Fox tucked the rag into her back pocket as the door to the bar opened. Glancing up she noticed a small group of woman coming in laughing. They were all dressed nicely but one in particular stood out. She had on a sash, crown, and a wand that looked like a males Penis. "Evening ladies, take a seat and I'll be right over to take your order." They must be having a bachlorette party. Fox made a mental note to keep sending them nachos or nuts throughout night to offset their drinking. Glancing up at the stage she saw her main band, Wolf Howls, getting set up. She made her way over to the ladies and quickly took their order. A near by bouncer caught her eye. Speaking softly into her headset she nodded. "Keep an eye on those ladies, I want them to have a good time without issues." The bouncer nodded and leaned against the wall. He had a good view and little distance if anything were to break out. Fox smiled slightly, her men were good. Handing off the order to one of her waitresses she turned and headed up to the sound room.

Benny was just closing the door to the sound room when Fox reached the top of the stairs. He smiled brightly to her as if he hadn't a care in the world. Which, knowing Benny, he really only had one so big nothing else really did bother him. His lip was split but healing and his ribs were bruised, but he managed to hide the urge to flinch surprisingly well. He pointed a thumb to the room he had just left. "Everything's set. You can start any time. I noticed the ladies and have prepared my butt accordingly." Ladies were grabby.

"Doing my job for me again, are we?" Fox patted Benny's cheek playfully before turning on her heel and heading back downstairs. She noticed Rain was already setting up. Smiling she headed over and jumped on the stage. "Hey good looking, needs some help." Rain looked up and grinned wickedly at her. Coming over to her he wrapped his arms around her and placed his palms on her ass, just to push her a little further. "Mmm, not from you Foxy, lady!" Fox rolled her eyes and shoved him away. "Better knock it off or I'll sick Benny on you." Slapping his hands she sashayed over to the drum set and started putting it together.

Benny gave Rain a glare and a tiny dog like bark which just make the other man laugh. The drummer had taken up a seat on the edge of the stage and after realizing what Fox was doing, he just laid back, letting his legs hang from the knee down off the stage. "Any reservations other than the bride to be tonight, hm?" he asked lazily.

"We have a group of business men coming in later, a bachelor party(Not the bachelorettes husband), a group for gay's, lesbians and that should be all. So we'll have a pretty full house tonight. Which means we better rock it." Coming over she sat down on the edge of the stage and kissed Benny's cheek. "Thanks." Fox whispered. He was always looking out for her, and she appreciated it, most of the time.

Benny smiled back at her, then seemed to realize something. "Gays?" He sat back up and ran a hand through his hair, sighing and looking at the spot between his legs. "Red alert, gents." He put his hand down, leaned over and kissed Fox's cheek in return before hopping up the rest of the way onto the stage to help finish setting up equipment.

Snorting softly, Fox shook her head and giggled slightly. "Your "gents" will be just fine. I'm sure most of them will come with partners anyway." Rain tapped her leg and indicated towards the doors where a very attractive red head was eying her up and down. "Don't be so sure, boss lady." With that he laughed and walked off. Fox just shrugged it off. Lesbians didn't bother her and it wouldn't be the first time anyone had come on to her. Happened every night just about. It was the down side of being a gorgeous woman who owned a night club. They all wanted her for her body but nothing else. "Use me and abuse me." The words slipped out of her mouth without her realizing she said them aloud.

"Cause I still want you..." Benny sang the next line quietly but not enough to be hiding it into her ear as he knelt down next to her, hugging her waist. His eyes, however, were staring down the woman eying his Fox. She had been his best friend for what was probably centuries now and he could admit it, he was pretty protective. No, that was the wrong word. Possessive fit better. Even if they had a very relaxed friendship, it was still fun to be close to her from time to time to make people uneasy. He buried his face against her neck for a moment, giving her a last squeeze before he let go and stood, going back to working.

Smiling, Fox shook her head and looked away from the redhead. "Always trying to cheer me up. Thanks, Benny." Jumping down off of the stage she spoke quietly into her mic. "Alright boys, show time is almost here, I need Adder and Lynx to the stage so we can get started. Let me grab a bottle of water and I'll be right there. I need two able bodies to take over Adder and Lynx's position." She got the affirmative from two of her guys. Grabbing a large bottle of water she headed back over to the stage and hopped on. "Everything ready?"

   Berne entered the bar and made his way slowly over to the bar tender, taking a look around the room as he entered. Tipping his hat slightly to any who bothered to look him in the eye.

A tall young woman with thick red hair entered and walked over to take a seat at the bar. Ordering a glass of wine, Aailyah looked around.

"Whenever you are," Benny replied and made a light hush with his cymbal, smiling at his fae. To the world, Fox was in charge. She ran the show and had her boys under her all mighty thumb, but when Benny looked at her, all he could remember was the war, and it always kept the little spark in his soul lit. His kind were for battle, and Fox was almost like a prize from the fighting, and he was content with that. Without her, he would grow antsy without the fight. As it was though, "What do you want to start with?"

"Let's start it off with a little Nightwish, you guys know which song I'm talking about." Winking at them Fox turned and sang into the mic, because the song started off with just singing. "I wish I had an angel for one moment to love, I wish I had your angel tonight." the rest of the band chimed in at this moment and they got into there groove.

Hearing Nightwish, Aailyah smiled, she enjoyed their music, but it wasn't quite what she'd come looking for. She leaned back, watching the young man who was eying her low cut blouse from the corner of her eye, and waited for a chance to dance.

The band went through a few more sets and then announced they were taking a break. Fox turned on her iPod in the corner which instantly began playing other bands music. Some known, some just local bands she hired every now and then. Glancing over at Benny she smiled softly and hopped down from the stage. Walking over to the bar she grabbed herself a soda and sat down to drink it. She crossed one of her long toned legs over the other and glanced around. She caught the eye of a young human boy and smiled. When he noticed she caught him staring he stood and came over to sit next to her. "You have a great voice, and band actually." He turned on his stool slightly so he could get a better look at her. Fox peered at him through her spiffy glasses and grinned. "Honey, I'm too old for you." The kid put his hand on her knee and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I like my woman more mature."

Aailyah couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself as she watched the young man and Fox. Boys. She thought to herself with a shake of her head.

"And I-" Benny stepped in, placing a hand on the boy's and removing it while smoothly leaning in and placing himself between the two. "Like hands off my band mates." He was smiling, but it was a dangerous kind of smile, that spoke of control, and murder on his mind. He stressed his smile a little more before looked at the bar tender, his smile much kinder. "White Russian, if you don't mind."

The look that Benny gave the boy caught Aailyah's eye. Now there was a man who looked like he could hold his own. The young woman stood and moved over to the boy, "Don't take it too personally, love, you just need to learn to watch a bit before you decide to make a move." She made a subtle shooing motion and the boy rolled his eyes and moved a few seats the other way. "I'm Aailyah." she smiled, offering her hand to Fox.

Fox eyed the woman carefully for a moment before shaking her hand, "Foxy Damei, folks call me Fox. This is my right hand man and best friend, Bernard." She didn't tell the woman his name was Benny because she didn't want any other woman getting that comfortable with her Benny. "Thanks for that, we could have handled it thought. I've had worse hit on me. It's a daily thing." As Benny's drink was placed on the counter she picked it up and took a slow drink of it before winking at him and carefully handing it over.

Benny gave her an annoyed face, but just couldn't keep it in place as he took the drink, tipped back a good bit of it, then turned a bright smile on Aailyah. "A pleasure, madam," he said, nodding to her as he shifted around to stand behind Fox, taking another sip as he looked at the other woman over his friend's shoulder. "What brings you out to the club tonight, hmm?"

"Oh, I wasn't trying to rescue you, I assumed you could take care of yourself. Fox and Bernard, it's a pleasure to meet you." Aailyah smiled at the two of them in turn. Turning her attention to Bernard, her smile grew a hint brighter, "What brings any girl to such an establishment. Dancing, conversation, I'm here to have a good time."

"Is that right..." Benny seemed to be a little distracted, even forgetting the bit of his drink that was left hovering in his hand. His eyes were unwavering on Aailyah but not quite intense. It was like he was forgetting to do something, and it showed on his face. "... Perhaps I should make sure you got what you came for then? Perhaps.. a dance?" He set his drink down, reaching around Fox to hold a hand out to Aailyah.

---

Aleia ran as quickly through the streets as her human form would allow. Much faster than a girl her size should have been able to with the guitar on her back as well as the duffle bouncing on her waist. She wiped at her mouth as she rounded a corner, frustrated as her hand came away red again. It glistened against her fingers, and she knew blood when she saw it. Not hers, but someone else's. Which was why she was running full tilt down the street, away from the body of some lust filled human she had left in the alley.

At the speed she was going, it only made it that much more dramatic when a dark figure collided with her from her left. There was a grunt and in a move probably inhuman, the figure grabbed her, twisted them, and effectively ground his own back against the ground. "I'm so sor-" He stopped, his grey hazel eyes looking at her out of the shadow cast by his hood and hair. "Why do you have blood on you?...." The words were soft, less confused and more surprised. He really wanted to know, and he wanted to know where it came from. A shout made him gasp and look past her. A few police officers were shoving people rudely out of the way and headed straight for the young man. His eyes widened in their sockets and he snapped his gaze back to Aleia. "I'm so sorry!" he rushed again before he grabbed her, set her aside and clambered to his feet, darting off with surprising agility between the few people on the streets, the scraped back of his worn hoodie shrinking rapidly.

Seeing the cops, Al panicked. She didn't know who they were after, so she started running again in the opposite direction, in the same direction the man who had neatly trampled her had gone. She spotted an alleyway and ducked into it, praying for somewhere to hide. Al had been able to keep herself under control for a long time, but now she was close to blowing her cover.

Two arms shot out of the shadow of the building from a body that wasn't there. One went around her waist, the other around her head to cover her mouth and pulled her into the darkness. "Shhh...." a soft voice said near her ear. "Please stay still- and please please do not bite me." The latter request sounded much more concerned as if he was truly afraid she would. Then there was silence and he continued to hold her, watching as if on a movie screen with muffled sound as the three police officers darted into the alleyway, looking around, even checking the garbage cans before seeming to grow furious and run off again. After a moment of silence, there was a sigh of relief behind Al and the man released her, letting her step into the light again before he followed her out, only appearing when the light hit him, the shadow always appearing empty though it had been lit with very dim light. "I am so very sorry for that," he apologized again. The young man before her had such distinct grey hazel eyes and they looked at her apologetically. He looked worn but not tired, his blonde shaggy hair oddly soft for his dark baggy pants and hoodie to look so filthy. He didn't appear at all bothered by the sticky red substance now on his hand from where he had held her. "I thought I'd lose them sooner than that..." He looked off to where the police had run off with a thoughtful frown. "I must be getting out of shape...."

Aleia had very well almost bitten him until she saw the cops. The smallest whimper escaped her at potential discovery, and she stiffened until they left and she was released. Taking a deep breath, Al tried to keep calm. Her demonic side was trying to take over again. Her hand shook as she turned to look at the man. He could now fully see the blood that ran from her mouth and covered her skin, disappearing under her shirt, which showed signs of absorbing it from underneath. Both her hands were stained, and she had discolored sections of hair at the front. Al looked at the man. "What happened?" She had no idea why they hadn't been spotted.

"Oh just..." The man made a face and waved a dismissive hand to where the cops went. "Old feud. Complete dramatization. Wanted posters," he brushed it off, then let his hand down so he could look at her again. He nodded his chin to her but did not seem at all bothered by her appearance, which, in and of itself, was strange. "So, the blood? I know it isn't yours."

Her face cringed as she once again tried to wipe at her chin. Aleia wanted nothing more than to be rid of the coppery taste in her mouth. "Some stupid human who wouldn't back off when I asked him to." Her eyes flashed at the memory of the human trying to drag her into the alleyway. He had smelled like lust and other less pleasant scents. With a shudder, she looked back at the man. "I may have partially ingested him."

The man's sparkling eyes widened in shock and he quickly looked around again, thought it was needless. The alley was deserted. "Ok first off," he said, pointing at her. "You can't be so open. Lie, lie through your teeth. Don't you know the humans lock us up and... well they do a lot worse that that." He paused. ".. Of course you know. How could you not know? Alright. Secondly-" He added a finger, pressed them together, reached out and touched the blood on her shoulder and pulled his hand back quickly and to the opposite side of his body. The blood, or most of it that was continuous, slid off like silk, then splattered on the ground to their side. He looked her over. "Well, that'll have to do." He sighed, frowning at her. He didn't seem angry, more honestly concerned for her and it showed in his eyes. "You can't just go eating people when they bug you, you know."

There was so much she didn't know yet. Al frowned. "But...I don't lie." It was less that she didn't lie and more of she didn't know how. "And I try to control it. But sometimes..." A clear shudder passed through her. "Like when men try to use my body. I cannot control my reaction." When it had happened, Al shifted faster than she could catch, reverting to her feral demon form.

He was looking her over again. "What are you, a succubus?" He sighed. "Of course not, you'd act differently and certainly understand how to lie. As for those men... Men in general need to keep their hands off women without explicit permission.-" He stopped himself before he could rant, looking down into her eyes, almost but not quite curious. "I take it you haven't been in the city long?"

With a nod, Al stuck a finger in her mouth, chewing on her nail. "I lived in the country for a long time. No hiding out there." She caught herself chewing on her nail and quickly clasped her hands behind her back. "I never introduced myself. Name's Aleia, but that's a mouthful. Just call me Al instead." She gave him a smile, showing her clean white teeth.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Aleia," the man replied flawlessly. He was used to far more complicated names than that, after all, and personally, he thought to shorten a woman's name was a sign of disrespect, not that she would know that. "Do you need me to escort you around for a while then? Or can I trust you not to find more trouble, or leave corpses in your wake?" He did not seem upset with her. In fact, it was almost like he was making a joke and sure enough, a mere moment later he gave her a tiny grin. She seemed young, after all, and he didn't remember her, so either she truly was young, or she hadn't been very high up in the wars.

"Um..." Aleia frowned, scratching at her arm as if she was self conscious. "I try not to leave corpses. It just happens sometimes." Her youth became immediately apparent when she scratched a little to hard at her arm and it flashed a marble blue before she hissed between her teeth and concentrated on becoming human looking again. She looked up at him sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to this body and it's frailties."

The man made a face that said he was trying almost painfully hard not to sigh in frustration. "Best to find a place to hide, quickly, before you give something away." He looked around again before carefully taking her hand. "Come on then." He tugged her gently along. It was a couple of blocks and luckily no close calls when he came to an abandoned building. With a small piece of metal he took from his pocket, he got the back door open, ushered her inside, and then closed it behind them, making sure it was locked again. When he turned around, he looked at what might have been an old office, but was now empty except for a few boxes and broken two by fours, the light was dim from the boarded and dirty windows, but they could still see fine. That was good. "Right, so, I don't usually make it a point to ask, it being personal business, but if I'm going to help you, I kind of need to know. What, exactly, are you?"

Aleia stiffened when he dragged her along. She blinked and followed, taking deep breaths until he let go. Her body shivered as she took a step away from him, bumping into a box as she did. "I don't know...." Her eyes were wide with what would seem to be fear. "I don't know what I am. I just know that I'm not human." She shivered as she looked at him. "Who...or what are you?"

The man looked at her, choosing his response very carefully. "... You can call me Dash," he told her finally, choosing not to elaborate, before he decided it was time to question a few more things. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable just then. You don't like being touched I suppose... It won't happen again if I can help it, I promise."

With a shiver, Al averted her eyes from Dash. "I don't like what happens when I'm touched," she said. "At least when it happens without my consent. I turn into this...thing. This demonic thing." She could touch others, but woe betide anyone who touched her.

"Ah, so you're some kind of demon then? I suppose I should have figured that," Dash replied thoughtfully. He was frowning in a pensive sort of way, but in the end he just nodded. "Well, as I said, I won't touch you then, but you'll have to be on your toes. I'm afraid I'm not very good at sitting still. I know you haven't been here long, but have you been staying anywhere in particular? Looking for a certain place? Why did you come to the city?"

"I was sleeping on a bench last night," Aleia mused. She didn't really have a place to stay, mainly because housing never occurred to her as an issue. "I guess I was just trying to find someplace where I could stop running." She had spent most of her life traveling, leaving behind everything for the sake of a clean start. Never had she found safety. Never had she found creatures like herself.

Dash was frowning. He paced a few paces in front of her, looking her over as if trying to decide something. Whatever it was, it won. He stopped walking. "Alright, well I suppose you found it, if you want to stay here anyway." He paused, looking around them, then back at her. "Well, not hear exactly, but this city. I know a place you can stay, a bench simply will not do... We need to find someone who can identify what you are.... I don't want to leave you with them if, no offense, you turn out to be some kind of demon sent here to clear out the city of fairies or something. Yes, sadly, those kinds of demons exist, but they know what they are, and they know why they are here, and I believe you when you say you don't know. Nonetheless, we do need to know what you are, so we can tell what you do, so we can be sure to keep you from causing havoc..."

Aleia stared at him for a moment. "You mean someone out there can tell me what I am? How?" She was suspicious that he wanted her to shift, which would mean danger, blood, and other less pleasant things.

"Well I'm sure somebody knows. There are so many creatures out there, it's to be expected that one of them is some how in contact with your kind, if not of your kind," Dash explained thoughtfully. "I'm afraid I, personally, don't recall blue demons though." He shook his head sadly. "In any case, do you want to go see if we can find someone?"

---

The door to the bar opened and Talia entered, her hips swaying seductively from side to side as she walked. She ignored the whistles and calls from various men seated around the bar and moved to get herself a drink, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she did. Scanning the room she smiled suddenly when she saw Foxy and Benny and waved to them, they were two people she had befriended long ago after many visits to the bar. Picking her drink up she carried it to where they sat then seated herself beside Foxy, crossing her long legs one over the other as she did. "Evening." she said in a pleasant tone then glanced at Aaliyah with a curious expression. She didn't know this one.

"Talia," Fox nodded her head in the woman's direction as she glared at Benny for offering to dance with another woman. Gritting her teeth she turned away from him and ran a hand through her hair. The biggest possessive feeling she had ever felt ran through her body as she thought about him touching another woman.

Talia raised an eyebrow as she watched Fox's behavior towards Benny and her eyes fell on the strange woman again. Leaning towards Fox she quietly whispered into her ear. "Want me to get rid of her?"

"Why, thank you." Aailyah smiled pleasantly, setting down her own glass before taking his hand and allowing him to lead her out to the dance floor.

Shaking her head, Fox turned completely away from the two too talk to Talia. "No, if he wants to dance with someone. Let him. Maybe this will be good for our friendship." But inside she wasn't thinking that. Inside she felt as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Slamming her hand down on the bar she called out, "Wild Turkey." The bar tender came over and poured her a shot. "There ya go boss. If you need anything else, just...holler, but I'm cutting you off at 4." Fox nodded her head and looked over at Talia. "My boys are always looking out for me."

"Yeah friendship..." Talia replied with a smirk. She secretly knew that Fox had feelings for Benny and hated to see anyone mess with her friend. "Well if you ever want me to get rid of her you just gotta ask." She drank back the rest of her drink then set the empty glass on the bar. "How about we get up and dance too..Benny's not the only one who's allowed to have fun here you know."

Throwing back her second Wild Turkey. Nodding Fox stood and pulled Talia to the dance floor and started dancing with one of her only other good friends. Grinning slightly she watched as a good looking man walked over and got behind her. Leaning over her shoulder he whispered, "Mind if I join you?" Grinning she wrapped her arms around his neck and danced with him. Maybe this would teach Benny.

Benny however, didn't even seem to notice. He didn't notice how the world had gotten fuzzy around the edges and all that he saw sharply were Aailyah's eyes. He also didn't understand, nor really care, why it was getting more and more depressing as, with every spin, she looked away from him. "So," he said finally pulling her flush against him so that he didn't have to stop looking away from her eyes. His own golden hazel ones smoldered with a kind of ferocity that didn't match his easy going smile. "Where are you from, Aailyah?" Her name slid from his lips almost melodically, as if just saying it made him want to smile.

Aailyah smiled coyly, somewhat surprised but very pleased by the way this young man was reacting to her. "Seattle," she said, "Originally."

Talia allowed herself to be pulled to the dance floor and watched with a raised eyebrow as Fox draped herself over the unknown man. She danced alone, swaying and twisting to the music, aware that many of the men's eyes in the bar where now on her and her hypnotic dancing. Her eyes fell on Benny as he pulled the mystery woman tightly against him and she scowled angrily. What is he doing? she thought as she charged over. "Mind if I cut in?" she asked in a seductive tone, standing with her hand on her hip. She just had to get Benny away from this woman.

"Kind of, yeah," Benny replied, seemingly without thinking. His eyes were locked on Aailyah's and sparking oddly. "Seattle... Really? No wonder why it's called the rainiest city. You left." He chuckled, letting her swing out and back, but he kept his eyes on hers. It was like he was high without the loss of motor control. He was clearly fine physically, but something was definitely off about his personality. Benny never ignored Fox, even on the rare occurrence a girl got him to dance.

"Wrong answer Benny boy..." Talia replied with a smirk before turning and moving to the bar. "May I have a jug of your finest ice cold water please." she asked in an innocent tone. Seconds later she was handed the jug and she turned with a smile, heading back into the crowd.

Fox watched Talia with a smile on her face. He kind of deserved it. He was normally able to control himself better than this. Looking over her shoulder she noticed the look in the strangers face change. He bent his head and nuzzled her neck gently as he inhaled. "Oh...you smell so good." His eyes turned black and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Fox grew angry at the close proximity of his body. "Please let go..." The man grinned and laughed softly. "Never..."

Aailyah had an almost musical laugh, "Really?" she asked coyly, "And here I thought it was because there were so many stuffy, rich people who don't know how to have a good time." She winked at him as she swung back.

Talia stopped behind Benny and with a quick glance at the strange woman in his arms she raised the jug of ice cold water and without a word tipped it over his head with a satisfied smirk.

Benny hand stopped millimeters from Talia's neck and his fury subsided to a confused expression. He blinked rapidly and replayed the last second of his life in his head in slow motion. He remembered a set of beautiful, captivating eyes, then ice cold. His first instinct was ice fae and he had turned to take out his attacker, but luckily, his logic had caught up with him before his hand could complete the crushing action. Talia. Talia was in front of him. His friend. Then it clicked. He grinned, no longer seeming to note he was soaked with ice water. Turned on Aailyah, and pointed at her. "Nymph! Oh that is so cool." He waves his hand in front of her as if touching something that was in the space. It disrupted his eyes just enough to make him see the 'gorgeous' her and the 'regular' her, otherwise momentarily being away of the glamour. He dropped his hand and laughed, only seeing the beautiful her now that he wasn't bothering to find the glamour. "I was always fascinated by how you do that. You got me good." He laughed again, then turned a grin to Talia, opening his arms to her. "My savior, came receive your reward!" He grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Glad you've finally come to your senses." Talia replied then couldn't help but shriek when she was pulled into a hug against his freezing wet clothing. "Benny, let me go you great fool." she exclaimed as she struggled against his grip. She finally pulled herself free and pushed him playfully before turning to smile at Aailyah. "No hard feelings...he's kind of already taken." she had leaned in and whispered the last part in the other females ear before turning back to Benny. "So where's your brother? I do hate when I don't get to see him, you know how much I adore him." she said with a grin.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fox saw the man pull his head back and extended his fangs. No... A vampire was one of the few things she couldn't fend off, and only a very select few knew that, and they were her band. "Benny! Rain! Adder! Lynx! Somebody help me!" She tried thrashing about so she could possibly get away but the hold the vampire had on her was causing her excruciating pain. She began to get angrier as his hold on her tightened and his head slowly descended towards her throat.

Benny's grin faltered, then he made a serious face and shook his head almost imperceptibly at Talia, telling her he wasn't going to talk about it. She should remember why. His head shot up when he heard Fox scream though and was gone without explaining, arriving the same time Rain did. It was a good thing, because if Benny had been alone, the man would be missing a face. As it was, Rain hauled the vampire back, holding him in some kind of body lock that Benny didn't bother to try and figure out. He had his arms around Fox, holding her close, checking her over carefully for so much as a scratch. Satisfied with his inspection, he leaned down to look into her eyes, his own wide with concern. "Are you alright??"

Rain meanwhile, held the man's arms behind his back in an almost crushing grip and his scowl would have sent anyone else ten paces back. "And just what do you think you were doing? This isn't a buffet."

Adder and Lynx were quick to agree, keeping their eyes on the vampire where they stood, at the edge of people who had stopped to watch, almost like they marked the 'do not cross' line.

Aailyah laughed when Benny turned on her, "No, no hard feelings." She answered Talia. Of course she had noticed the connection between Benny and Fox, she'd only wanted a dance. When Fox yelled out though, her expression turned serious. She watched intently as the others took down the vampire.

Fox wrapped her arms around Benny and clung to him. Inhaling deeply she buried her head in his neck and whispered. "Take my upstairs before I turn around and rip his head from his body." A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead with how much effort it took for her to not turn around and kill this vampire.

The Nymph moved over to Fox and the others, "Are you alright?" Aailyah asked Fox gently, trying to help calm her a bit.

Fox's eyes darkened considerably as the Nymph drew close. Turning so Benny was in between them she shook her head. "Please just leave me be for a bit." A tear streaked down her cheek as she as her anger intensified.

Aailyah backed away a couple of steps, she felt partially responsible for what had happened. She only wanted to have a bit of fun, but if it weren't for her messing with Bernard, Fox wouldn't have been attacked.

Benny gave Aailyah an apologetic look before leading Fox upstairs as she asked, his arms around her like some kind of shield. "It's alright, it's over now. You're safe..." he told her quietly as they moved, thankfully with people moving aside as they hurried through.

Lynx went back to equipment management while Rain took the vampire outside as he was practically kicking and hissing. The band mate was telling him something along the lines of "this is a bar, not a buffet". Adder was the one who waved away the crowd then approached Aailyah. "Don't take it too hard, yeah? This will all blow over, no problem. This is still one of the quieter nights we've had." He grinned at her, showing there was no hard feelings with him at least.

Once upstairs in the confines of the sound booth, she stepped away from Benny. Holding her hands to her head she sighed heavily. Her powers were running haywire as she stood there, the lights began flickering so much that one bulb exploded. Fox jumped and glanced over at Benny. "I'm sorry I took you away from your...fun." Fox's eyes shone with hurt as she spoke these words. Shaking her head she went over to the breaker box to make sure she hadn't blown any fuses.

"I wouldn't have stayed with you all this time if anything was more fun than you," Benny replied as he leaned on one of the tables, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her with a frown. "Calm down... Rain took care of the vampire, it's alright now..."

Nodding her head she sat down in one if the near by rolling chairs. "I just froze. My mind didn't even think of searching his. Not for a second." Running a dainty hand through her hair she frowned. "Maybe because I try blocking stuff out so much, my mind didn't even register that it should search his." Fox looked over at Benny and frowned slightly. She wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with her but Benny was not the person to test it out on. She had promised long ago she would never do that to him.

Benny frowned as he watched her. Sometimes it was best to just let her know someone she could trust was there, but not to directly force help on her. Just give her time, she usually calmed down. Even after all these years, he wasn't completely certain what he could do for her. "Maybe it's for the best... After all, wasn't it long ago we learned that you searching peoples' minds was a bad idea? Wasn't it confusing your thoughts or something? And besides Fox.. A lot of creatures have fallen out of practice with their abilities, you know that. This is certainly not the day and age that gives us many opportunities to practice them." How he yearned for the war again. It was what he and his brother did, after all. No matter how well adjusted they may have appeared to become, this would never be their era. Dash was too busy running to think of how much he missed the fight, and he himself had Fox, and she kept him rooted enough in this life that he didn't cave to the want of destroying cities. She was his anchor, and he cared for her so much, he didn't even mind being stuck in calm waters. "If you are really concerned, maybe you should try them out, see if you can still use them properly?"

Looking out the window Fox frowned, glad no one could see her as this was a one way mirror. Locking onto a Lynx she closed her eyes and tried focusing. He was helping a waitress with her orders at the moment so she was hoping it would be an easy target. The moment she opened up her mind to his she cried out in pain and she was flooded with emotions and thoughts of everyone in the club. Stumbling backwards she ran into something, not quite sure what it was. "Ahhh!" Pressing her hands to her head she shook with pain. "Make it stop..." She tried closing off her mind but as she did a familiar face broke through the thoughts and presented itself. It was as if he was looking at her, Hello, my pet. I'm coming for you. Gasping the figure broke away, allowing her to close herself off. Her body went limp and she felt to the floor, unconscious.

If this hadn't happened before, Benny probably wouldn't have been ready, but as it was he managed to catch most of her weight, mainly her head, before it touched the floor. He frowned in concern as he held her, giving her a little shake. "Fox? Fox, come on, you have to wake up. Shut them out, focus on me. Just focus on me. Can you hear me? Fox!" He tried just focusing on her, trying to remember all the times he saw her smile throughout history, back to when she didn't wear leather and the sun still shone, when the smoke cleared. He could still remember clear as the days used to be. How happy her smile made him. It always helped her to have good thoughts near her. "Come on Fox, wake up again... You always wake up, come on, dream's over..."

As her eyes fluttered open Fox's eyes immediately looked into Benny's. Gasping aloud she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into the crook of his neck. "Oh god, Benny!" Choking back sobs her body trembled. Beads of sweat covered her entire body. Pulling away slightly she looked back up into Benny's eyes and drew comfort from the caring and worry that shone there. "Thank you...For always being here and waking me up."

"Every sleeping beauty needs her prince," Benny answered simply, but his relief peeked through his casual tone. After adjusting them to a better position where he could sit on the floor and hold her in his arms, he continued. "You want to tell me what you saw?"

The sound of him calling himself her prince warmed her heart and brought a smile to her face Laying her head against his chest she sighed heavily. Fox closed her eyes as if recalling a memory. "At first it was just a ton of voices. I tried zoning in on Lynx but everything just overcame me. Then suddenly a figure stepped out and blocked everything. Rafe. He said 'Hello my pet. I'm coming for you.'" Images of the war assaulted her mind. Rafe had captured her and used her powers to defeat the ones who were trying to stop him. If it hadn't been for Benny she wouldn't be alive today.

Benny's arms tightened slightly at the mention of Rafe. The first word on his mind was 'master...' but he shook it off. He had stolen- saved- Fox away, and Rafe was gone. He was gone a long time ago, or so he worked himself to believe. He loosened his grip just slightly with an effort. "I don't have any mind powers," he reminded her, knowing it didn't really need said again. "I don't know how you could have picked up on that... Perhaps when you were flooded with all the live feeds of thoughts, your mind panicked and hid in memories?"

---

Talia's head turned quickly as she heard Fox's scream but didn't move when she saw the boy's had it under control. "If you'll excuse me..." she said politely to Aailyah then moved to the door. "Goodnight guys, i'll see you tomorrow." she called blowing a kiss to Fox, Benny and the other boys before slipping out into the cold night air. Dash where are you? she thought looking around then walked off to the area he hung around most. "I can't believe i'm doing this..." she muttered with a frown then in the blink of an eye a bloodhound stood sniffing the air trying to catch a scent. Finally she picked up Dash's familiar scent and took off through the streets until she came to the rundown office. Changing back to her normal form she raised an eyebrow at his choice of hangout. "This is interesting..." She moved to the door and knocked it lightly. "Dash? It's Talia...let me in.

Aleia frowned and was going to respond when a knock on the door startled her. She stared at it, not wanting it to open at all.

Dash closed his eyes, almost as if to count to ten. He was desperately fighting off the urge to sigh. Talia sometimes irked him and his brother. In all of two seconds, she had given away who both of them were. What if the person he was with (and if she found him, she clearly would have noted the other person) was dangerous? He did not need to know who she was. And sometimes, Benny said, Talia would ask about him, forgetting she wasn't supposed to talk about him. With Benny being so known and Dash being a felon, they had to keep their relation a secret or else it meant big trouble for his big brother, and that was an understatement. The less people that knew about their relation, the better, and Talia had a habit of blabbing it in polite, and sometimes, impolite, company. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes, telling himself how much he wished Talia would stop hunting him down like a dog, and went to answer the door. He managed to budge it from the frame but only opened it a few inches, making sure to keep Aleia hidden. "Yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and trying his best to keep the exasperation from his voice.

"Thanks for the warm welcome..." Talia replied sarcastically as she folded her arms over her chest. "I just came by to see how you were doing, you know like friends do. But obviously i'm not wanted right now...I know you've got someone in there." Her eyes traveled over the outside walls of the rundown office before she looked back at Dash with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Not the most romantic place in the world..."

Dash did sigh that time, but it was little and he glanced back at Aleia, then at Talia again. "It's not a date," he said pointedly but the tone of his voice said he wasn't exactly mad. "It's lovely to see you Talia, but I kinda need to deal with someth- Someone, that is, and I don't really have time to play right now...." That was kind of a joke. He never really played unless he was underground, where it was safe. Even now he stuck his head out and looked up and down the street again before he looked at Talia once more, his eyebrows furrowed but his face hopeful. "Another time perhaps?"

"Fine." Talia rolled her eyes as she replied then stepped back from the door. "I'll just walk myself home through these dangerous streets which are really no place for a young girl like me...but don't you worry, you just stay in there with your new friend." She couldn't help but smile as she joked. She had never experienced any trouble that she couldn't handle on the streets, her ability as a shape shifter helping her with any problems she encountered.

Dash couldn't stop the little derisive snort that escaped him at her words. "They are only dangerous because girls like you are on them. And Talia," he grinned, "You are not that young." He waved a little at her, then promptly closed the door the few inches it had been open, turning to look at Aleia again with a frown. "I'm sorry about that.. We need to find someone to identify you, don't we?" he asked quietly, hoping Talia would go and not change into something like a moth and listen in on them.

Aleia had kept quiet during the exchange. She had no idea who it was but she wasn't curious enough to find out. "Who do you have in mind?" she quietly asked Dash, eying the door.

Talia turned to leave then paused, biting her lip as she glanced back at the office remembering how she had had to awaken Benny from his stupor in the bar. Would Dash be stupid enough to get himself in the same kind of trouble... she thought then with a look of determination crept back to one of the boarded up windows. I'll only watch over him...make sure he's not in any trouble. If all seems ok then i'll leave and he won't ever have to know I was here. She found a hole in the window and transformed herself into a small black spider before climbing through the hole and crawling towards the pair so she could hear better.

"I have someone in mind... but I'd rather not risk us being followed there..." Dash was frowning, and he held out a hand. "If you will allow me? I promise you, sincerely, I will show you the way back, step by step, on foot, but it is a ways and I really do not want to cause more trouble for the community today."

Cautiously reaching out to take his hand, Aleia watched his face. She nodded and blinked. "Okay, I'm willing to try anything once." She really wanted to find out what she was and where she came from, and if that meant trusting someone else, then she would take that leap.

Talia crawled closer to the pair, listening to them speak as she did. What are they talking about? she thought with confusion. I'll just have to stick with them until I find out.

"Forgive me," Dash responded. Well, that was a concerning way to start. "You may feel cold for a moment." He side stepped into the darkest corner of the office, almost black, away from Talia the spider, and it was like stepping through a curtain of silk again. He disappeared, followed by Aleia's hand as he pulled her through quickly, her arm, then her entirely. He was right, it was cold, like chilly air but dry, without snow, in all the darkness, and it was brief, as promised, and the light came back as he pulled her out of a shadow. They were in what looked like a cave at first, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly in the sewers. The smell was diminished slightly though. One got used to it. In dim light, like moonlight, the large cavernous area was oddly full. That's what made the least sense about where they were. It was full of people. Or, more precisely, creatures. Some looked human, but they would be levitating things, or working with cauldrons, or any number of things. Then beasts of all shapes, sizes, colors, everything were 'walking' around the area too. Rickety levels of walkways ran along the walls, one of which they stood on and creaked a little as Dash let go of Aleia's hand and took a step away from her to just give her space to take it all in. "This is Haven," he explained above the murmur of commerce going on below on the cavern floor among the patched stalls. "Anyone or anything you need, you'll find it here."

Aleia followed as closely as she dared, not wanting to be left behind. Once they were through the curtain, her first instinct was to cover her nose. Even though Dash couldn't smell it, tgd scents of the creatures were overwhelming. She paused, though, and lifted her eyes, taking in the actual sight. He was right, it seemed everyone was gathered here. She watched people walk from vendors, exchange greetings with one another, even pause just to chat. And Al could only stare.

---

Earoluim turned from the bar and turned around, looking aorund the bar as he sipped lightly at his drink. Slipping the rim of his glass carefully under his mask as he sipped at it.

Aailyah gave Adder a bit of a smile and a nod before taking a seat beside a curiously dressed stranger and ordering another drink. "So, what brings you here?" She asked him.

He smiles under his mask and tips his hat to her. "Nothing in partcular. Just trying to enjoy my evening for once." He says lightly tot her. "Please forgive my horridness, where are my manners. My name is Earoluim."

"Earoluim," Aailyah repeated with a smile, offering him her hand to shake, "It's nice to meet you. Don't think me rude, but that's quite an odd getup there."

"T'is quite alright, it is a bit ole fashioned isn't it." Earoluim said as he took her hand and kissed the back of it softly after taking his glove off to take her hand.

Aailyah laughed softly and allowed a slight blush to touch her cheeks as he kissed her hand. My, but this was a strange one, "So," she said, placing her elbow on the bar and leaning towards him, resting her chin on the heel of her hand, "I don't know of any Renascence Fairs nearby, so why are you wearing it?"