stepping into the shower. The water was hot, a relief to her muscles. As water began to ran down her body, it turned red and ran against the white floor of the shower. If she wasn't feeling so utterly distant, Cyren would of been disgusted.

Instead she tilted her face up towards the water, allowing the blood to wash away. Her body still complained whenever her arms raised to wash her hair, or body. Yet somehow she got through the shower without passing out. The water was almost clear around her feet when she heard Finn call out to her. "Cyren... You alright in there?" His voice jarred her back to a sort of awareness. The water was turning cold, she must of been in there awhile. "Fine. I'm coming out okay? Just need to dry off." Even as she spoke the brunette was turning the dials off, grabbing the towel which had been laid out with her clothes and drying off before dressing. Once that was done she left the bathroom. She'd throw her dress out tomorrow. There was Finn, waiting for her. He'd become something, someone reliable and necessary to Cyren. He was in a simple pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. "You're staying?" Cyren asked, trying not to feel too hopeful. She didn't want to be alone tonight. Not after what'd happened. "I'm not going anywhere tonight okay? C'mon, go lay down." Finn directed to her great relief; she wouldn't be alone tonight. It was with a great solace when Cyren finally flopped into her soft bed. Her body which was still bruised and sore seemed to succor to the aches, lessening them. She wasn't sure that she'd be sleeping tonight, how could she? She was still worrying about sleeping when the lights flickered off and the bed beside her dipped with Finn's weight. Tension in Cyren's body began to dissipate and after a few moments she rolled over to face him.

Her eyes were well adjusted in the dark, enough anyway to make out his general features. Her eyes were adjusted enough to see the concern in his gentle dark eyes, and the brunette wasn't quite sure how to react. Normally the only person who gave a damn about her was Marlee, yet here was Finn. Not forced to be here, yet laying close enough that if Cyren wanted to she could drape her arm over his waist. "I was really worried about you." Cyren finally admits, her brows scrunching together. The thought of Finn laying broken or hurt on the floor made her throat close. "I tried to hold off the door, but there were so many of them and I-" Panic rises to her voice and abruptly Cyren stops talking. While she's trying to get her heartbeat under control, Finn moves a little closer so they're flush against each other. She can hear his heartbeat, rapid and quick in her ears; and his breathing a little shallow. Had he been worried too? Of their own accord her hands find his again, splaying against one another in the darkness. "What are we going to do? If the Rebellion can attack us here, they can attack us anywhere." She states, words muffled into his chest. "God I kept thinking what if you hadn't come back? What if Marlee hadn't come back, or Dan? Or what if I didn't come back to you? What would happen to Marlee I had been one of the ones on the floor?" Worries began to pour out of her mouth, as tears pricked her gaze. Cyren would do what she had to, to protect Marlee and everyone she cared for. But she hated the fighting. She had never wanted to be dragged into this, and she hated feeling so weak and useless. But worst of all, she hated recalling how scared she had been that night, fighting off the Rebellion.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



Dan could tell Marlee was holding back her emotions. Bottling it up wasn't good, he knew that much from personal experience. He watched as her eyes glistened as she recanted what had happened, though no tears fell. “Stop it, you didn’t know this was going to happen. They hid until we got into the courtyard, they surrounded us… they were there so quickly.” His heart constricted. These were goddamn kids. They were scared, and they weren't soldiers. They were trying to have a good night. A night where they didn't have to worry about the Community or the Rebellion. A night when they could just be kids, be seniors. Dance with their friends, laugh and eat together like they should be doing. Fuck. Anger boiled in his veins, only worsening his bloodlust. Dan's throat was burning, as if someone was slowly pouring sulfuric acid down his gullet. He needed to drink, and soon. "It doesn't matter if I knew. The point is I left you alone. That was a mistake." He muttered, still disappointed in himself. "I swear to god though Marlee, the next time this happens I'm not leaving you. Okay? Next time, no one is going to lay a finger on you. And if they do, they'll simply lack a finger." That threat is muttered, as Daniel bristles at the thought of the Rebellion trying to harm Marlee, or drag her off. No, he had to be more vigilante next time.

“I’m just glad that you’re okay, but you need to go drink some blood. I know that you’re getting low and thirsty,” Dan nodded, his eyes softening. The only thing that was important was that Marlee was safe now. she had protected herself and that was monumental. The next time the Rebellion dared challenged the school, and Dan had a sinking feeling it would be when and not if, he and Marlee would be a team. She'd help protect him, and he'd protect her with every ounce of strength he had. He just nodded as she stepped into the bathroom. Once she was in there, he was quick to slip next door and grab a few things for her, general sleeping clothes that looked most comfortable. He was quick and within ten minutes back in his room. The shower was running, and Daniel set the clothes aside before diving into his small fridge. He had about ten blood packs saved up. They were relatively fresh, and by the time Marlee came out of the bathroom, steam swirling around her body making his throat go dry, Dan had finished all the blood packs. “Feeling better now?” He wasn't able to speak for a moment, his eyes greedily drinking in the sight of his beautiful fae before clearing his throat and grabbing the bundle of clothes he'd picked up for her. "Yeah, much. Tired, in more ways than one. Shocked, I'll need a couple days to digest all this, but I'll be alright." He admitted with the ghost of a smile. He hoped that being honest with how he was feeling, would open a door.

That way if she wanted to get what she was feeling off her chest- she could. "Thank you." Marlee whispered as she took the clothes from Dan, retreating back into the bathroom. It didn't take long for her to reappear, fully clothed with the pajamas he'd gotten her. Rather than standing near the bathroom door though, Marlee rushed towards him, into his arms. This was what he needed. Some reassurance that she was okay. Soon they were kissing and Daniel was greedily leaning into the kiss. There was still something tender and sweet to their movements, and the vampire reveled in that. Her small hand cradled the side of his face and Dan almost made a soft noise of regret when she pulled away for breath. It was for the better though. He wanted to make sure their relationship was solid before anything more than kissing happen. And as of now they were still too new for anything other than the kisses they stole from one another. “I didn’t know if you were okay or hurt, I hating feeling like that. Very vampire I saw… I thought of you, they made me so angry. Why would they attack now? Do you… do you think they attacked because of me?” Dan paused. This was a hard question. He wouldn't lie to her, some part of him thought that they had come for Marlee. She was valuable. And you wanted someone as powerful as Marlee in times of war.

But this was so much more complicated than just that. "Marlee, if you wanted to crush your enemies spirit and show off your strength what would you do?" She said nothing, and Daniel shrugged. "You'd attack some place that's been invaluable to the Community. A place that hasn't been attacked in eons. A place that was an unspoken point of neutrality. A place of learning. This school. It stands for so much more than just a school though. I think this was the Rebellion making a point. To us. To the Community. 'See how powerful we are.' Do I think that you were a bonus? See what you can do? See what makes you tick, how far along in your abilities you are? Yes. I think that may of been a bonus to attacking, but I don't think you were the main focus of this. And you cannot blame yourself." He said sternly, his brows raising slightly at her. "Your father is.... Your father is completely seduced by power. What he does is not your shortcomings, it's his. You were the one that fought bravely against those rebels. You were the one that probably saved the lives of those kids. You were helping stop further violence. And you don't need to hide how you're feeling from me. It's not a weakness, it's normal to feel shock, or to cry. I don't want you holding this on your chest." He lowered his head so their foreheads were brushing and murmured, "Please don't hide from me now love." It didn't need to happen right away, but Dan couldn't let her bear the brunt of this on her shoulders. This was a battle, and that brought up many emotions that all needed to be expressed.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


There was nothing that would take him away from Cyren in that moment, so once she climbed into bed he switched the lights off and joined her. This time he got under the covers so he’d be comfortable during the night, his eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly and he watched as she moved closer to him. "I was really worried about you. I tried to hold off the door, but there were so many of them and I-" Cyren admitted to him and it broke Finn’s heart, he wished he could have gotten to her before she felt the need to fight. He didn’t want her going through anything like that again, she may be a Hellhound but if she didn’t want to fight then he would do his best to keep that from happening again. All Finn thought about was comforting her and trying to take the haunting images away from her mind, so his arms wrapped around her warm body and he held her securely there against his chest. “I haven’t stopped worrying about you, try not to think about it. You’ll only hurt yourself more, if you replay what happened in your mind.” His voice lowered down into a whisper, he knew he could be there to support her but that is all he’d be able to do. She was the one who had to deal with what she did.

His heart increased in speed partly because he had been incredibly worried about Cyren during the fight, but also because she was so close to him. Having her in his arms and seeing how easily it would be for someone to take her away from him, he realised how much she did mean to him and he realised that very quickly. Cyren was special to him, she had a special place deep inside his heart which was never going fade or disappear. Shifting his head slightly he pressed his lips to the top of her head, her dark locks still damp from the shower but he let the kiss linger as it made him feel better. Knowing she was there in his arms, she was safe and hadn’t been hurt that badly. She may not be able to control her flames all that well yet, but the beast inside of her was still insanely strong and power. It shouldn’t make him feel better but it did, if the time came again to fight then he knew it would take a lot to bring the Hellhound down.

"What are we going to do? If the Rebellion can attack us here, they can attack us anywhere. God I kept thinking what if you hadn't come back? What if Marlee hadn't come back, or Dan? Or what if I didn't come back to you? What would happen to Marlee I had been one of the ones on the floor?" Worries spilled from her lips, his heart clenched tightly in his chest as he listened. She shouldn’t have to worry about things like that, she was still a child and should be looking towards her bright future, not worrying about what could happen. “You can’t think like that, Cyren. We’re all fine and we’re all safe, we both know Marlee and Dan will protect each other. And I’d never let anything happen to you,” He promised her which he shouldn’t because anything could happen in life, but if Cyren was drowning in a vast ocean then he would swim to her. If she was inside a burning building, he wouldn’t think twice about running into the flames to save her. “And you don’t need to worry about me, nothing will take me down.” He whispered into her dark hair as his hand moved along her back, rubbing soothingly in hopes it would help her calm down and maybe even sleep.

“If you don’t want to fight against the Rebellion, no one is going to make you. You have the choice, Cyren.” Reassuring her the best he could, Finn didn’t wipe her tears away because she needed to let the emotions out. If that meant crying then so be it, if it meant her screaming or yelling then he would be there when it happened. But he wasn’t going to let her keep it inside her, have her carry her emotions on her shoulders like she had about her parents murder. He didn’t need to get his emotions and thoughts out, he knew how to deal with events like this as he had been through his fair share of horrible things. The seniors at the school haven’t, none of them knew how to deal with something like the Rebellion attack. It was going to take time for everyone involved to get back on track, for the students to feel normal and safe inside the school walls. “You already know this, but I’m going to be here for you. I’ll always be here for you, darling.” He made another promise to her but this one he felt better about making, because he knew he could hold it true. Nothing was going to take him away from Cyren and if someone tried, they wouldn’t live all that long afterwards.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


Dan was right, it wasn’t all because of her. The attack had been because that’s what the Rebellion wanted to do, they wanted to cause fear in everyone who hadn’t joined their side. Attack a place that had been safe and secure for longer than anyone could imagine, it made sense really. The rebels didn’t care about the school, they knew an attack on the school would send the greatest message. That they were right there and they were strong, they weren’t someone to mess with and they didn’t care if they attacked children. It made Marlee sick to her stomach that that’s how the Rebellion thought, how her father thought. Had he known about the attack? Had he been there fighting? How could he allow such an awful fight to happen against her? Marlee had known this could occur but she hadn’t been prepared for it to happen so soon, but Thomas wasn’t her father anymore. He was a stranger to her, a stranger she never wanted to see again and if she did then she wouldn’t hold back on him.

“You were the one that probably saved the lives of those kids. You were helping stop further violence. And you don't need to hide how you're feeling from me. It's not a weakness, it's normal to feel shock, or to cry. I don't want you holding this on your chest. Please don't hide from me now love.” Daniel told her and she didn’t think she had done all that much during the fight, but she did help hold the rebels back and that had been a very brave thing for her to do. She hated violence but seeing the rebels there, attacking her second home and hurting the people she cared about made her blind. Her anger got the better of her and normally she was scared of her anger as she always thought it was a trait from her father, but all he cared about was power and she was angry for a good reason. “I won’t hide from you, I’m just too tired to cry right now.” She told him as she moved away from him, her hand wrapped around his cool one and she pulled him over to his bed. She climbed in under the covers and watched him follow her, “Please sleep here with me. I want you close to me,” She whispered to him as this was something new to them both, they hadn’t shared a bed before but she really didn’t want him to sleep in the chair or on the floor.

Once he agreed to her request and got into his own bed beside her, she scooted closer to him as she needed to have contact with him. To know that he was still there and safe, to know she wasn’t going to lose him like she could have that night. “I could have lost you tonight… lost Cyren, I never want that to happen again. I don’t want to feel that scared again, I’ll be stronger next time. I can’t lose you or Ren,” Her voice cracked as she spoke, losing the people she loved was her worst nightmare. She didn’t care what happened to her, as long as she could keep Cyren and Daniel safe. That’s all she cared about and she wouldn’t stop until she knew those two were taken care of, she would make herself get stronger. Have her magic become stronger so she would be able to stop another attack whenever it came, and she knew it was coming as it was just a matter of time now.

Resting her head on his chest, Marlee curled up by his side as she wished they could spend all nights like this. She knew there would be a day when they could, they could have their relationship and not keep it a secret but right now that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. But she would still enjoy this moment, no matter what was flowing through her head. “When the time comes, I’m going to fight with you against them. They need to be stopped, they hurt too many people tonight.” Marlee was stubborn but she was still bright, she knew she wasn’t a soldier and never would be. But to beat the Rebellion, there needed to be just as much strength and power. She could provide the power with her magic, so she was going to do whatever she possibly could. It also would make sure that she protecting the people she loved, her mom, Cyren, Daniel, Greg and Nix and even Finn. She wasn’t going to listen to what anyone said, or if any of them tried to stop her because she would find a way to help.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


Cyren in response to feeling Finn's fingers gently trace patters on her arm, and her back trying to soothe her, shivered beneath his gossamer touches. “I haven’t stopped worrying about you, try not to think about it. You’ll only hurt yourself more, if you replay what happened in your mind.” Cyren tensed slightly at this. She swore she could still feel blood clinging to her. Could feel her teeth ripping through skin and gore. However, she felt gentle lips against her head, lingering for a moment. Shock pulsated through her body and she was glad for the cover of darkness which hid her blushing cheeks. If nothing else, this moment had come from the carnage. With Cyren nestled against Finn, admiring how well their bodies fit into one another, like pieces of a broken tea cup. Her tongue, devoid of words, simply remained silent. Exhaustion broke over her like waves, though Cyren refused to yield. She wasn't ready to slip off yet, to slip away from Finn. She wanted to stay with him, in the here and now. Aside from an assembly tomorrow to address what had happened- she doubted there'd be class. She could sleep in then. “You can’t think like that, Cyren. We’re all fine and we’re all safe, we both know Marlee and Dan will protect each other. And I’d never let anything happen to you. You don’t need to worry about me, nothing will take me down.”

There was a confidence in his voice that made her smile. "I'll hold you to that." She murmured. His fingers still worked soothing circles into her back, making easing the tension she was holding within her small body. “If you don’t want to fight against the Rebellion, no one is going to make you. You have the choice, Cyren." She knew he was trying to assuage her fears. The fear of what she'd seen tonight, the fear of herself and the bestial parts of her mind which reveled in all this violence. But that's where he was wrong. "The rebellion isn't done with us. I know that in my heart of hearts. And if they come back and they attack you again, I won't hesitate to... To do what I have to do in order to protect you. To protect this school, and Marlee and Dan. I won't let anymore people I care about die. There's no choice in that. I'm just..." How did she admit that a part of her, the part she couldn't control- the part of her that was more hound than girl; liked all this. "It's hard to explain, but when I shift, it's all primal and instinct. The hound's a creature of the hunt, and hunting is what feels natural. What feels good. It's not remorseful. It's me but it's not." She admitted her voice quiet. "What if even when I shift back, that part of my mind doesn't recede? If it taints the rest of my mind? If I really lose control?"

She shuddered to think of what that would mean. "You hear about werewolves going rabid sometimes. It could happen to hounds too. Happens to a lot of our species." Cyren was just going to have to work to not become that way. “You already know this, but I’m going to be here for you. I’ll always be here for you, darling.” Another promise, and one that Cyren knew deep in her gut that he was going to keep. Even if it was just for the briefest of moments, she smiled at him through the darkness. Her hair laid strewn beneath her pillow and it was then she noted how close he was to her. She could feel his warm breath tickling against her forehead, and his words vibrate against her skin whenever he talked. She did know this, on a subconscious level. It brought a sense of security and comfort to Cyren that she'd needed. Enough to make her smile for a few minutes. "Hero," Cyren asserted, "Better be careful, keep talking like that and I might fall for you." She murmured, a subtle tease in her voice. Even though it felt like a little bit of her world had just collapsed, Finn always seemed to have a way to make her feel safe. To make the world seem alright again, as was proof now.

There was something about the man that kept the brunette grounded. Grounded enough that she felt the shadow of bloodlust and disgruntled horror recede from her mind. Eventually, her heartbeat slowed it's pace matching with Finn's, bringing a sense of ease to the Hellhound. It would take awhile to forget or come to terms with everything that unfolded tonight, but she could tackle that day by day. It took close to an hour but eventually Cyren was weary enough for her eyes to begin drooping. She was fighting a losing battle against sleep. "Don't leave okay?" The words were thick and groggy on her tongue as she began to close her eyes. It was irrational but Cyren felt once she closed her eyes, he'd slip away at some point during the night. Once Finn assured he was staying, she nodded yawning into her pillow. "'Kay... See you in the morning." She mumbled, her eyes closing fast on her way into passing into a deep slumber. Unfortunately it was not a peaceful slumber. Outwardly soft little whines and whimpers would leave her lips. Her brows would furrow and her hands would clench tightly into fists. However, it was around four in the morning did she jolt up, a cold sweat on her forehead. Cyren's breathing was ragged, and she couldn't place what woke her at first.

An uneasy deep in her marrow. Beside her Finn stirred, though she barely noticed. Her head was aching, and after a few moments swore she could hear a high-pitch wailing noise in her ears. It hurt enough for her to squeeze her eyes shut and wait for it to go away, whatever it was. However, as she sat in her bed the noise which didn't seem to be affecting Finn, only grew worse. Was this a reaction to stress... Or something more? She didn't know how long she sat, rigid and straight trying to breathe through the caterwauling in her head. There was an urge to move, though scared she'd blackout Cyren simply remained. Eventually after what felt like an hour the caterwauling began to quiet down to a buzz, leaving her ears ringing. And then, nothing. Even as she tried to tell herself that it was just stress, something in her knew better. Something was wrong. "She'll breathe the fire out of her lungs-" The sudden going off her ringtone had Cyren nearly jumping out of her skin. Quickly, trying to pick it up before it woke Finn or anyone else up, she rushed over to the thing which was charging on her desk. However, as her fingers grasped the phone, she felt them lock up under a sudden sense of dread. An ominous feeling that felt like a blizzard rushing through her veins.

"-N't regret it if you don't re-" Shaking this feeling from her bones she hurriedly answered before she woke the entire dorm up. "Lo?" Her voice was bleary. "Cy-Cyren?!" Nix, and it was obvious she'd been crying. Her voice was weak and wavery, nothing like it's normal boisterous tone. "Nix? What's wrong it's four in the morning." Keeping her voice whispered Cyren glanced behind her and noted that Finn was awake sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Cyren, it's Greg." Immediately she felt her heart sink. "He-" Nix paused, making a soft weepy noise before continuing. "He's gone. I just- I didn't want you to find out from some other student. I know you two were close friends." Nix all but managed to choke out. Greg was dead? She was unable to say anything, and Cyren knew the color had drained out of her face. "I didn't mean to wake you, but it only felt right that you know." Clearing her throat, that numbness rushed back as she shook her head. "I was awake. Do you need me to come down and... And keep you company?" The offer was spoken quietly. "N-no. My parents are on their way. To claim-" Her voice stops sharply and Cyren doesn't need her to continue. "Are you leaving?" She would understand. "No." Nix hissed, through the other line, with a fierce determination. "No. I'm going to lay him to rest. And then I'll be back, I'm going to hunt down the Rebellion and I'm going to slaughter every last one of them."Her voice deepened to a growl, angry and devastated. Cyren knew what it was like to lose a family member, though she had been young enough that now she almost looked back at her parents with indifference.

Nix knew her brother. They were twins, Cyren could only imagine how much this was hurting for her. "Then we'll do it together." Cyren didn't love Greg in the way he would of liked. But she loved him as a friend. He had been one of the few things in this school to accept her. Had always done his best to make her happy, and the last thing she ever did was reject him, and leave him bleeding on the school floor trying to find Finn or Marlee. Beneath the shock and numbness guilt bittered her stomach. "Okay. Thank you. I need to go. I'll see you around." Nix's voice was thick and Cyren would guess she was holding back tears. The two girls said their goodbyes and in a daze the Hellhound stumbled back to bed. Mechanically she sat back down on the edge of the bed her gaze wide. Last night Cyren had comforted herself with the fact that at least no one died. At least they had been able to prevent that. But even that was a lie now. Her friend had been hurt, and she hadn't even noticed. If she had, Cyren could of done something. Gotten help. Cyren wasn't alert to the fact that Finn had been trying to talk to her until she felt a gentle shake. "Cyren? What's wrong? Who was that?" She couldn't speak for a minute though cleared her throat. "Nix just called. Greg is dead. Their parents are coming to claim his body, and she wanted me to know before word could spread around school." She stated empty and void of much feeling. She hadn't processed this yet, and a part of her was in disbelief. No it hadn't truly sunk in that her classmate was gone.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



"Okay, I'll be right next to you." Dan promised. Whatever Marlee needed to feel okay, he'd do his best. After the night they had, Daniel was glad to collapse in his bed, underneath the blankets with Marlee no less. He was exhausted, wanted to get past this day. He didn't hesitate to shift a little closer to Marlee so he could hold her. That way she'd know he was there should she drift off and wake up panicked. Her hair tickled his nose, though with a little adjusting it was a quick fix. The two were tangled together, warm and comfortable. Dan didn't want to be anywhere else. Whatever happened tonight, even though he felt like he'd failed in protecting Marlee completely, he got to be here with her at the end of the day. That's how he wanted it to be. He wanted to be the one that got to hold her as they rested in bed, both mulling over their own thoughts. “I could have lost you tonight… lost Cyren, I never want that to happen again. I don’t want to feel that scared again, I’ll be stronger next time. I can’t lose you or Ren." He knew what she was feeling- it was how Daniel was feeling. He didn't know how he'd cope with the loss of Marlee or any of his friends really. Which mainly included Finn and Cyren. Though Daniel didn't think he'd cope with ever losing Marlee. He was more liable to hunt down her murders, and make them pay.

From there... He really didn't want to think about it. Just the thought of a world without the blonde fairy made his blood run cold. "You weren't in the gym, but trust me- I don't think you have to worry about losing Cyren." Daniel hadn't seen a Hellhound in action for decades if not longer. But even one as inexperienced as the brunette was no laughing matter to the other side. It was when he saw her nearly slice someone in half with that spaded tail she wielded like a sword was Dan particularly glad she was fighting for the school. "As far as battle, she's able to take care of herself. And as for me?" He sighed, his brows furrowing together. "I won't ever leave you. I wouldn't take risks I don't have to during battle. Not when I know that I have you to come home to." Dan murmured, an honest truth in his voice. There was always the chance, but Daniel wasn't sure if the reaper himself could take his life if Marlee was waiting for him. He wouldn't let that happen. "But you, held off a group of them by yourself. That's impressive. More impressive than anyone expected of you. You didn't back down, even though you were scared because other students- who haven't been all that nice to you, depended on you. That is strength. As far as your magical prowess, the headmaster keeps me updated. You're more developed than your other classmates.

Physically I think you're capable of fighting the Rebellion, and next time we won't make the mistake of splitting up." He promised, his voice somber. "The only thing those Rebellion fae have going for them, is experience. Most of them were older than you by a few years. That's a few years more training they had than you. And you still held your own against witches and werewolves." Dan praised, wanting to Marlee realize how talented and strong she was. There was room to improve as there was for all the students- hell even Dan himself could improve. Cyren couldn't yet utilize her flames effectively in her half-shift, and not at all during her full shift. Marlee had simply bit off a little more she could chew with three experienced witches. Dan had made the mistake of leaving his sides open too often, and focus too solely on just one enemy. But that just meant it was important they worked together the next time the Rebellion attacked and not let panic drive their actions. "You've got so much to learn, but you're already able to protect yourself and those around you. That's something to be proud of Marlee okay? And next time, I'll be by your side helping each other out." Dan promised.

“When the time comes, I’m going to fight with you against them. They need to be stopped, they hurt too many people tonight.” He understood and nodded. "I'm here to support you Marlee." Dan murmured his voice thick with sleep. His eyes were fluttering shut. Today had been draining. From the dance to the surprise attack, to donating blood to those he noticed who needed it he was drained. Dan was going to need likely two days to physically recover from this attack. "And the next time, they won't have the advantage of surprise. I'm sure the headmaster is going to enact more severe precautions about anyone getting in or out from now on. I'm worried about the backlash from this. For the school." Parents sent their kids here to be safe. No one had died from what he heard, none of the kids but some of the injuries were nasty. They had a witch, a student, lose her hand to a werewolf. They had vampires who had suffered wolf-bites. Nasty things that if not treated would lead to death. And it was an arduous process to bring out the wolf's toxins that were lethal to vampires. "For years all sorts of species have sent their children here- this is where we begin to teach all sorts of species to coexist with one another. Vampires and werewolves, fae and witches... You understand. Even in times of war this was a safe place. I fear that last night's attacks changed all that. And I don't think I blame them."

He sighed, wetting his lips before continuing. "I mean, if I was the parent of a banshee or some rarer species like a nephilim- and there was an attack where students and staff were injured? I'd probably pull out my kid. If the war was affecting the school anyway, I'd figure its safer with me in some remote location than the school. This isn't going to go over well with the community. It'll be worse if someone passes from their injuries, but I didn't see anyone that injured." He murmured. "Not to mention the kids here, are they going to feel safe? What happens if they think their best chances are with the Rebellion? Or if they simply run off? It's going to take awhile for everyone to recover from this." He mumbled, trying to mask just how distraught he was with the whole affair. The Rebellion were cowards for attacking kids. Out of the blue and when they were least expecting something like this. "But you'll be hearing a lot about that in the next few weeks. Go to sleep now, there's going to be an assembly in the morning." There was no use in being exhausted during the next day. It was going to be grueling and the school would likely need a few days at least to mend from this enough to continue school as normal. He knew these kids were strong, they could get come back from this as long as they had the proper help. And as Daniel drifted off he wanted to do his best to make sure that this did not break the kids. If anything he wanted to make sure this event drew them together as a community, rather than breaking them apart as the rebellion likely wanted.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


“When I shift, it's all primal and instinct. The hound's a creature of the hunt, and hunting is what feels natural. What feels good. It's not remorseful. It's me but it's not. What if even when I shift back, that part of my mind doesn't recede? If it taints the rest of my mind? If I really lose control?" Those words echoed inside Finn’s mind, Cyren was completely right. Her beast now had a good taste of what it was like to change into that form and do what the hound was made to do, hunt down anyone close enough and kill it. This far she hadn’t had any experience of killing a person or even another animal, but now she did and her hound loved it. All hellhounds did love the kill because that is what they were made to do, it would just be harder now but they’d focus on control even more. Controlling her flames could take a break, if she was worried about losing control and losing her self then that is what he’ll focus on during their extra abilities classes. He hadn’t seen a hellhound lose control, but he just knew it wouldn’t be good if one did. A trail of blood and death would be left behind the hound.

Finn didn’t know what to say to her, so he didn’t say anything just yet but he did tighten his grip on her. He waited until Cyren had fallen asleep before he closed his own eyes, it took a little while for sleep to engulf his body but once it had then he fell into a deep sleep. His arms stayed wrapped around the brunette’s body as he relaxed, the warmth from her body surrounded his and put his mind at ease. That was until he felt movement beside him although it wasn’t enough to wake him up, the events of the night replayed inside his mind as he slept but thankfully none turned into nightmares like it used to for him when he was younger. Now he was going through the dance and trying to work out if there had been any signs that he had missed, this would be on his mind for a while to come now as it was such a huge hit for the school.

Finn was however woken up when a loud noise hit his ears, suddenly there was movement in the bed as Cyren rushed over to her phone. Sitting up Finn rubbed his eyes as she answered the call, he sat there in bed watching Cyren intently as she quietly spoke to Nix. He glanced over the bedside table where the clock was, it was four o’clock in the morning which wasn’t a normal time for someone to call another. There was a sinking feeling in his gut as he listened to what Cyren was saying, he couldn’t clearly hear what Nix was saying on the other end but it couldn’t be good if it was this early in the morning. “Cyren? What's wrong? Who was that?” He asked once Cyren had ended the call with her friend, she had sat down on the edge of the bed and he could tell something was wrong. It took her a minutes before she actually answered him, "Nix just called. Greg is dead. Their parents are coming to claim his body, and she wanted me to know before word could spread around school." She told him quietly and Finn’s heart sunk deep into his stomach, he knew many people including Cyren would have taken comfort in knowing that no one at the school had died during the attack. And now there had been a death, her friend had died from his wounds which was something Finn didn’t even know about. After he was injured himself, he couldn’t go around the gym helping others like he would have if his leg hadn’t been so badly wounded.

There was nothing Finn could say that would comfort Cyren right now, so instead he moved across the bed and sat beside the brunette beauty. He wrapped his arms around her body and held her close to his chest, “I’m so sorry” He whispered as he truly was sorry about this, Greg had been such a wonderful student and he was incredibly bright. His future had so much in it, his death would have a huge impact on the school and the other students. But he hoped this would prove to the students that the Rebellion weren’t a group to mess with, or to join because they weren’t scared to attack innocent children and in turn kill one of them. “I’m going to be right here for you. No matter what you need, Cyren. I’ll never leave you, you won’t have to deal with this alone.” He promised her as he held her, she wasn’t alone in all of this. She had people around her who loved and cared about her, Nix would have the same support if her parents decided to allow their daughter to return back to the school after the death of her twin brother. He had lost a lot of people in his life, most of his family has died over the years and although every death hurt him. It was nothing like losing a twin or a child, that pain would have to be unbearable and one that he never wanted to go through himself.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


Dan’s words meant the world to her, she doubted he even knew that as he spoke to her. Knowing that he was going to be there with her, that he wouldn’t leave her side again even though this time round he had to leave her. He was a professor and had a duty to protect all the students that he could, he couldn’t just focus on protecting her as that wasn’t fair on anyone else. She was glad that Cyren could handle herself if another fight did break out and she was there to fight back against the Rebellion, Marlee had been so terrified that she would walk into the gym and see her best friend’s body laying on the ground. Either hurt or dead and just that thought, sent waves of fear through her body. If she ever did lose Cyren or Dan, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. She wouldn’t have a reason to live, she wouldn’t want to continue living without them in her life. "You've got so much to learn, but you're already able to protect yourself and those around you. That's something to be proud of Marlee okay? And next time, I'll be by your side helping each other out." Dan promised her and she knew he was going to keep his promise, after what happened tonight she wouldn’t let him leave her side.

Not knowing where he was or who he fighting or if he was even safe, she hated feeling that scared and worried over someone. So if she could at least see the people she loved, she would feel so much better knowing where Cyren and Daniel were and it would also make her fight harder so she could keep them safe from harm. Marlee laid there in bed and wrapped up in his arms, she listened to what he was saying about the parents of the students here and the students themselves if they decide to escape before the war truly began or decided to join the Rebellion. It wasn’t a time to think about what was going to happen now, it wouldn’t do them any good. “We’ll deal with the backlash when it happens, and whatever happens is out of our control. If parents want to take their children out then they have that right, if students leave to join the Rebellion then I feel sorry for them. But no one can keep anyone here that doesn’t want to stay,” She shifted a little so she could press her lips to his cheeks, it wasn’t time for him to worry about the backlash of the attack. The school hadn’t known about this, they had no way of knowing the Rebellion was going to attack. They simply held a dance that has happened every year and has happened without an attack occurring, but everyone stepped up and stopped the Rebellion from hurting them too badly.

Listening to him, she couldn’t agree more. They both needed as much sleep as they could get, Daniel more so than her as he had given so much of himself tonight when he healed people with his blood. Closing her eyes she relaxed into his body and felt sleep over take her body soon after, after everything that had happened she had forgotten to take her sleeping potion. It was the first night in a long while that she didn’t have a peaceful sleep, a nightmare plagued her as she slept and she didn’t know that her breathing rate and heart beat would increase as she slept before dropping again. At one stage during the night her hold she had on Daniel tightened, there were a few times in the night that she woke up startled from the nightmare she was happening and each time she woke Dan. She’d apologize to him before he would calm her down, remind her that it was just a bad dream and that he was right there beside her. He offered to go get her one of her sleeping potions but she refused as she didn’t want him to leave her, eventually they both slept through until the morning where an alarm on Daniel’s phone woke them. “I don’t want to get up,” She whispered to her boyfriend as she didn’t know who else was awake in the vampiric staff dorms and she didn’t want to risk anyone hearing her voice in his room.

Stretching out her legs, she could really fall asleep again but right now she had to get up. She climbed out of the bed and rushed off into the bathroom, she used the toilet and washed her hands before moving back over to Dan’s bed. But she didn’t find him in his bed, he was standing by the door with a frown on his face. “What is it?” She asked quietly as her eyes stayed on him, his body was tense as he turned around and moved closer to her. “I overheard… I’m afraid there has been a death as a result from the attack… Greg,” Daniel lowered his voice as he spoke, trying to soften the blow of the horrible news that he had to give her. Marlee stood there staring at him, someone had died and it had been someone she knew. She didn’t know Greg all that well, but she still considered him a friend as he never treated her differently when her father joined the Rebellion. He was a sweet guy and had always been so nice to her, which is why tears formed in her eyes. Greg’s death just pushed her over the edge, the Rebels had killed someone at the school but it hurt more because he was a student. A kid who had been enjoying his time at a dance, a kid who had a bright future ahead of him and it was all ruined. “N-No…” A sob escaped past her lips as the tears rolled down her cheeks, her hand came up to cover her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to believe that he was gone, that he had been so badly injured that he had died from his wounds. “I didn’t know he had gotten hurt, I d-didn’t know…” She could hardly manage to get the words out as she wanted Dan to take back what he said, but he wasn’t.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


Dead. The word felt funny in her head, and Cyren gritted her teeth. She had seen him, had walked right by Greg. Did she notice he was bleeding? No. Did she notice he was hurt? No. Had she even thought about him during the battle, to think if he was doing alright? Again, no. If she had been even a little more alert, Cyren would of noticed. She could of gotten him help. Greg's passing was as much her fault as the Rebellion. A weight balled up in her chest, like lead encasing her ribs and heart. She was aware, yet not as arms wrapped around her pulling her close to them. Finn. Trying to help, as he always had been. "I'm so sorry." He murmured, and Cyren made a noise that was small and tiny to her own ears that could only be described as a cross between a dismal moan and a whimper. Rapidly she blinked her eyes, trying to keep them clear of tears. There was enough sorrow held in her chest to drown- so she chose to not feel that. Instead a white-hot anger seared her veins and Cyren clenched her fists until the knuckles turned white.

“I’m going to be right here for you. No matter what you need, Cyren. I’ll never leave you, you won’t have to deal with this alone.” With a jerky movement she nodded, a rigidness set into her posture. "Then teach me." She demanded simply. "The flames, fighting- everything. That's what I need to-" Her voice was low, almost a snarl though not quite being able to force herself to announce her plans to lay waste to whatever she could of the Rebellion. She was going to kill however many Rebellion son's of bitches she could sink her teeth into. That was a promise. The Rebellion had broken an unspoken rule- to never attack the school. They had killed someone, a friend- and Cyren was going to make sure their death wasn't going to be in vain. She didn't have the luxury to be scared of her shift anymore. Greg hadn't done anything to anyone- ever. He hadn't hurt anyone, had been a good person, and Cyren wasn't going to sit back on her heels and bite her thumb after this. She had come back from that dance thinking she had a choice. That as long as they were at the school, the teachers could protect them.

No one would really get hurt. Sure they might all be scared- but that phone call had changed everything. No this wasn't just about her anymore. What if next time it was Marlee? Or Daniel, or Finn? Or even Nix? The thought made her blood run cold. She hadn't even been enough to notice Greg was hurt, never mind dying. Had she been the last familiar face he saw? Had he been saying goodbye for the last time? Did Greg know? These questions swirled in her head would never be answered. So, the Hellhound shoved down her sorrow- focused on her smoldering anger. That would be the motivation to avenge Greg's death, and then afterwards she could toss herself into a pit of sorrow and regret for not saving him. But not before. Firstly however, she allowed a moment of weakness, shifting closer so she could easily tuck herself against Finn; and listen to the heartbeat that was so quickly becoming familiar thrum in her ears. "Are you okay?" Her voice was devoid of much emotion, a distant sense of genuine concern for the professor.

After all, Greg had been his student too. Finn had spent countless hours of the semester teaching him, seeing his face in his classroom. Now there would be a vacancy. That couldn't feel good for him. "Strong. Be strong." Cyren demanded of herself, as she turned large listless orbs up towards his. Finn's heavy sigh was as much as an answer she needed. Cyren knew he wanted to go slow with whatever it was they had, she kept this in mind as she shifted once more, this time sitting on the back of her heels and facing him. There wasn't much hesitancy as the Hellhound leaned forward and delicately, as if with the slightest mishandling Finn would break, leaned forward and ever so slowly to give him enough time to pull away if he wanted, brushed her lips against his in the briefest of moments before pulling back. "Wasn't your fault..." The memory of walking away from a bloodied Greg assaulted her. "Trust me." She knew that soon he'd have to go. There was chaos, there was probably going to be some staff thing going on to address Greg's death.

Selfishly she wanted to keep him here. Because at least while her rusted-eyed professor was here with her, Cyren could forget about all the shit that had happened in the past twelve hours. Could focus on his heart, beating strongly in her ears, his hands delicately resting on her hands, holding them. A silent comfort that they both offered one another. But they both had their own duties to attend to. Cyren needed to tell Marlee if she didn't know already, needed to make sure she was okay, and needed to be there for her best friend. However, for a good while they simply leaned against each other. There wasn't really anything to say, both mulling over their own thoughts. Finally as the sun began to draw through her blinds, Cyren moved getting to her feet and pulling away from him. "I'm gonna go check on Marlee. I guess the other staff are gonna start waking up..." She trailed off, ruffling about small wardrobe for what she was looking her, her twenty one pilots sweater before shrugging into it.

"I'm sorry for being quiet. I just need some time to... To think about everything and come to terms with it I guess. I'll have my phone so, if you need me text. You'll train me tonight won't you?" She asked, her large eyes setting to his as she zipped up her hoodie, the hem falling nearly to cover the shorts she was wearing. Cyren was too lazy to throw on anything else. Her hair was a mess but she didn't have the energy to care about her appearance. Though she paused and turned to him. "You'll need a number to text first. Here." Hurriedly she scrambled to dig out her notebook, and a pen jotting down her number before handing him the bit of paper with a fierce glare. "If anything happens, let me know okay? I'm serious. If they manage to track down where the ones that got away went- or if they figure out what the fuck they wanted. I mean, or if you just wanna... Talk or something." She softened a little and added in a soft voice, "'Cos... I wouldn't mind or anything." Things had gone from worse to utter shitstorm n the last twelves hours- but at least she still had Finn, and Marlee. And Cyren would rather die than wallow in her own self-pity, than learn how to fight to protect them all better.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



That night, when they both finally collapsed into bed exhausted- at least on Dan's part, he found his eyes fluttered shut rather easily. He was old, old enough to know that if he hadn't done the things he did, the people he worked with, or taught could of been seriously injured. The Rebellion was after blood one way or the other- so Dan had just made sure it was their own. And none could fault him with that no? Because the vampire would do it again in the blink of an eye if they dared come back. So, when he was able to fall in beside Marlee, and drape his arm comfortably over her hips to draw her closer- he was content enough to doze off pretty quickly. Over the course of the night, it was Marlee who had a fitful sleep though he expected that. Each time she stirred, her breathing erratic and her hands desperately seeking him out after a nightmare, Dan would make sure that Marlee knew she wasn't alone. That she was only dreaming. Eventually he'd be able to lull her back to sleep each time, and would of gotten her a sleeping potion had she not fretfully shook her head and asked in a soft, hurt voice for him to just stay.

So he had. Dan had soothed her back to sleep each time, drifting off with her and waking until at one point the alarm on his phone went off. Groaning the vampire shifted, stretching over Marlee so he could get to the little nightstand next to his bed to shut the thing off. "I don't want to get up." Marlee whispered, her voice soft so not to alert others to her presence in his room. That'd be hard to explain. "I know. But we gotta." He murmured back, stretching himself into a sitting position. His hair was tousled with sleep, and his gaze bleary. Marlee had the same idea, and she let herself into his bathroom. Figuring he may as well check his email Dan was grabbing his laptop when he heard hushed voices out in the hallway. Curiously he paused closing his eyes to heighten his supersenses. "-'ll panic. The children will panic. The surviving twin is a mess. The parents are on the way- The Rebellion has hit us hard." The surviving twin? At once his gaze snapped back into something more akin to alertness. "Nadia, we can't just shut down our school. Where will our children go then? To the waiting arms of the Rebellion? Greg's death has been a great blow to all of us- but to shut our walls now, to take away this safety, we'd practically be delivering our students to the Rebellion." Callum's voice hissed through the early morning gloom as Dan's stomach dropped.

Greg was dead. Guiltily he glanced behind his shoulder to the bathroom where he could hear water running. How was he going to tell Marlee? She wasn't as close to the draconian boy as Cyren had been- but they'd still been friends. Fuck, a student's death was the last thing this school needed. And Greg's? Of all the students he probably deserved it least. He had always been kind, to everyone and Daniel sighed heavily. This was a bleak mark on the school's history. As the door swung open, Dan decided to break the news himself. At least she wouldn't leave this room and be blindsided by gossip of other staff or students. His gaze was solemn, apologetic all at once. "What is it?" She asked, seeing his gaze her face dropping. "I overheard… I’m afraid there has been a death as a result from the attack… Greg,” Direct was the best choice, Daniel decided, though felt his heart wrench at Marlee's shocked denial- then sobs. “I didn’t know he had gotten hurt, I d-didn’t know…” Swiftly he crossed the room to her side, once she realized he wasn't going to take the words back. He pulled her into a tight embrace, a hand rubbing gentle, soothing circles on her back. "You didn't know. You couldn't of known." He tried to calm, speaking into her hair as he gave her a kiss.

"Greg knew what he was risking when he fought the Rebellion- he wanted to protect you and Nix and Cyren and all his other friends. He didn't want to die in a blubbering mess begging for his life. And he didn't. He died protecting the things he cared about. I know, god I know how much it hurts. But don't go down that path. Don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could of done. You were hurt, injured- in shock and you hadn't seen him." Dan reasoned trying to ease the hurt. "Here, I"ll go run a hot shower for you. Alright? Take a hot shower, let your body relax a little bit. You'll feel better." Dan promised. She was going to work herself into a panic attack and he wanted to try to prevent that unpleasantness for his girlfriend- though the same question plagued his mind. What if he hadn't been so busy trying to find Marlee, and had given a little more of his blood? Maybe then Greg would still be with them. With a sigh, Dan wrapped his fingers around Marlee's gently leading her to the bathroom. He only let go to fiddle with the dials for a minute and once he was satisfied the water was hot enough motioned for her that it was ready. "I'll be outside okay? If you need something just call for me I'll hear you." With that promise the vampire went back out to the room, to his bed.

He must of been laying down lost in thought for all of ten minutes when two sharp knocks sounded as his door; only adding to his anxiety. What if it was Callum? However, as a familiar voice called out Dan sighed, opening the door to reveal Cyren. She looked like a wreck. Like she was barely holding it together. Her hoodie fell nearly to the hemline of her shorts, while it was clear she just rolled out of bed and came here. There was a rigidness to her posture that was odd, and her hands were clenched. Wordlessly he stepped aside though Cyren hung around near the door. "So you..." He trailed off and Cyren winced as if in physical pain. "Yes." The answer was flat, a little terse. She was pissed, probably to not feel the sorrow that was awash in her emotions. "I'm sorry." For a moment her face crumpled, falling way to real sadness and grief- though it was covered again by that hardness. "Me too. I need to be with Marlee. Cool?" Dan would of laughed at any other time- being kicked out of his own room by the Hellhound. "Yeah. I hear staff are amassing in the Headmaster's library. So I'll be there." Cyren nodded and nervously he glanced over his shoulder to the bathroom. "She's not taking it well. Take care of her okay?" He knew it was unfair to ask that of the Hellhound- but she wasn't grieving. Not yet. Dan suspected she wouldn't until some inner need for retribution was delivered- but Marlee was grieving. The two girls needed each other.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


"Then teach me. The flames, fighting- everything. That's what I need to-" Cyren’s body turned rigid against his own, he knew instantly that she wasn’t going to allow herself the time and space to grieve over her friend. At least not until she found the people responsible for Greg’s death and ending their lives, it wasn’t a path he wanted her to go down. He had been down the same path when his parents had been murdered, he didn’t want someone so innocent dealing with the guilt and rage that came with getting revenge. But what could he say to her? Tell her to stop and let this go? She wouldn’t listen to a word he spoke and he wouldn’t either if a friend of his was killed way before their time, she was acting in the way he has many times before and each time he had to be pulled out from the darkness before it consumed him completely. He’d just need to make sure the darkness didn’t reach Cyren before it was too late.

“I will, I’ll teach you everything that you need to know.” It was a promise he would keep, right now it was the most important promise that he could give to anyone. Maybe this is what needed to happen for Cyren to push herself harder, push herself until she had learned how to use her fire and the beast inside of her. If she wanted to fight back against the Rebellion, she couldn’t be scared of her hound or her flames. She needed to learn how to be quick in her hound form, how to protect herself from harm and how to know who the enemy was which would be the hardest lesson she’d ever receive. A hellhound was born for one thing only, to take souls down to hell and to spill as much blood as they wanted. The hound wasn’t born with right or wrong in their minds, all they saw were souls. Finn knew he’d need to get creative when it came to that part of their lessons, if they tried and Cyren’s beast went after him then she could kill him. Even if he was in his serpent form, his gaze could also kill her in a split second and he wouldn’t want to live with himself if that happened.

Then she asked if he was alright, how she could even think about him right now was beyond him. But all he had to do was let out a heavy sigh and she would understand, he has lost many people in his life time and all stuck him hard. But Greg was still incredibly innocent, he hadn’t done a single thing wrong in his short life and this is what happens to him. Finn’s blood ran cold as wrath quietly bubbled inside his entire body, however he kept it was overflowing as that isn’t what Cyren needed right now. She needed him to stay level headed and calm, to be there for her and to be thinking straight. “It wasn’t your fault either, you couldn’t have known he was that badly hurt if he didn’t tell you.” It was true, yes Cyren should have smelt the blood on him or heard his slow heartbeat. But how could she when the room was filled with blood and racing hearts? Her senses would have been getting assaulted after the Rebels fled from the school grounds, she needed to understand that Greg’s death wasn’t on her or anyone else a part from the Rebellion.

Finn listened to her voice as she spoke, she needed time with Marlee and he needed to go find out what their next move was. “I’ll find you or call you once I know anything that you don’t already, just don’t hold this back.” Finn looked deep into her eyes, she couldn’t bottle up her feelings like she had done when her parents died. But he put her number into his phone and pressed his lips to her’s once again, she had kissed him first which gave Finn a taste of what it was like to have her soft warm lips pressed to his and now he craved her lips. However this kiss lingered longer than the first, it was sweet and tender but held so many emotions. Breaking their kiss he allowed Cyren to leave, he made sure the hallway was empty before rushing back to his room where he quickly showered. He threw on some clothes before he left his room, voiced echoed off the walls as apparently all the staff knew about Greg’s death. The voices hurt his sensitive ears as he followed the staff through the hallways of the school, the voices became hushed as the news hadn’t been broken to the students yet and some many have been close enough to overhear what was being said. Stepping into the Headmaster’s library he walked over to Daniel, nothing was spoken between them but they were both equally devastated.

“As all of you have heard already, there has been a death resulting from the attack the school received last night at the senior dance. This will cause many things, fear and anger and incredible sadness. Not only from the students, but from us as well.” Stirling begun the meeting once all the staff had entered his library, he couldn’t bring himself to say Greg’s name as he knew he had failed the young boy in the worst way possible. “The students will need us now more than ever before, the school will remain open. Closing the gates for go will only encourage the Rebellion and it will make them win, families may take their children and flee which we have no power over. But we can’t allow any of our students to join the Rebels, because that is exactly what the Rebellion wants. I was warned last night, there will only be more attacks if we don’t supply soldiers.” Stirling spoke clearly as gasps were heard from his staff, he would give up his life to keep his students safe from the Rebels. He could receive as many threats as the Rebels wanted to give him, but he wasn’t going to give them anything.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


"Greg knew what he was risking when he fought the Rebellion- he wanted to protect you and Nix and Cyren and all his other friends. He didn't want to die in a blubbering mess begging for his life. And he didn't. He died protecting the things he cared about. I know, god I know how much it hurts. But don't go down that path. Don't blame yourself. There was nothing you could of done. You were hurt, injured- in shock and you hadn't seen him." Marlee knew that Dan was trying to comfort her but his words didn’t reach far, even if the Rebels hadn’t been there for her, she still felt that she was to blame. The Rebels either got through the gates after she had broken the protection spell or someone else had let them in, but her father was also still a big part of the Rebellion and she just felt guilty. She hadn’t seen Greg during or after the fight, she hadn’t even asked about him or Nix. She had been so focused on Dan and Cyren that she hadn’t thought about anyone else, she felt her body being moved but she wasn’t concentrating on anything right now. She didn’t even know how she had undressed and stepped into the shower, but she stood there with the hot water washing over her body that mixed with the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Climbing out she dried off and changed into clothes that Daniel brought over last night, a warm sweater and a pair of sweatpants. Leaving the bathroom she had been expecting Dan to be there waiting for her, but her broken eyes landed on Cyren and suddenly all her emotions came pouring out of her. More tears blurred her vision as she moved to her best friend and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace, “I’m so sorry Ren. I didn’t know he had gotten hurt, I hadn’t seen him last night. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say right now,” Marlee’s voice was cracking as she spoke, she wasn’t even sure if Cyren could understand what she was saying as she was a blubbering mess. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you crying? Finn isn’t hurt too, right?” She looked at her best friend and that is all she needed to do, to know why Cyren wasn’t crying. Her eyes told Marlee everything she needed to know, her eyes were once filled with life but not now. Cyren’s eyes were cloudy and empty, her body tense and that only meant one thing. She wanted revenge and she wouldn’t stop until she killed the people who murdered Greg, “Cyren… would Greg want this? He wouldn’t want you to feel like this, to be this angry.” Marlee’s voice turned to a whisper as she held onto the hellhound, she was terrified if she let Cyren go then something horrible would happen and she wouldn’t be able to save her.

The Rebels did need to pay for what they did last night, but was it up to either of them to get back at the Rebellion? Marlee wanted to hold Cyren back, allow the Professors to deal with this but was that the right thing? She didn’t know anymore, she knew how she was feeling right now and all she wanted to do was track down the Rebels and teach them a lesson for everything they caused. The pain of losing her father to them and now the pain of losing a good friend, she hadn’t seen Cyren during the attack but she knew that she had gotten lucky last night. Her magic wasn’t strong enough to take on another attack, she needed to train more or learn everything she could about her magic if she had any chance of helping to stop the Rebellion. Taking Cyren’s hands into her own she pulled them over to the bed, sitting down on the mattress she looked at her friend. “I’m worried about you, Ren. We both know that you don’t take things like this well,” Marlee wasn’t worried about the hound taking over Cyren, she knew if that did happen then they’d deal with it together. But Cyren wasn’t dealing with Greg’s death, she wasn’t grieving like she should be and her emotions were being bottled up.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


The hound was furious, snarling and snapping in the confines of Cyren's mind. It was just as wrathful as Cyren, and the girl could feel the darkness threatening to overtake her mind. She forced herself to breathe, recall happier, lighter times- not to completely give into the anger. As the shower ran, and Cyren leaned against Dan's desk she thought of the first time Marlee and her parents invited the Hellhound to stay for the summer. She thought of all the small moments they had. The laughter and the closest feeling to family Cyren ever had. She thought of Finn and his ability to make her grin no matter the circumstance, and of Daniel who always looked out for her- even when Cyren was snappy or rude to the vampire. Eventually the Hellhound within her veins began to recede, it's wrath fading into a more manageable anger that kept Cyren from drowning in sorrow. Slowly the darkness that burned her mind began to recede, and by the time the water cut off Cyren was breathing normally. Her arms were still crossed tightly. She couldn't allow herself to be worked into a rage to the point of losing her control. That wouldn't serve a purpose, nor help avenge Greg's death.

It was the door creaking open that garnered Cyren's attention as it opened to reveal Marlee. Her eyes were red and puffy and sorrow clouded her scent like a perfume that made her nose burn. A fresh batch of tears welled and spilled down her cheeks as Marlee's gaze landed on her friend. For a weak moment Cyren wanted to join her, slide to the floor and just bawl. Wanted to cry all this hurt and guilt out, wanted to cry until it didn't feel like her insides were cased in lead. But that was weak, and Cyren wouldn't be that anymore. It was the anger that was useful, not the sorrow. “I’m so sorry Ren. I didn’t know he had gotten hurt, I hadn’t seen him last night. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say right now,” It's slightly hard to understand what she's saying- but Cyren understands the gist of it. Before Cyren knew it Marlee rushed to her side, throwing her arms around her in an embrace. Cyren sighed, slightly relaxing into the touch of a familiar friend, someone the Hellhound considered family. "You can't blame yourself for Greg." Was all Cyren managed to say, the words a little hoarser and gruffer than the voice she usually used to speak with. Her eyes are lacking of the normal playful light they usually carry.

However, it doesn't take long for Marlee to figure out that something's wrong. Something's not right, and Cyren's not crying and she pulls away but doesn't let go. Cyren clutches at Marlee like she's her only lifeline. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you crying? Finn isn’t hurt too, right?” At the mention of his name Cyren's met with memories of eyes the color of ancient bark, of rust overtaking forgotten bikes and cars, of the deep dark rocks that tear unsuspecting ships open. She's almost positive she can feel his lips on her's again, kissing solid, good. Nothing too demanding or meek. "Finn? He um... He got hurt. A werewolf had a go at his leg. Daniel though... Dan fixed him up. He's fine now, leg's all healed and he got some rest... So..." Her voice trails off, unable to answer Marlee's first question. Why isn't she crying? "I-I can't." Cyren murmurs, her voice touching on vacant notes of concern. "I saw him. I walked right by him bloody and hurt. He said he was fine, and I didn't double check. I just left. I needed to find you or Finn or Dan." She murmurs, shame coloring her tone as she averts her gaze, grip loosening on Marlee to the point of being slack. "I don't have any right to cry, and even if I did- fuck it hurts so bad Marlee." She admitted softly.

"All I can do right now is be pissed off about what happened. When I kill the fucking cowards who did this- I... I'll grieve then. I don't get to until then." Cyren mumbled in a tiny voice. Cyren… would Greg want this? He wouldn’t want you to feel like this, to be this angry.” This made the Hellhound stop, her brow furrowing. Of course he wouldn't want this for her. All Greg wanted was for her to be happy. He was a good friend, and Cyren felt her stomach knot. But he wasn't here anymore. He wouldn't want his sister to be on the warpath either- but she was. "Greg's dead. Gone. I messed up- real bad the last time I saw him. I'm stuck wondering, was I the last person he saw? The last person he knew, who he thought was a friend, was I the last person to walk away from him? I can't just sit on my hands. If I grieve I won't do anything else. If I'm mad, I'll fight. I'll at least make sure the fuckers who did this pay. Dearly. With their lives preferably." Cyren explained, barely aware of Marlee leading them to Dan's bed to sit them down as she held the Hellhound's hands. That fire in her belly fanned once again, driving her ambition for vengeance. She knew Marlee was concerned, but Cyren pretended not to notice that concern in her friend's eyes.

“I’m worried about you, Ren. We both know that you don’t take things like this well,” It was true. Death was never a subject that Cyren dealt well with. Call it leftover from her parent's death but even the talk of death made Cyren squeamish, agitated and often irrational. It was something that often kept her from developing many close friendships with people. Abandonment. And death? Well that was the ultimate abandonment. "I know. But... I don't know how to deal with this kind of thing. Especially with... With how the last time I saw him went." Cyren spoke, wanting to be as honest as possible with Marlee. "If I feel like the hound is taking over- or if you or Dan or Finn feels like it's taking over; then I'll... I'll try to grieve. Or stop being pissed off." Cyren promised, gently patting Marlee's hands. Because honestly? She was just as frightened of that darkness consuming her mind. She was about to speak when her phone buzzed, an unsaved number. Curiously opening it she felt her brow furrow. "Cyren, it's Finn. They're keeping the school open, the Rebellion wants soldiers; all Headmaster's saying right now. I'll keep you updated." The text was short and simple, enough to make the Hellhound's gaze narrow. The Headmaster was allowing the school to remain open which was good. Exhaling through her nose Cyren stood up tugging Marlee up with her.

"C'mon before the dorms are crawling with staff and we get stuck in your boyfriend's oddly suave room for the entire day." She directed, trying for a bit of humor. After listening for a brief moment to confirm no one was outside, Cyren opened the door and followed Marlee to her dorm. "I don't... I don't really want to be alone." She admitted, scuffling her feet anxiously as her friend welcomed Cyren into her tidy dorm room. Marlee wasted no time in flopping onto her bed, the scent of grief and sorrow clinging to her enough to make Cyren sneeze. "Hey, Dan told me you weren't doing so well." She started, catching Marlee's gaze with a note of firmness. "Did you know the Rebellion was coming? No- then you couldn't of done anything. So what if your dad's some power-crazed loony at the moment. That's on him not you." Cyren stated sounding something more like her normal self. "From what Dan told me, you led an entire group of students to the courtyard and when ambushed fought off the Rebellion single-handedly. You invested yourself in our peers safety, you got hurt doing so. You wanna know what happened to me? Got my ass handed to me by a few Fae. Then I walked past my dying friend- so all in all I'd say you did better than me last night. No small feat- there wasn't a damned thing you could do Marlee. Don't let your father worm his way into your head alright? You did all you could. I'm proud of you, and so is Dan."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



He was hoping the two girls could cheer one another up. There was a somber feeling to the staff as they made their way to the Headmaster's library. It wasn't often that the Headmaster called a school-wide staff meeting. But when he did it was always there. His colleagues were wearing serious faces; some riddled with guilt and sorrow. Others anger and fear. Dan's was tired, beaten, but determined as he followed the silent crowd to their destination. As they made their way to the library Dan managed to worm his way to one side of the room, sit on one of the ancient tables to wait for the meeting to begin. In here people were restless soft whispers he paid no mind to listen to. He was scanning the crowd for some familiar faces when he spotted Callum- nearly across the room in a heated conversation with a few other staff, and then Finn. At once his gut twisted for the basilisk. Greg had been his student after all. This couldn't be an easy meeting. But, Dan stayed where he was only giving a slightly nod to acknowledge Finn when his gaze landed on him. There were no words to be said at the moment. Perhaps after the meeting Dan would offer to listen if he ever needed to talk about what happened. Though, he wasn't exactly therapist material.

Eventually the Headmaster began to speak and a thick hush fell upon the staff. “As all of you have heard already, there has been a death resulting from the attack the school received last night at the senior dance. This will cause many things, fear and anger and incredible sadness. Not only from the students, but from us as well.” A few head were nodded along though Dan remained impassive. “The students will need us now more than ever before, the school will remain open. Closing the gates for go will only encourage the Rebellion and it will make them win, families may take their children and flee which we have no power over. But we can’t allow any of our students to join the Rebels, because that is exactly what the Rebellion wants. I was warned last night, there will only be more attacks if we don’t supply soldiers.” At once staff gasped and began talking among themselves. Dan was sick to hear a few wanted to comply. "What's the life of a few over the life of the many?" He overheard one staff murmuring to a friend, and Dan felt sick but didn't intervene. The headmaster was quiet and Dan narrowed his eyes, hoisiting himself up onto the table to stand above the rest of the staff and gain Stirling's attention. "You're not seriously considering this are you?" He challenged, his gaze narrowing as another wave of silence fell on the staff.

Headmaster cleared his throat, shaking his head. "No, Daniel I am not. But things can not continue on as they have." There was a pause and a few exchanged looks of confusion. "I have always been... Lax about the security on our school. We have been a beacon of learning, a place of refuge and safe haven for centuries. Since we were founded. I didn't think the Rebellion was... Was headstrong enough to challenge that. And in the light of... Of the boy's death it's become clear we need more security measures. I've spent the past five hours negotiating terms, and would like to introduce Adaria Wuthring." Almost at once a woman melted from the shadows taking a place to the headmaster. Her skin was the color of a mocha latte, her face all sharp angles that looked regal. "She's been commanding one of the largest platoons of the Community. She's here with a portion of that platoon as extra security." An uneasy feeling rose to the pit of Daniel's stomach. That was fast. "In return for protection of both staff and students- the school has officially announced a position, the position of the Community. We will be helping how we can, when we can afford to." The headmaster spoke leaving Daniel frowning. This could blow up in all their faces, he just hoped he knew what Stirling was doing. "That's all I can disclose at the moment. Classes..." Trailed off as if making up his mind before speaking again.

"Classes will be held Wednesday and Thursday. Today and Tomorrow students are to be informed, and counseled if they need it. Friday will be... Will be Greg's memorial. Go get something to eat. Stay away from the abilities room, Adaria's soldiers are cleaning up." And like that they were dismissed leaving Daniel with a pit in his stomach. Sighing he lowered himself off the table landing with a dull thud that was soundless beneath all the chatter of other staff members. He then noted Finn out of the corner of his eye, off to one side sending a text message. Deciding there wasn't anyone else to discuss this with, Daniel approached. "Can't believe the Community swooped in already. Class is gonna be difficult for the next few weeks." He stated, and then gently rested a hand on the male's shoulder. "I'm sorry about Greg. I know he was in a couple of your classes... How you holding up?" There were few people Dan could consider friend. Finn was one of those people, plus he and Cyren seemed to be growing close. So it was really just easier to get along with him- and Finn had given Dan no reason to not want to get on with him. "If you ever want to grab a cup of coffee and talk about it or something, 'm around. I'm not a therapist or anything but... Better than nothing sometimes." He offered if not a little gruffly.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


Stirling was now just admitting that he had been slack when it came to the security of the school, he should have admitted that when Thomas overtook his daughter’s mind and Marlee broke the protection spell that had been in place over the front gates for… who knows how long and it was a student who broke the spell. Sure the student was a Hudson and they were known for how powerful their magic was, but it was still a young student who wasn’t even fully in control of her magic yet and she could still break a protection spell without any trouble. The comment caused Finn to roll his eyes, but at least Stirling was making the claim now even though it was far too late for it now. "She's been commanding one of the largest platoons of the Community. She's here with a portion of that platoon as extra security. In return for protection of both staff and students- the school has officially announced a position, the position of the Community. We will be helping how we can, when we can afford to." Finn’s eyes caught the movement and glanced over to the woman, he hadn’t even sensed that she was inside the library this whole time. Apparently the attack and the death of Greg had shaken him more than he cared to admit, he should have been the first one who sensed that a stranger was present.

He didn’t have a good feeling about this, yes he thought the school needed more security who could actually do something if there was another attack from the Rebellion. Hopefully if this woman, Adaria Wuthring, and her team were seen around the grounds by the students, it might help them deal with Greg’s death and make the place feel a little safer than what it did right now. But he still didn’t really like it, his gut was telling him that he shouldn’t get too comfortable with all of this. And now Stirling had made a deal with the Community when the school had never needed that before, times were changing because of the Rebellion and Finn assumed Stirling was doing everything in his power to keep the school open for the kids. Which is what needed to happen now, the school couldn’t shut their doors. Sure, most of the kids had homes that they could return to but not all of them. A lot of the student body had even travelled from far away to attend the school, if they were forced to leave then they would be easy targets for the Rebellion to sink their teeth into. Finn didn’t even bother voicing his opinion, he was the newest professor there but he was still so tired. From the attack and learning about Greg, it was draining and he wasn’t the only one who felt that way as he could tell about half of the professor’s shared his emotions. Most of them were older like Daniel, and had seen and been around death many times before.

"Can't believe the Community swooped in already. Class is gonna be difficult for the next few weeks. I'm sorry about Greg. I know he was in a couple of your classes... How you holding up? If you ever want to grab a cup of coffee and talk about it or something, I'm around. I'm not a therapist or anything but... Better than nothing sometimes." Daniel spoke as Stirling ended the staff meeting, Finn waited until most of the staff had left the library which is when he sent a quick text to Cyren’s number like she had asked him to before he walked out with his friend beside him. “I’m more surprised the Community waited this long, I was expecting them to swoop in when the Thomas and Marlee ordeal happened.” He had been surprised when the Community hadn’t spoken up about that night or offered their help like they have now, maybe they were just waiting to see how Stirling would handle things or just until things got worse and then they can feel good within themselves because they were doing the right thing. “I’ll be fine, much like you I’ve grown used to this… being around death. I have my ways of dealing with this, I’m just furious that it was a student. Someone so young and innocent,” Finn exhaled heavily to stop himself from getting angry again, it wasn’t the time nor the place for him to deal with his emotions. He would do that in the privacy of his room when no one else was around, “I’m honestly more worried about Cyren. I saw it in her eyes, she isn’t going to allow herself to grieve until she finds and kills whoever is responsible for Greg’s death. I’m scared she’s going to go down that path, the dark soulless path that I went down myself.” That was something Finn had never told anyone before, it wasn’t a time in his life that he wanted to remember or even talk about because it still hurt him to relive everything he had done in those five months where he lost himself.

“I had my older brother but Cyren has no one, I don’t want to say harsh but I don’t think Marlee will be enough for her. As far as I know, Marlee hasn’t lost that many people in her life which is a really good thing. My brother went through the same thing, he understood how I felt and he pulled me out of my dark place.” His voice lowered as he didn’t know who was around them and that could overhear, was Adaria’s team already in place around the school? He couldn’t see any unfamiliar faces but that didn’t mean shit right now, but it also wasn’t unknown that he was close to Cyren as a Professor as they shared a lot of time together when he gave her extra abilities classes. So if someone did overhear them speaking about two students, it wouldn’t seem all that strange but he still didn’t want anyone overhearing their private conversation. It did feel good to tell someone that he trusted what he was concerned about, he knew Daniel would do everything in his power to keep both girls safe so maybe now they could both keep an eye on the Hellhound to keep her on the sane path in life.

“How do you feel about the added security?” Finn asked as he wanted to know if Daniel shared the same bad feeling he did about all of this, “I’m not sure about having strangers hanging around the school. But I hope to God that their presence will ease the fear and stress, make the kids feel safe being here again.” He could taste the growing fear and panic in the air, more and more students were finding out about Greg as the seconds ticked past. Fear and panic mixed together felt Finn with a sour taste in his mouth, although it wasn’t the first time he had tasted those emotions in the air and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. It would only increase if the Rebellion kept their threat, he couldn’t see Stirling willingly handing over a single student to the Rebels which only meant there would be more attacks being planned on the school. He could see how some staff thought it would benefit the school if a few students were handed over to the Rebellion, but if one student was given then the Rebellion would only ask for more and if Stirling suddenly stopped passing students over then a deadlier attack would take place with more blood spilled and more lives taken.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


"I don't have any right to cry, and even if I did- fuck it hurts so bad Marlee. All I can do right now is be pissed off about what happened. When I kill the fucking cowards who did this- I... I'll grieve then. I don't get to until then." Cyren explained in a voice that Marlee didn’t hear all that often, usually only a few times through the year. Her friend’s voice was heavy and rough, matching exactly what Marlee was seeing on the outside of her best friend. “We both know… how Greg was, remember when he jumped out of the big oak tree? He broke his leg in several places and would have preferred to limp his way to the nurses office, then have anyone help him. He was stubborn and never wanted to be a burden on anyone, of course he told you he was fine. Anyone would have believed him, that gym… it was hectic, no one was thinking straight.” She wasn’t sure if her words would mean anything to Cyren at this time, but maybe if her words got into her friend’s mind then it could help her whenever Cyren needed them. It wasn’t either of their fault, the Rebels attacked and Greg died because he put other’s before himself. Even if Cyren had tried to help, Greg wouldn’t have allowed her to as that was the type of guy he was.

Marlee was frightened, frightened of what could happen to her best friend once she goes on this hunt to track down whoever delivered the blow that killed Greg. She had read all the books she could find on Hellhounds and asked her family about them when she first started becoming friends with Cyren, she knew what the hound was born to do and what made it thrive. Hurting and killing people is what the hound enjoyed the most, when Cyren found this Rebel she was searching for and ended their life, what would happen then? Would the grief she had for Greg stop the hound from coming to the forefront, or would her hound’s bloodlust be too strong? The latter is what scared Marlee down to her core, it shook her bones and made her blood run cold. Every word that Cyren spoke only caused the fae to worry more about her friend, the girl who she has always been by her side and the girl who was more like family then actual family members. But it was Cyren who suggested they leave Dan’s room as they wouldn’t really be able to explain their way out of this one, if they were caught sitting on his bed. So they left to Marlee’s dorm room instead, she let her body fall onto her bed and all she wanted to do was roll over and sleep. Pretend like last night never happened and pretend that Greg was still alive, trying to keep Nix and Cyren from getting into trouble.

But then Cyren brought up Dan’s worries, she tried not to look at her friend but she failed when her eyes locked with Cyren’s. "From what Dan told me, you led an entire group of students to the courtyard and when ambushed fought off the Rebellion single-handedly. You invested yourself in our peers safety, you got hurt doing so. You wanna know what happened to me? Got my ass handed to me by a few Fae. Then I walked past my dying friend- so all in all I'd say you did better than me last night. No small feat- there wasn't a damned thing you could do Marlee. Don't let your father worm his way into your head alright? You did all you could. I'm proud of you, and so is Dan." The brunette always did know what to say at times like this, while Marlee just let her emotions overtake her until she was a mess and couldn’t say anything. “I warned you before about messing with fae,” Her voice was light, she didn’t want to make a joke at a time like this but she had warned the Hellhound numerous times about how strong a fae’s magic could be. “And I did have help, Mack and Vin did what they could which was pretty impressive.” Marlee wasn’t going to take any credit for last night, she did have help from a few students who stood up beside her when they were ambushed by Rebels.

“Dan also worries too much about me, he couldn’t stop apologizing to me because he left me last night. Even though he had to, he had to protect all the students he could, not just me. I’ve never had this before… never felt this before,” Marlee’s heart beat increased in her chest as just the thought of her boyfriend, but then her heart slowed again rather quickly as her statement caused a memory to flash across her mind. Apparently it was enough of a change to alert Cyren that there was something she was keeping to herself, when Cyren asked it caused Marlee to sit up on her bed. Should she tell Cyren? She wanted to but it might also cause her more anger, but they did make a promise to never keep anything from each other. “You can’t let this affect you, we don’t know what’s going on and I haven’t told anyone else yet. I don’t even know if Dan or Finn or the Headmaster know…” She was losing track of what she wanted to say, which caused Cyren to make a noise in the back of her throat which caused Marlee to regain herself. “When we got ambushed, there was one familiar face among the Rebels. I haven’t seen him in years, the last I saw him he was leaving to go exploring. Apparently that was just a lie to keep me from knowing the truth… but I saw one of Hamish’s uncles, he was a Rebel which doesn’t really mean anything. Half of my father’s family are Rebels, but the rest aren’t.” She was only saying that in an attempt to stop Cyren was growing angrier, of course when Marlee’s eyes landed on Evan, her first thought was did Hamish have something to do with the Rebels getting onto the school grounds. But she couldn’t think like that as it wasn’t fair on Hamish or his family, she didn’t want to start pointing the finger at anyone as it could have very well been her fault. She had broken the protection spell on the school’s gates, which hadn’t been completely fixed at the time of the attack.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


"You have warned me about Fae magic, and I think they just drilled that warning in for me." Cyren remarked, leaning back on the pillows thinking over what Marlee had said earlier. Greg was like that and she did know that. Yet another failure on her part. She should of seen for herself to make sure he was okay. Again that rage began to simmer beneath her skin and Cyren let herself steam in it. Outwardly though she kept a small vacant smile that never reached her eyes. Never warmed her face as it normally did. Cyren didn't tell Marlee she had slaughtered three of the four. That just felt... Wrong. Sure they weren't her friend, but they were of her species and Cyren had killed them. Had enjoyed doing so in fact, or at least the hound did. The brunette was horrified but all this was kept on her chest. “And I did have help, Mack and Vin did what they could which was pretty impressive.” At this Cyren scoffs and she almost would of sounded like herself if the noise wasn't so flat "Maybe you did drop them on their heads hard enough that time in the gym." Cyren leans back, propping most her weight on the bed and staring up at the ceiling lost in thought. There was this nervous, angry energy building beneath her skin that was making her restless. But she needed to be with Marlee for now.

Later she could sneak out to the thicket of woods on the school ground and take her frustrations out on a tree, or other shrubbery. What caught Cyren's senses, which seemed irritated and heightened, was Marlee's heart speeding up as if remembering something distressing. Curiously her gaze slid almost lazily towards her friend and the brunette raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" She was expecting Marlee to have forgotten something in Dan's room, or maybe forgotten to see if Vin and Mack were okay after the fight. “You can’t let this affect you, we don’t know what’s going on and I haven’t told anyone else yet. I don’t even know if Dan or Finn or the Headmaster know…” At once she sat up straighter, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them while fixing Marlee with an unreadable gaze. "Go on." She encouraged, making no promises at the moment. What if someone hurt Marlee? Cyren was going to take measures to ensure the safety of her friend if that was the case. “When we got ambushed, there was one familiar face among the Rebels. I haven’t seen him in years, the last I saw him he was leaving to go exploring. Apparently that was just a lie to keep me from knowing the truth… but I saw one of Hamish’s uncles, he was a Rebel which doesn’t really mean anything. Half of my father’s family are Rebels, but the rest aren’t.”

That was the last thing Cyren had been expecting. Hearing this only served to heighten her anger. A snarl bounced off the walls as the Hellhound contemplated getting up and confronting Hamish about this. Hamish who had given Marlee such a hard fucking time because her father had joined the Rebellion?! It was unacceptable. But... An overreaction Cyren realized as Marlee regarded her with wide eyes. Shit, it was like the hound hadn't truly let it's fangs go since last night and Greg's death and her unwillingness to grieve was not helping her control. Exhaling Cyren just gave a curt nod of her head. "Okay, so Hamish's uncle is in the Rebellion. My gut instinct is that he's a rat so there's no way he's not involved in this. Did you see Hamish around during the attacks? I was... Preoccupied." Cyren asked, her voice low. This was a great distraction. Play detective, figure out how likely it was if the werewolf was involved. And the girl was convinced he was. And since what she wanted to do was cut off fingers and toes until he started talking, she felt that would not go over very well with anyone, and would do little to convince people she was fine.

And honestly? Cyren was a little scared of the hound taking over. So she'd have to take a side-line seat to this. "You could figure it out. Think about it-" She suggested leaning forward her voice soft and serious. "If he's in the Rebellion, if he let them in somehow he's responsible in all this. He's part of the reason Greg died and that so many people got hurt. And I bet if he's with the rebellion one of his tasks are keeping an eye on you." She reasoned, her brows furrowing together already devising a plan. "You can... I dunno try to keep an eye on him. See if he does anything weird. I'm gonna... I'm just going to sit this out. No hunting or tracking for me on this." Cyren promised, frowning a little. She wanted to very badly be a part of this but Cyren didn't think she could do something like this and not get violent at the moment. So she'd hold herself back. Focus on her anger and putting it to good use like when she practiced with Finn. Though if Hamish got violent with Marlee- that was a different story and Cyren would be very happy to take an active role if he tried to hurt her friend.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire



“I’ll be fine, much like you I’ve grown used to this… being around death. I have my ways of dealing with this, I’m just furious that it was a student. Someone so young and innocent,” At this Dan nodded his frown deepening. He had been around death, plenty of it. Some of it caused by others, most by his own hands... Dan knew how to deal with this kind of thing. As scary as it was to just dive into that sorrow and find ways to cope with it- you had to do it. It was tempting to hold onto that coal of anger. To let it burn your actions and thoughts- but that was the most dangerous thing you could do. Especially for a student. Next to him Finn let out a heavy sigh. "Greg had so much potential- just snubbed. He was a goddamned kid, who was just trying to protect his peers. It's beyond frustrating." Daniel agreed, his shoulder's tensing. He could blame himself, go down that path of what if's but would good would it do? No matter how much Dan wished he noticed how hurt the boy had been, it wouldn't change anything. All anyone could do now was accept what had taken place and to try to do better to protect one another.

“I’m honestly more worried about Cyren. I saw it in her eyes, she isn’t going to allow herself to grieve until she finds and kills whoever is responsible for Greg’s death. I’m scared she’s going to go down that path, the dark soulless path that I went down myself.” At this Dan paused, his gaze sharpening. He wouldn't put it past Cyren to do such a thing. Or to just simply rampage through the Rebellion until there wasn't a damned thing left or until she got put down. And Dan didn't want to lose another student, not Marlee's best friend. "She can't. You need to push her to grieve. She might hate you for it in the moment, but you need to make her let go of that darkness." Dan directed, his tone somber. "You know what it's like then. That path. You and I know it well- she doesn't. She doesn't know what kind of beast she's poking by holding onto all the anger and sense of revenge. She thinks it's right, but Finn we know it's not." Could Cyren be reached right now? Only mere hours after her friends death? Dan would think not. She was inconsolable right now. Even if she pretended she was fine. He was going to need to keep a close eye on her. They all were, especially with this new security here. If she lost control, Dan didn't care to think of how Adaria Wuthring and her soldiers were going to intervene.

Cyren, who had a desperate need of control especially over her emotions; was going to have to let go. Trust someone enough to just let go of the anger and grieve. “I had my older brother but Cyren has no one, I don’t want to say harsh but I don’t think Marlee will be enough for her. As far as I know, Marlee hasn’t lost that many people in her life which is a really good thing. My brother went through the same thing, he understood how I felt and he pulled me out of my dark place.” That's where it got tricky- because Finn was right. Cyren had her life thrown into chaos and darkness from a young age. She had dealt with it by herself, learned to push forward and carry on. "Marlee's not enough." Dan said simply, with a little shrug. "She loves Cyren fierce as anything, and would do anything to keep her friend safe- and the trust between them is there, but she just lacks the experience. She wouldn't know how to pull Cyren out of this. But you will." Dan stated pinning Finn beneath his gaze with a firm look. "I don't pretend to know the exact... Nature of what you two do and frankly that's none of my business. But between you and I, it's you she's gonna listen to."

Dan didn't want to get to specific in case there were ears around, and for extra precautions kept his voice soft and hushed. "If you really thinks she's on a bad path, turn her off of it. It's in everyone's best interest, because she's young. Cyren may not realize the hound is taking over until it's already too late. And by that time she's gonna have a near impossible time coming back from that." Dan warned, though he had an inkling Finn already knew this. "She needs you. Even if she can't say it. You know her best, do what you think is right." Dan suggested, concern twined in his tone. If Cyren went off the rails, it would tear Marlee apart. Would definitely hurt him and Finn too. As big as a pain in his ass she could be, Dan had grown to genuinely like her company. Dan had the experience to talk to her about vengeance and guilt and self-blame, how those were probably her worse enemies, but the trust just wasn't there. If Dan told her to grieve, to allow herself to drown in that sorrow before learning how to tread it, she'd be more than likely to tell him to fuck off. But if Finn did it, if Finn offered up little bits about his past maybe she would listen.

Maybe Finn could offer a peace of mind to the Hellhound Dan could not. Maybe Dan was putting too much on the basilisk and the only way for Cyren to learn was going to be to crash and burn. He hoped not. Dan sighed, his gaze flickering around the room before he shrugged. "I've never particularly cared for the Community's soldiers. I especially don't care for them being on school ground. But what can you do? We need help. The kids need to feel safe, and be safe. The best way to do that while remaining open- is having the community here." As much as he wanted the Community gone from the walls, the extra security was needed. He would bite his tongue for the children's sake. Daniel sighed heavily, and shook his head. "But hopefully their presence scares off the Rebellion enough to back down. And then we can all just get back to learning and preparing for the future." Dan muttered, more to himself than anything. Dan lingered in place, unwilling to actually go out into the halls. He could hear people stirring waking up to the news that Gregory was dead. The grief councilors that Stirling kept on hand would have their hands full for awhile. Hell all the staff were going to have their hands full for awhile, between trying to bring some peace and security to the kids, to getting back to some sense of okay. "Kids are waking up. They're gonna manage to hear about this from the grapevine."

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


"You know what it's like then. That path. You and I know it well- she doesn't. She doesn't know what kind of beast she's poking by holding onto all the anger and sense of revenge. She thinks it's right, but Finn we know it's not." Daniel was right, he couldn’t let Cyren go down the dark path of revenge as it would only consume her and give the beast to control her. But what could he do to help her? His brother had physically punched him and held him down, he couldn’t do anything like that to a student. He didn’t want to hurt Cyren, but he would need to hurt her emotionally and probably mentally if he wanted to stop her from seeking out the revenge that she thinks will help her deal with Greg’s death. "She needs you. Even if she can't say it. You know her best, do what you think is right." Daniel suggested but they both knew it wouldn’t be that easy, Cyren was stubborn and it will take some time for her to truly listen to what Finn would say to her. Not that it would make him give up, he has gone this far with her already so he couldn’t give up on the brunette even if he tried.

“I’ll do whatever I can for her,” He agreed even if the task of talking a hellhound down sent fear through him, Cyren still had no clue about what he was so she might not listen to him because of that reason. Because she might not believe him when he told her his story, the story of his parents or just a story of all the people he has lost over the years. He didn’t know how she would take it, knowing what he was. Most people that knew ended up being in fear of him, something that he absolutely hated because he wasn’t always that monster serpent. That part of him only ever came out in times of desperate need, the Rebels attacking is the perfect example of a time when he would transform into his snake self. "I've never particularly cared for the Community's soldiers. I especially don't care for them being on school ground. But what can you do? We need help. The kids need to feel safe, and be safe. The best way to do that while remaining open- is having the community here." Finn shared the same opinion on the Community that Daniel held, it seemed both of them would stay silent about the soldiers as it meant the school would stay open.

That is all Finn wanted, he wanted to stay there and continue teaching to the students he had grown fond of. He had worked so hard to get to where he was today, he wouldn’t allow the Rebellion to ruin his life because he was stronger than that. He knew that he couldn’t protect the entire school on his own, not if the Rebellion were strong in the numbers of soldiers they had or the power of those soldiers. No one there seemed to know either which would cost them greatly, it had already stolen an innocent life and if they weren’t careful then more lives would be taken from them. “We should get out there, keep the calm as best we can and console whoever needs it.” Dread filled his body as he stared at the closed wooden door that lead out into one of the main hallways, it was usually this time of the day when Finn avoided the hallways as best he could. Normally there would be a suddenly surge of students rushing towards the dining hall for breakfast, but today would be different and not everyone knew about the event of Greg’s death yet.

He could hear water running, voices chatting happily as some students hadn’t heard the news. But the bitterness was already seeping through cracks in the flooring and under closed doors, Finn felt faint with the constant assault he was getting by the emotions from the students. They were all feeling something different, some were more affected by the news than others and it was beginning to give him a headache. But he pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway, he would help as many kids as he could at a time like this. His eyes scanned the sulking faces as students slowly started to leave their dorms, all were confused as they didn’t know what to do. Some were crying and hugging friends tightly, others moved around on their own. He hadn’t seen Nix yet and if he had, what could he possibly say to the young girl now that she had lost her twin brother? Saying he was sorry, just didn’t cut it and he didn’t want to throw his pity onto her shoulders like everyone else would once she decided to venture out from whatever room she was in. Which was most likely the nurse’s ward, where he assumed Greg was still laying on one of the beds.

Cyren wasn’t among the group, which gave him the chance to be there for the other children. Finding a group of kids that all shared his English class with Greg, he ushered them off to the side of the hallway where it was empty. Making them sit down on a bench, he knelt down in front of them and actually explained to them what had happened. He remembered that they had all left the dance early before the Rebels attacked, he felt like the senior’s deserved to know the truth about last night because they were the kids that the Rebellion would be interested in having join them. They were nearly the legal age, some had already turned eighteen and had learnt how to use their abilities. Finn didn’t share every single detail with the small group of close friends, but he gave out enough for them to know why this happened and that it wouldn’t happen again because the Community would keep extra protection at the school until things died down with the Rebels.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


"Okay, so Hamish's uncle is in the Rebellion. My gut instinct is that he's a rat so there's no way he's not involved in this. Did you see Hamish around during the attacks? I was... Preoccupied." Cyren asked once Marlee had finished explaining what she saw during the ambush, she had to think about what Cyren was asking for a good minute or two. “I didn’t see him during the attack, he wasn’t near me but then again I don’t remember seeing him at the dance. I also wasn’t looking out for him either, most of my attention was on either you or Dan.” It was true, she hadn’t seen Hamish during the dance but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there or during the attack. When Marlee heard the snarl sound from Cyren, it scared her for a spilt second. She had heard snarls and growls from her friend before, but this snarl wasn’t from her friend, it was from the hound and it sounded close to the surface. Guilt bubbled in her stomach as she had never been scared of Cyren before, she hoped her best friend didn’t see the fear that flashed across her eyes.

"You could figure it out. Think about it- If he's in the Rebellion, if he let them in somehow he's responsible in all this. He's part of the reason Greg died and that so many people got hurt. And I bet if he's with the rebellion one of his tasks are keeping an eye on you. You can... I dunno try to keep an eye on him. See if he does anything weird. I'm gonna... I'm just going to sit this out. No hunting or tracking for me on this." Ren was already making the plan inside her mind and even though Marlee agreed with most of it, would she even be able to pull it off? Things between her and her ex weren’t on the smoothest grounds, they didn’t get along anymore and if Hamish was somehow involved in the Rebels attack then would she be able to control herself from lashing out at the werewolf? It would be partly his fault that Greg had died. “I don’t know… I mean I guess I can try but I’m not the best when it comes to stuff like this.” She would give it her best shot, although there was also one person that she would need to convince. Her boyfriend, who had promised her before that he’d make sure Hamish never bothered her again. But everything was different now.

“I’ll start off by just watching him, I don’t want him to become suspicious or anything if I suddenly start being nice to him. I never once thought he’d be a rat, especially not after how he treated me when Thomas left.” Hamish had been downright horrible to her when her father joined the Rebels, but maybe that was an act or he just hadn’t joined them himself at that stage. Whichever one it was, Marlee didn’t care because she didn’t trust him. Not now that she knew someone from his family was a Rebel, unless he could prove that he had nothing to do with the Rebellion then she wouldn’t give him a second chance to explain a thing to her. Laying back down on her bed she stared up at the plain ceiling, “Did you see Finn during the fight? Do you know what he is?” She asked taking the topic of their attention onto something else, she hadn’t seen Professor Huxley during the attack not that she cared about finding out what creature he was but Cyren had always been interested in knowing.

She wondered if she asked Daniel, would he tell her. He had shared with her his strong dislike for werewolves before, all he would need to do was say a single word and she’d know what Finn was. It wouldn’t change a thing for her, she wouldn’t see Finn any differently because he was still helping Cyren and Dan trusted him. If the two people she loved the most in her life gave their trust to the same person, then Marlee knew that person was good and deserved to hold her trust in their hands. “I could get it out of Dan if you wanted to know,” A small smile graced her lips as she looked over to her friend, she was certain there would be ways in which she could get things out of her boyfriend and she wouldn’t mind trying any of them. However this was just Marlee’s way of not thinking about what was happening around her, she didn’t want to talk about Greg as she didn’t want to hurt Cyren anymore than she already was.

Cyren Nielsen | Hellhound


Cyren even if she couldn't see the flash of fear that entered her friend's eyes at her snarl, she could smell the sharp acidic change to Marlee's base scent. Then followed by guilt. Cyren at once felt guilt and a bit of shame color her cheeks. She didn't ever want to scare her friend, and Cyren forced herself to reign it in. Her lips were pressed together to keep back any more snarls or growls so she could keep from scaring her friend again. “I don’t know… I mean I guess I can try but I’m not the best when it comes to stuff like this.” Cyren nodded still a little flustered with herself but forced herself to smile and nod easily. "Understood. I'll help you. I mean how hard could it be? If he's working for the Rebellion he's bound to slip up at some point. He's dumb as a pile of rocks, and when he messes up- we'll catch him." She wasn't quite sure what to do with him after that. Of course the hound wanted to shred him until it got answers. Where the rest of the Rebellion was. Plans- anything of use though she kept that bit to herself.

She had already frightened Marlee once today- and Cyren didn't want to do it again. “I’ll start off by just watching him, I don’t want him to become suspicious or anything if I suddenly start being nice to him. I never once thought he’d be a rat, especially not after how he treated me when Thomas left.” That was a good place to start and Cy' nodded her gaze sharp and serious. "Yeah, not too dangerous so you should be okay. Though if he's working for the Rebellion I'd suspect he's not supposed to help you. But once a rat always a rat and he'll likely take the road of self-preservation if he thinks you're onto him. Just be careful okay?" Cyren's brain was screaming that this was too dangerous. But, there was another part of her that knew this was going to be good for both of them. Cyren could not always be there for Marlee, and the real world was dangerous. It was best for Marlee to learn how to navigate difficult situations without Cyren always hovering around. "But if it does get too dangerous, or you're uncomfortable don't worry about Hamish okay? Promise me if you think he's onto you, you'll stop Marlee. Okay?" Cyren could not and would not lose her best friend.

Cyren was actually pretty committed to not losing anymore people she cared about, by whatever means necessary. Whatever problems arose because of this mindset down the road, the brunette would handle it. She had to, there wasn't any other viable choice she could think of. No long would she just be weak. It was time for her to use all this anger and put it into use by mastering what it was she could do. “Did you see Finn during the fight? Do you know what he is?” Cyren wrinkled her nose at this, momentarily distracted. "No, but I've narrowed it down pretty far." She stated, her lips pursing together in thought. It was the little things she had noticed since he started but it didn't really make sense until Cyren noticed his eatery habbits. Finn never seemed to eat much. At least from what Cyren noticed. Who knew maybe he pigged out on junk food in his room- but she was willing to bet he didn't. And creatures that tended to eat less? Tended to be cold-blooded and scaly. The only problem was figuring out which thing it was exactly. Some rare subspecies of dragon? That couldn't be right because he was burnt by her fire. Unless, perhaps he was a water-based type of dragon. Was there such a thing? Cyren had no idea.

“I could get it out of Dan if you wanted to know,” Somehwere in her, Cyren knew. This was their way of not discussing Greg or death or the Rebellion and the pain they'd rocked this school with. "Mmm, nah. I'm really close. I told Finn I would guess by Christmas. I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to. I just need to get down to the library and take out some books on reptilian supernaturals." Things had been so hectic lately, she hadn't been able to really focus on finding out what Finn was. But, she would and it was all a matter of time. That much Cyren was certain of. "I'm almost upset I didn't get a chance to see Finn that night." Cyren murmured, though it was for the best. It still left her... Her professor? Not quite boyfriend, but not quite friend...? Anyway it still left him with an air of mystery she found intriguing. "You could probably get the answers to tests out of Daniel." Cyren teased, trying to keep the mood light between them- as she still felt guilty for the earlier scare she'd caused Marlee. "I wonder if they're going to hold an assembly. Or something... Anything to address what happened. Did you know there are Community soldiers here?" Cyren suddenly asked, her gaze growing somewhat distant with curiosity.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Roberts | Vampire


Daniel tried to comfort himself with the fact that if anyone could yank Cyren off the path she was determiend to set herself down- it was probably Finn. Dan just had to believe that. Becuase if Cyren lost control of her hound, if the Community soldiers deemed her dangerous, rabid- there was likely going to be one course of action. Put her down. Of course, Daniel didn't really believe that was going to happen. That was the worst, possible case scenario- and his mind always tended to consider all possibilities. No, he was going to do his best to help so that worst scenario, didn't come to pass. They might not be best of friends as Cyren was with Marlee, but she was still his student and his girlfriend's best friend. Daniel would do his best to look out for her if nothing more than brotherly concern. “I’ll do whatever I can for her,” Dan nodded, and offered a tired smile. "I know you will. Thank you." He didn't need to know the details of their relationship. All he needed to know was that for whatever reason the two seemed to make each other happy. Supported. And that was enough for Daniel to turn a blind eye.

“We should get out there, keep the calm as best we can and console whoever needs it.” Dan felt himself nodding. "Yeah. Lot of scared kids are going to be around today. And I suspect the headmaster is going to want to talk to them at some point. Probably within the next hour at breakfast." That's what Daniel would do. If he was in charge of scared students, reacing to the death of their peer, and to strange Community soldiers crawling around the place, he'd want to address the student body as soon as possible. Try to construct the grief in a way that wouldn't be harmful towards anyone, and quell fears of the Community soldier's in their midst. His biggest goal would be to soothe what he could so there wasn't an explosion of emotion. Once he and Finn reached the hallway they exchanged a silent nod before each heading off to try to find some familiar students to comfort. The ones who knew Greg best. The ones that Daniel found, surprised him. The first student he tried to console, was actually Mack and Vin- still in their pajamas. They were trying to find answers from the other staff, though the staff were reluctant to discuss anything with the two boys. So Daniel had interviened. Directed the two boys to gather whoever they thought were close to Greg who also needed answers and then meet up in his classroom.

He wanted to see Marlee, but was somewhat confident that Cyren could keep her comforted. So long as Cyren didn't lose it... So much trouble to deal with in the wake of this attack. Daniel made a quick detour, grabbing himself a blood pack from the staff kitchen before meeting at his apartment. There were about eight students waiting for him, all seniors, and all faces that had been at the dance last night. Their eyes were hard as were their lips- though a few trembled and silent tears remained welled in their eyes. Daniel leaned against his desk while they formed a semi-circle around him. There wasn't anything other to do than tell them what had happened. Why it had happened. What was going to happen here on out, and how the school planned on keeping the rest of them safe. Daniel disclosed what he thought was nesscary, and the kids seemed to handle it well. Mack and Vin were still visibly upset- they all were. But at least they seemed a little calmer than before. Their meeting took about the hour, and it was when everyone was feeling a little better did Dan check his phone, asking the group to go on to breakfast. Stay with one another and try to grieve in whatever ways they felt productive as the day went on as there would be no classes.

Once the small group disipated from his room Dan waited a few minutes, before deciding to try to make his way to the student's cafeteria. It was likely that the headmaster was going to speak, and he wanted to hear how Stirling intended on explaining this to the students. There was a healthy enough crowd in the dining room, though it was nearly silent. Kids just seemed to be eating mechanically, some whispering back and forth with each other and some eying the Communtiy soldiers that were dotted in the room. As his gaze flickered around the room he noted that Cyren and Marlee were sitting in front of largely untouched plates of food. At least they weren't isolating themselves. Daniel did his best not to notice them. There was something authoritarian in their postures he didn't like. The vampire was able to swallow his distaste, leaning off against one of the walls of the cafeteria, when the doors banged open and sure enough the Headmaster swept in. You could hear a pin drop in the room as he made his way to the front of the dining hall at the little stage he reserved for his speeches and assembly's. Daniel hoped that he could manage to ease everyone's mind, to help them heal stronger as a school over Greg's tragic death. Daniel held breath that he didn't need as he turned his full attention to Stirling beginning to adress the crowd of students, staff, and soldiers alike.

Finn Huxley | Basilisk


Once Finn had dealt with a few students that he knew were fairly close to Greg, he felt better in himself knowing that he had at least helped some students begin to deal with the death of a friend. He wanted to do more but right now he couldn’t, Stirling needed to speak with the kids and then they could start the grieving and healing process which he knew from personal experience was going to take a lot of time. Especially if they hadn’t needed to deal with something like this before, it was going to hit those students harder which is why all staff were going to need to keep a closer eye on all of their students. To make sure everyone grieved in a way that was comfortable for them and so the Rebellion couldn’t weasel their way into the student’s minds. He stood around for a little while longer, just to make sure no one else wanted to speak with him or get his help through the morning. He glanced over to Professor McNeil, an old warlock, when his deep ancient voice boomed over the soft chatter and the quiet sobs that bounced off the walls. An assembly was planned for the kids during their breakfast break, Stirling was going to address the death of Greg quickly in hopes it will ease the student’s emotions. Which would be difficult to do right now as emotions were running high, the kids had all only just heard about Greg so it was still raw to them. They didn’t have any time to deal with this or process it through their minds, which was the best time for the Headmaster to speak in some opinions.

While Finn thought it would have been better to hold the students in groups with a few staff, talk things through that way and take time with it because it was such a sore subject. But it wasn’t his position to say a thing, if Stirling felt like addressing the students now then it was going to happen. He just hoped it would calm the kids, not cause greater panic and hurt. He stayed close to the kids as they slowly made their way into the dining hall, most still went to grab some breakfast before sitting down at a table. A few didn’t bother and he understood why, if he ate like a normal person then even he wouldn’t be able to stomach food right now. His eyes constantly scanned the large room, making sure the students weren’t becoming overly emotional as they waiting for the Headmaster to arrive. Finn was towards the middle of the room, he had walked a few laps around the tables before making his way over to the side. His body leaned against the cool wall, he was only a few feet away from Cyren and Marlee. He doubted that they hound would make an appearance, but he wanted to be close by in case anything did happen. And Finn wasn’t just worried about Cyren losing control, there were a few students who appeared to be dealing with this harder than others so he was keeping a close eye on them as well. As the last thing they needed was for a student to lose control of themselves in a room filled with other people, he wasn’t the only staff member who seemed to be thinking that way either.

His eyes flickered over to the door that Stirling entered through, his eyes following the male’s movements as he stood on the small platform at the head of the room. “Thank you for making it here this morning, as most of you would have heard by now we have very sadly lost a wonderful student in the early hours of this morning. A heart breaking result of the attack we received last night, during the senior dance and before any of you ask. We did everything we possibly could for Gregory, but death is part of life which is why we all need to grieve. Even if you didn’t know young Gregory well, his death has made an impact on all of us. The Professors and counsellors will be here for when you all decide that it’s the right time for you to talk to someone about this,” Stirling spoke clearly but Finn could tell this was a time that he would rather forget about, Finn couldn’t imagine what it was like having to make a speech to young children about losing one of them. But it had to be done, hopefully after this things will only get better although Finn felt foolish for even thinking that all. Of course things aren’t going to get better or go back to normal, the Rebellion did this for a reason and that reason had been passed onto Stirling. If he didn’t hand over students to become soldiers, then more Rebels would attack and cause even more pain and bloodshed.

“This attack only occurred because the Rebels wanted to send a message to our communities, they wanted to appear stronger to all our families in hopes they would receive more soldiers. They aren’t strong, they attacked a school where young innocent children learn. That isn’t strength, strength is what we showed them. Strength is protecting each other, helping someone when they need it the most and that is actually what we did that awful night. But we’re still in the dark when it comes to the Rebellion, which is why the Community leaders decided it was best if we had extra security on the grounds. You will be seeing guards but they are only here to keep us safe, for when the Rebels decide to attack again.” Stirling spoke and Finn was slightly surprised that the Headmaster was being so honest, he knew the Rebels would attack again but did the students need to know that? That would make it back to the families and it will cause panic, if kids aren’t going to be safe inside the school walls then parents are going to take their children and flee or join the Rebels who seem to have the power right now. Finn hated that they were in the dark, they didn’t know how many peoples had joined the Rebellion and if families are going to start joining then it will only increase the strength that the Rebels already hold. If you wanted to destroy a force, it was easiest done from the inside out. Finn felt like a sitting duck. He wanted to fight back, he wanted to show the Rebels that they couldn’t mess with the school, he wanted revenge for Greg’s death. He knew if his serpent snuck into wherever the Rebels lived, he could cause so much death but it was thoughts like those that caused his serpent to relish.

---

Marlee Hudson | Fairy


"Understood. I'll help you. I mean how hard could it be? If he's working for the Rebellion he's bound to slip up at some point. He's dumb as a pile of rocks, and when he messes up- we'll catch him." Cyren commented and she was right, Hamish had never been the smartest guy around but he was still cocky. That cockiness was the key to all of this, he saw himself to be this amazing guy when he really wasn’t. All Marlee had to do was agree with that, make him believe himself and he was surely going to slip up in some way. She just needed to get close enough to him for him to slip up, which shouldn’t be all that overly hard. “You’re right, it shouldn’t really take him long to slip up either. He brags around everything to his friends, we’ll catch him out and when it happens I’ll be right there.” Marlee spoke as she was determined for this to work out, she wasn’t going to allow the Rebels to attack her second home again and take another innocent life. She knew Daniel wasn’t going to agree to this, but it didn’t really concern him. Marlee was doing this for herself and for Greg and everyone else who had gotten hurt that night, she had made up her mind. She was going to get some information out of Hamish, she wouldn’t stop until she did and she was going to do it on her own.

"But if it does get too dangerous, or you're uncomfortable don't worry about Hamish okay? Promise me if you think he's onto you, you'll stop Marlee. Okay?" Cyren’s firm gaze was stuck on Marlee and for a second the fae wondered if she should make that promise, the thought only flashed through her mind for half a second. She was determined to find something out from Hamish, but would she really put herself in danger for some information? Marlee honestly wasn’t entirely sure, the Rebellion had already hurt her in ways that she didn’t ever want to think about. She did want to hurt them in return and make them suffer like she was, but Hamish was still a werewolf and she wasn’t certain if his wolf was completely under his control or not. She knew she could defend herself against him, but he was an awful person and she wouldn’t put it past him twice for him to take a dirty blow at her. He would attack her when her back was facing him, he wouldn’t care if she was down or pleading for him to stop. He only cared about himself. “I promise but how dangerous could he be? I’ll be fine,” She promised her best friend, she knew Cyren was just scared of losing another friend but Marlee would still be extra careful when she was around Hamish.

Marlee listened to Cyren talk about Finn, “Do you even know where the library is?” She teased her best friend simply because she couldn’t stop herself, “You think he’s a reptile? Do you really want to get books out then? Most of them will have pictures and you can’t stand snakes,” She looked over to her friend, at least this could be something that could give Cyren something to do. Other than replay the night of the attack over and over in her head, and keep her from planning her revenge attack on the Rebels who had hurt Greg. But what peaked her interest was when Cyren asked if she knew the Community had sent guards to the school, Marlee hadn’t heard about that yet but it did make sense although she wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with more people being at the school. Could these strangers be trusted? She’d have to ask Dan about them later when they got some time alone, Marlee had learnt the hard way that not everyone deserved to have her trust and that she shouldn’t trust someone so easily. “No, I didn’t know that. But we should head out, find where everyone else is.” She didn’t want to leave her dorm but it was for the best, they couldn’t hide away from the world forever. Dan wouldn’t let them hide, no matter how much Marlee wanted to throw her blankets around her body and pretend like the world around her wasn’t turning to shit.

Standing up from her bed, her arm looped around Cyren’s arm as they made it out of the staff dorm wing. They simply just followed the direction that other students were heading in which took them to the dining hall, Marlee grabbed herself a bowl of sugary cereal before sitting down at their usual table. She had only taken a small mouthful of her cereal before she felt sick to her stomach, so she pushed the bowl away from herself and allowed her eyes to scan the room. It wasn’t hard to find the ex-boyfriend that she couldn’t stand, he was sitting at a table with his pack of idiots and none of them looked to be upset over what happened at the dance or what happened to Greg. But her eyes didn’t linger on him, she knew where he was in the room and for now that would be enough. She faintly realised that the Headmaster had entered the room and started speaking, she didn’t care much about what he had to say. Marlee was too busy checking over every strange face that she found in the room, none were familiar to her and none put her at ease. Well that was until her eyes landed on her boyfriend, he was leaning against a wall on the opposite side of the room and he still managed to look handsome with how tired he was from how many nightmares came to her last night.