The raven circled lazily about the city, falling and raising on the morning air. The sun was just beginning to raise, the air was already warm. The day would prove to become quite hot. The raven hovered above the gates of the city, it circled down closer and closer to the tops of the wall. Suddenly, it gave two strong flaps of its wings to gain some air. Than the bird did something quite strange. It wrapped its wings about its body and exploded in a burst of feathers. However, on closer inspection the feathers began to multiply and grow in mass. They began to take a life of their own, expanding and forming a second form. Once they became a certain size, somebody began to emerge from the mass. A young woman slowly descended from the cloud of feathers, the mass slowly forming together and following after her. It drifted down towards her, forming the familiar cape she had worn for many years now. Landing gracefully atop the wall, Ravenia gazed out towards the Red Waste that covered the area out beyond her city. Casting a glance backwards, she eyes the slow moving river that traveled strongly across the land. This was their water supply, carefully purified of all filth to keep her people from being sick.

Ravenia pushed her waist length hair back over her shoulder and looked along the tops of the walls that surrounded the Paradise City. She saw the Blessed Ones that stood at the ready, keeping their attention sharp. The Leader of the Paradise Land stretched her arms high above her head, breathing in the warm air that blew past her, pulling at her cape and long hair. Ravenia was tall, standing about 6 foot or so, and she was lean. However, her body showed obvious signs of her hard life. Underneath the extensive art that covered her body, there were the ghosted lines of scars that had slowly faded over time.

Looking down towards the gates, Ravenia couldn't help but wonder where her Gate Keeper was. He was normally out and about this time of day. She knew how much he enjoyed the rising sun. Holding onto one of the grappling lines her Warriors used to get up and down the wall, Ravenia leaned back off and began to scale down the side of the wall. She moved quickly, having done this hundreds upon hundreds of times since she was a little girl. The first time she had ever climbed up the wall without any aide, she thought she was going to pee herself. However, her father stood at the top, yelling for her to push through the fear. She smiled warmly at the thought of her late father. Touching ground, Ravenia wiped her cape back over her shoulder and brushed her long hair from her eyes. For some reason, she felt in her bones that this was going to be a very eventful day.

Soft hands pulled at the tip of his hair. There was always this odd clump that would stick straight up on the back of his head. It was a pain to try and straighten out and even when he'd managed to look presentable, his mother seemed to have a nasty habit of pulling the thing right back up. It only took a handful of seconds to undo what had taken him an hour.

"Can you stop that?" He held his hands up in protest, trying in vain to block the nimble fingers as they plucked away at his mane. Nothing he did could stop the assault.

"And who are you trying to impress?" His mother's voice had always been light and soft. Whenever she'd spoke so close to him, her words seemed to flow from within instead of from her lips. Even now as he tried to feign ignorance it felt so. "Could it be Sally? That awfully adorable girl from the other side of camp?"

"No Mom... please stop..."

"You'd better hurry... we're about to head to mass and you're hair looks a mess." She continued to poke fun until he finally gave up, slumping into a defeated heap in her arms. His face fell in the crook of her elbow and he mumbled something that she couldn't quite catch. After a strong embrace and a kiss on the forehead... she pulled him away and fixed his hair for him. It was done in two strokes. "What was that honey?"

"It's not going to matter anyways..." He retorted but she gave him a cross look.

"Oh? And why is that? You think these silly girls aren't going to like a handsome man like you?" As she spoke, she continued to straighten her boy out. Short child with a thicket of black for hair and small stubby nose. He'd dressed himself this day as he normally did. The wrinkled button up that'd been pulled from the corpse of a boy who no longer needed it. Pants that had been too large for him so the cuffs were removed to compensate. Worn shoes, frayed tie, his favorite muddied jacket to cover it all up. Fabric was pulled and pushed until it all rested evenly on her boy. There were freckles covering his cheeks which she gently rubbed out of habit. To her, he was the most adorable thing in the world.

"No... I mean... what if... I never make it?" The boy opened his mouth to continue but she cut him off abruptly, her face becoming very serious.

"What did I tell you about that? Hm?.....What did He say?" She stared him straight in the eyes looking for the answers she already knew were there. Of course the boy knew the words well. In fact he'd learned most of the words from the book already. Every Sunday was a lesson and every night was a test.

"Let there be light..."

"And so there will be light child. We're almost there... our Land of Milk and Honey. Just keep following the light."

---
Cypher squinted in his state of rest as light flooded his tent and splashed against his cold face. The warmth was nice but the blood red was abrupt and disorienting and he immediately shot upright.

"Sorry!.... sorry my King..." The boy held his hands up in fright, his face inches from the open maw of a revolver. "I didn't mean to frighten you..."

"Boy!" Cypher squinted at the child through heavy lids and weary eyes. He was barely nine, about his height when he was the same age and probably just as frightened too. He'd been given the odd nick of "Fraz...", a result of his rather peculiar ability. "...What the hell are you doing busting into my tent like an idiot?" He dropped his arm, placing the gun down to rest in between them, the muzzle still pointed at the kid.

"Right... right... uh..."

"Well? Get it out."

"The scouts!" He exclaimed a little too loudly. Cypher winced. "They're back... and... and.... and they found it!"

Suddenly all the fog in his head dissipated. ...They're back... Throwing the thin sheet off his body, he vaulted to his feet, threw on whatever was in reach, and stepped outside into the frigid morning air, the stubborn clump of hair on his head bouncing behind him.

Rays of the sun kissed the land as it peaked over the horizon, setting the barren land ahead blazing red. The Red Waste was aptly named, there was no signs of life and the ground was coloured like long since dried blood. It was said to be the Earth’s blood, for the Earth was wounded in such a way that it would never properly heal. For those who cared, it was a saddening thought.

Ahead was death, while behind displayed a different view entirely. Life. Paradise Land, a city and a haven for those who sought protection from the woes beyond the wall. Bandits were a problem but completely paled in comparison to the terror of the damned. The corpses of the dead that have risen in search of the flesh of the living.

The two contrasts, with life in the background, always made one think that maybe hope was in the past, but then if viewed from the Red Waste, one looked forward so maybe hope was in the future?

Pondering this thought, while her dark brown eyes were trained directly on the land ahead, was the smallest of The Harpies Three; Anora, more widely known simply as The Dove. Strands of platinum blonde hair lazily caressed her cheeks as a gentle breeze blew by from the direction of Paradise Lands leader as she changed from raven, to girl. Sparing but a glance in the direction of the Leader as she scaled down the wall, Anora took the opportunity to stretch out her magnificent wings which were a shade of the purest white. They were beginning to cramp from lack of movement and the release from their confined folded position was quite liberating.

Looking back out at the Red Waste while the feathers of her wings were free to catch the gentle air currents, Anora sighed and the next thing through her lips after the release of air was a soft note, followed by another and another until soon they formed a calming melody. It was a reflection of her mood as the nights cold vanished to be replaced with the warmth that the sun provided as it continued its ascent in the sky. Best to enjoy it now before the day became its usual, unbearably heated environment.

That was when another thought crossed The Dove’s mind. Perhaps hope was in the present…

The morning found Fen in bed, still sleeping soundly as the sun rose into the sky. He enjoyed his rest, in his nice, soft bed, in the quiet of his own room. Fen had thought it was pretty cool to get a house of his own, even if he did share half of it with some guy with a funny accent. His housemate was never a bother. Isam was sort of a quiet fellow.

Fen began to stir when the sun shined into his window. He rolled over onto his back and cracked his eyes open to look up at the plain, white ceiling. His stomach gave a soft growl. What was for breakfast, he wandered? Fen had never learned how to cook, so Isam usually did the meal making. But when Fen pulled on his basketball shorts and ventured out, no Isam was to be found. No breakfast, either. The wolf man gave a disappointed whimper. He went into the pantry and settled for a stale bagel that had been there for a while.

As he munched on his unimpressive breakfast, Fen headed out the front door and into the little paradise. There were several people out and about, but none of them were his housemate. Fen absently wandered where the man had gotten off to.

---

Isam had left the house when it was still dark. Maybe night he found himself laying in bed, awake, too tired to fall asleep. He finally decided to get up, get dressed, and maybe go do something useful. At the ungodly hour that he ventured out, the most useful thing he could think to do was sweep the front porch. It gave him time to get some fresh, to clear his head.

Once the sun had risen, Isam made his way over to his closest friend's home. Omar was usually who he went to talk to when things got rough. He knew the things Isam was forced to live with, and he somehow always knew what to say to him. The man's home was almost all the way across the city, which was fine with Isam. The walk was peaceful and refreshing. He kept his hands in the front pockets on his jacket as he walked along, halfway dazed with exhaustion. Maybe he should sleep soon.

Jacob woke to the same sensation as always; a metallic taste in his mouth. Such a feeling was common when one lived inside a nuclear power plant, however. He swung his legs over to the floor, and drank from a water bottle at his desk. He glanced around his room. It was a small, metal chamber, with only a bed, a desk, a terminal with info on the reactor, and a small closet. On the floor that led to the small metal door of his room, was a note. That meant one thing. Someone screwed up the reactor. Again. And since most of the radiation suits were faulty, the only one who was able to fix it was him. He read the note. In a very unpleasant script, it said, Powers, the reactor discharged last night and we need to give it a jump-start before it gives out. You know the drill. O'Malley. Jacob sighed with annoyance. Why couldn't anyone manage the goddamn reactor without him?

Jacob walked out of his door into a long, metal hallway. He walked down a few doors before walking into the restroom. He splashed his face with water to wake himself up. It was going to be a long day, he guessed. He walked down a few more winding hallways before coming up to the nuclear waste disposal site in the plant. Jacob planned to charge up from the depleted waste sources the city left here, and use it to charge the reactor. The type of radiation didn't matter to him. It recharged in his system. Jacob walked through the decontamination seal, completely ignoring the warnings of "wear protective clothing". He had found he was immune to outside radiation a long time ago.

Jacob walked through the tank that served as the radioactive waste disposal site. All around him, the metallic objects of no description and barrels began to shimmer with a green glow, and waves of energy poured from them into Jacob. If he had done this a few years ago, it would have hurt like hell. However, constant radioactive exposure had dulled his sense to the pain it caused. After about 10 minutes, he walked back into the decontamination zone. As the room was cleaned, Jacob checked his body. Three tumors had formed on each arm, each about the size of a tennis ball. That would be enough to jump-start the reactor, but it wouldn't be pleasant for him.

Jacob walked down to the reactor level. As he neared the door, the unsightly face of O'Malley was waiting for him. "Where the hell have you been, huh? We called you half an hour ago, you goddamn freak." Jacob just ignored him, shoving him aside and walking up to the reactor room. The decontamination process cleaned the room between, and he entered. The reactor core was a cluster of uranium nodes in the center of the room. The nodes would have depleted long ago if not for Jacob's constant intervention. With a grimace, he walked up to the nodes, and grabbed hold of them. Green energy pumped out of his hands, and into the nodes, jump-starting the reactions. After about 30 seconds,Jacob let go and stumbled back, panting with exhaustion. The skin on his arms had burnt off from his hands to about halfway down his forearms, leaving nothing but a glowing bone structure. He stumbled back through the decontamination room, and headed back to his room, ignoring the stares he received.

Jacob changed into a long sleeved jacket, and put on lead lined gloves he wore when he had used his powers recently. His skin would grow back in about 2 hours. He drank some more water, and choked down a stale bagel from his bag. Suddenly sick of the cramped, metal corridors of the power plant, Jacob made his way outside, to wander the city of the Paradise Lands.

Getting his left arm to work properly was quite the task, even more so than many of his artificial organs. He assumed it was so difficult because he only had one arm to use when creating his arm, but there was also the painful trial and error every time he believed that he had gotten it to work. It wasn't a pretty sight, seeing him connect his metallic arm to his socket, only for it to not work and be disconnected. Even now, when his arm had been upgraded several times, he still had to remove it every few days at the least to clean it up. It always had to be in the best condition possible if something were to happen to Paradise. Luckily, his arm was the only mechanical replacement that needed to be taken off every once and a while. Despite his past, he was thankful that he ended up where he was now.

Currently, the Experiment was near the gates, in a small shack that he had made, using one of the city walls as a wall for his shack. Since he had become the gate keeper, he was forced to move his workshop away from his and his father's home. The shack was filled with all sorts of technological oddities, many of which he created himself with his ability to control metal. Because of his special abilities, he had created his arm in such a way that only he would be able to take it off, as it required for him to bend the metal a certain way to dislodge from his shoulder. He wasn't working on anything particularly special that morning, but he always stayed up to watch the sun rise.

A growing buzzing noise forced Marcus back into the physical world, as he had spending most of the early morning thinking about what to work on next. Looking around, he grabbed the small alarm clock from his desk and turned it off, ceasing the buzzing. He smiled to himself as he set it back down on the desk, and walked out of his shack to breathe in the morning air. The sun was about to rise, and he had to get to the top of the wall to see it. Small and almost silent noises came from his left arm as he swung it back and fourth. He had gotten used to the noise several years ago, and he hardly even noticed it now. His robotic hand grabbed onto one of the grappling lines, scaling up the wall quickly. He didn't want to miss the sunrise, as it was such a precious thing. Seeing the sun coat the world in gold made him feel like there was still hope for the world

Alpha woke as usual, no alarm clock was needed, he simply knew when it was time to rise and begin the day once more, and so he did. his usual morning rituals coming first, he dressed finally in his usual attire, he had four of them all exactly the same. a simple white t-shirt, then a match white chest, with black shoulder and sleeves jacket, and a pair of Khaki pants. he stood tall enough, usually at 6'4 though that has been known to change, thanks to his 'gift'. dressed and barefooted, he exited his home which was built away from the others, out of respect for them of course, his little one room shack was more then what he needed, most of his time was spent in the medical building, thanks to his father's lessons he was the resident doctor, thought at times when his power got out of hand on him he was more frightening then the sickness so they kept away.

Heading out, hands in his pockets he whistled a soft tune, he had no idea what it was or where it came from but it was something his father had whistled all the time, and after his death he'd taken it up to honor his memory. anyone that was awake, if they heard the whistling they'd know who it was coming from. before he had gotten the name Alpha, he had been just Tobias, traveling in the wastes with his father. of course the Doctor hadnt been his real father, but he was all he had known. having been found nearly dead as a newborn, anyone else would have left him to the fates, but not Doc, no he had a code, an oath that he lived by and he had taken up the mantle becoming a father and raising the baby into the young man he was to become. it was during that time they had discovered his "gift" which could be at times but then again it could be a "curse" as well, and he would never forget the last words his father had told him, a fourteen year old body, holding the dying body of the man that had raised him get to Paradise, help it son. you are strong, smart and will continue to get smarter and stronger but just remember. your not immortal, no one is truely impervious. there are somethings in this world that one simply cannot adapt to Alpha was sure of those words, he never let his power go to his head.

arriving at the medical building, he stopped for a moment to take a glance at the wall. his building was one of the ones near the gate, just cause anyone seeking Paradise mostly needed medical attention in some way, shape or form. he saw the usual. the Gatekeeper scaling the wires to get to the top of the wall, an everyday thing. his steady blue eyes fell then onto Mother herself, the quick lipped, leader of Paradise. he stared perhaps a little longer then expected of one who was just checking to see who all was there. breaking his gaze, he took a moment to get his thoughts under control, before he walked inside the building. standing there already waiting was a young mother and her daughter. "morning, i hope you wasnt waiting long" he was kind to anyone that came into see him, an excellent bedside manner anyone would tell you that had seen him, which was mostly the warriors and humans, he didnt get many of the Blessed ones, they all were stubborn like that. the young mother shook her head ."oh no Doctor, not at all.. her cough has been getting worse is all, and now she's got a fever" the mother said. moving forward, he felt the girl's forehead. "ah, well that she does but not to worry" motioning to one of the exam beds. "i'll fix up something that will help take the fever down a bit and we'll knock that cough out in no time alright"

Sun would find himself being delicately woken up by his elderly adoptive mother, who as gently as she could, carressed his dark wavy hair and lightly brushed it out of his obviously tired face. The light of the sun poured in. Although such a beautiful display, it was, in fact...quite annoying. And how ironic that he shared the same name as the big ball of light in the sky. Sun was such a delicate young boy. Always complimented for how ethereal he was. And many times, mistaken for a girl. However, after so many years of the mishap, he stopped caring. And even if he were to find himself enraged by the confusion, being the wallflower that he is, he'd be too shy to speak upon it. But eitherway, his adoptive mother continued to tussle with his hair as she sat beside his body.

Sun winced gently and gave her a warm smile, before cutely rubbing his eyes and sitting himself up so his face was nearly parallel to hers. "Morning. Did you sleep alright mother? I wrote the fortune for you last night as you asked. I didn't read it of course but...wink once if its a good one.", he said to her warmly. Sun never read the fortunes that he wrote. He felt it would spoil it for the person whom the fortune was about.

He made a silly face and reached into the desk next to his bed, pulling out the fortune that was written on a piece of 1947 parchment. And he even used a quill and ink. With the parchment clamped between both of his hands, he reached out to her and sat it in her lap. She lifted, read it, and chuckled. "Well?", Sun motioned anxiously. She winked and Sun let out a sigh of relief. "Phew, thats a relief. Now...I've got to get going mother. You know...being a Blessed One and all. I've got my duties to Ravenia", he said in a semi-confident tone as he pulled the sheets from off of himself and ran into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, did whatever he could to his hair, and put on the next outfit he had placed out for himself the night prior. It wasn't that he cared about fashion or anything, he was just very diligent and immensely disliked the feeling of being rushed.

After finding himself all set and ready to go, he quickly slipped his notebook and pen into his back pocket, kissed his adoptive mother on the cheek and rushed out to the large gates of Paradise City. He ran the entire way and because of his two hearts, didn't break a sweat or find himself tired in the slightest. Brushing off his shoes, he stood and held his hand over his eyes to block the glare of the sun as he looked up, arriving just in time to see Ravenia sliding down the side of the wall, until expertly landed on the ground. He turned red as he looked at her. She was such a beautiful indiviual and powerful, it made him nervous and in awe. He bowed politely and kept his head bowed until she would tell him otherwise.

Ramera gazed down at the land, staring as the sun began bathing it's red and orange light across the wasteland that was once that beautiful earth that had once been home to the beauty of life, now the only life this land seemed to sustain was that of the dead. Well... that wasn't entirely true, people had proven their ability to survive and she was soaring above the very proof of their existence in this god-forsaken world. Heck, she was assigned with the protection of that proof. A duty she would never take lightly. She stretched her arms above her head, and extended her metallic wings outward, feeling comfort in doing so. I don't really care all that much for the people of Paradise Land, nothing makes them any more special than me, She thought to herself. The entire human race was a different matter, though. I would willingly give my life to protect this paradise, just as much as I would willingly sacrifice others. She felt a little dark thinking like that, but she knew it was true. She would protect what was left of humanity, no matter what it may cost. As a warrior, and defender of such a land, it remained her duty, and she would perform her duties to the best of her abilities.

As she scanned the land below, she played with her wings, spreading them out wide, feeling each talon like feather separate out from one another, then pulled them in, feeling them click against one another. She didn't have beautiful wings like her sister’s; instead she had metal wings, with each feather being replaced by steel knives resembling talons. They'd been heavy at first, but over time she'd quickly developed to their weight. Now, they felt as familiar as an arm, her nerves seemed to go down through each talon, and she was able to control and bend them with ease. She didn't know if it was because of these talon-like feathers, but the people of paradise had referred to her as 'The Falcon' and she hadn't really cared what they referred to her as. The name wasn't really a bad one either.

As she watched the land below, she could see other's going about their daily duties. The Gate Keeper expertly scaling up the wall, using his grappling lines. Apparently he was able to manipulate metals to his will, which was how he was able to control the gates to Paradise Land. She pulled her metal wings in and dipped a little lower in the sky, wondering how much of her he would be able to manipulate. It was a little scary to think that if she were to ever meet him up close she'd be at his mercy.

She drew her gaze down lower, and noticed a girl bowing before their humble leader that was Ravenia, the girl had shorter hair, and upon some close inspection she had some sort of marking on the back of her neck, Ramera was too far away to distinguish what it was, but she decided it was probably a birth mark of sorts, and pulled her gaze away, staring back at the sunset as the sun continued it's climb, feeling calmed by the scene.

(Quick out of character note, Trillion. The Harpies are actually warriors, they're just one of the first lines of defense because they can get the best vantage point the quickest)

Ravenia smiled up at her Gate Keeper as she finally saw him out and about. "You almost missed this one!" She called to her friend as she watched him quickly scale the wall. Her eyes quickly drifted even higher as she saw one of the Harpies dart across the sky. Seeing the glint of metal Ravenia knew that it was none other than Ramera. She waived a quick hand to the woman when her attention back down to earth when she saw the familiar dark-head of Sun bowing before her. "Good morning, little Sun. What have I told you about bowing? It's not necessary." Ravenia said with a chuckle, looking down to the petite boy. "How's the day looking to be?" The tall young woman questioned, grinning at the boy.

She motioned for him to follow after her as she went about her day, making the normal rounds for the day. She looked about the immediate area, just making sure that nobody or nothing was needing her immediate attention. When deciding that nothing called to her, she made her towards the medical center. She had spoken with a mother and her daughter early, early this morning when she was getting ready to leave her home. Her daughter's sickness had gotten worse and she had been wondering if they had been attended too yet.

Metronome said
Isam had left the house when it was still dark. Maybe night he found himself laying in bed, awake, too tired to fall asleep. He finally decided to get up, get dressed, and maybe go do something useful. At the ungodly hour that he ventured out, the most useful thing he could think to do was sweep the front porch. It gave him time to get some fresh, to clear his head. Once the sun had risen, Isam made his way over to his closest friend's home. Omar was usually who he went to talk to when things got rough. He knew the things Isam was forced to live with, and he somehow always knew what to say to him. The man's home was almost all the way across the city, which was fine with Isam. The walk was peaceful and refreshing. He kept his hands in the front pockets on his jacket as he walked along, halfway dazed with exhaustion. Maybe he should sleep soon.

Shaylly was always awake an hour before the sun rose. By now her internal alarm clock woke her up 90% of the time. She set the alarm on her watch just thereafter for those days she needed an extra kick out of bed. The morning was her refuge from all that was not right with their planet. It was quiet, calm, a peace that allowed her mind to wander freely without the burden of the usual negative thoughts. Shay tried to focus on the positive but she was also a realist and didn't want to fool herself on things that were not or never would be. She was grateful for finding a home in the Paradise Land, grateful for what Mother had provided for everyone. Shay was even more grateful to be able to serve the city with her knwoledge in fitness and nutrition and more recently aerial support. But she didn't think this was all that was left of their lives. She always wondered what else was out there beyond their sanctuary. Perhaps there were other safe havens created by other leaders. The radioactive hell hole that was now Earth, a rotting planet that gave more death than life, had created beings beyond human. It was as if Earth knew it was dying and was using the radio active trash it was dealt with to produce super evolved beings to survive and keep it alive. Her mind always raced on these fanatical thoughts. She had no proof it was right or wrong. They had very little communication with the outside world, or what was left of it. When she had the chance to fly on her own she wondered what she might do to feed her curiosity.

Shay was out her door 30 minutes before the sun would begin to rise. She was wearing dark sweats, a grey tank and a black hooded jacket; around her neck, as always since she arrived, she wore her brothers flying goggles. The goggles were given to Shane by a friend of theirs, who happened to be a pilot. Shane fell in love with all things flying and would pretend to fly around, his arms stretched out, his face covered by the large goggles. Shay smiled to herself with the memories.

Shay was keeping a 7.0 pace, her hands gloved, the hood of her jacket lying low over her brow and shielding her face. She enjoyed her privacy and solitude. In her ears were her ear buds, music pounding with a heavy beat as she kept a strong pace. Her heart was beating hard but steady, sweat glistening on her brow. She trained every day and this was only the beginning of her fitness routine. She worked hard to serve this city that protected her, helping to keep it strong and free from the Dead. Today she would get to test fly one of the few fighter jets on her own, having just finished all training and course materials needed for the position.

Her mind wandered as usual, her eyes looking down, mostly to avoid catching the eyes of others for fear of being pulled in to some unwanted conversation. She turned a corner, and as her mind raced, she unknowingly picked up her pace. Shay turned the next corner and entered the main street; with her eyes still adverted down she didn't see Isam walking down the normally empty street. At this hour most people were still in bed or barely waking up to start their day. Shaylly crashed in to the side of Isam with full force, not having seen him coming in her way for even a moment. She rebounded back, her head snapping up to look at what she hit as she stumbled from the blow. She almost lost her balance but regained it quickly enough, grabbing a light pole on her right to steady herself. She looked to Isam, breathing hard, having to catch her breath from both her run and from running in to him. "What the hell man? Would you watch where you're going?" She snapped at him. Her hair was pulled back in a loose pony tail, her bangs messily covering the sides of her face and brow. Steel brown eyes glared accusingly at him through her bangs that were just as dark.

Cypher stepped through the circle of men to see a woman kneeling in the mud. She'd been stripped of her clothes, beaten and bruised, probably starved. In a different time the sight would have been gut wrenching but in the world as it was now... there were far worse things to see and these things were already dead yet still a threat. The heap the woman had found herself in was a common a sight and on top of that, Cypher had little sympathy for thieves and killers.

"Hm... I thought you said 'it'." He turned to look at the boy, the child's lips quivering as he tried to correct his mistake.

"It's not.... it's not just her." His eyes moved from the girl on the ground to the three standing behind her: Cliff, Brand and Shea. Triplets... most likely the last on Earth. Blonde with blue eyes and fit bodies to match. Together they would have been poster models back in the day, all beautiful creatures cursed with being born in the wrong time. While Shea was the easiest to pick out being female, Cliff and Brand had been nearly impossible to distinguish until Brand grew his hair out into a pony tail. Now, Cypher hadn't any problem at all calling the brothers by their proper name. He stared at each of them waiting for an answer. They each exchanged a few glances before Cliff opened his mouth.

"My King. On our way deeper into the state, we happened upon the woman and her group, the same ones that had came through ours a few weeks ago and left Crystal... dead." He choked and then quickly recovered. "The others... resisted our attempts to-"

"Lies!" The woman screamed to which she received solid blow to her teeth, knocking her straight into the dirt.

"Should learn to shut yer fucking mouth cunt."

"Shea..." Cypher gave her a glare and she backed away with her head down.

"Apologies my King."

"Continue."

Cliff nodded. "The others resisted and met with... unfortunate ends."

"Right... and why bring this one back?"

"Said they seen it... the Land of Light. But that's all they were willing to say. Tried to bargain for their lives with that little bit of information. We figured you could get more from her."

Cypher looked down at the woman who was now lying face down in the mud. Her naked crumpled body shivered slightly with every breath, the simple task now a laboring chore as every gulp of air wracked her frame with pain. She was suffering... she was vulnerable. "Find doc and get her into my tent."

Jacob strode confidently through the streets, keeping to himself. This wasn't much of a challenge considering that no one wanted anything to do with him anyway. People would crowd to the opposite side of the street as him, casting him foul looks, and avoiding his gaze. Fortunately, it was early, so not many were out in the first place. Regardless, Jacob kept to alleys and side streets to reduce attention. Though he didn't care for the opinion of the commons, he found their reactions annoying.

Jacob eventually reached his destination; the wall. He caught a glimpse of Ravenia leaving, so he darted back behind a corner for a second. Ravenia respected Jacob more then most in the city, but such treatment left him feeling uneasy. He wasn't used to civility. He certainly wasn't used to civil conversation outside of business matters. After she had passed out of view, he strode back towards the wall. He made his way over to a set of grappling lines. Jacob had picked up on how to use them rather quickly, but his radioactive hands had melted through a line when he was missing skin there before. He checked to make sure that his lead-lined gloves were secure, and that his coat covered his forearms. Satisfied, he made his way up the wall to meet the sunrise.

TheCheshire said
Ravenia smiled up at her Gate Keeper as she finally saw him out and about. "You almost missed this one!" She called to her friend as she watched him quickly scale the wall. Her eyes quickly drifted even higher as she saw one of the Harpies dart across the sky. Seeing the glint of metal Ravenia knew that it was none other than Ramera. She waived a quick hand to the woman when her attention back down to earth when she saw the familiar dark-head of Sun bowing before her. "Good morning, little Sun. What have I told you about bowing? It's not necessary." Ravenia said with a chuckle, looking down to the petite boy. "How's the day looking to be?" The tall young woman questioned, grinning at the boy.She motioned for him to follow after her as she went about her day, making the normal rounds for the day. She looked about the immediate area, just making sure that nobody or nothing was needing her immediate attention. When deciding that nothing called to her, she made her towards the medical center. She had spoken with a mother and her daughter early, early this morning when she was getting ready to leave her home. Her daughter's sickness had gotten worse and she had been wondering if they had been attended too yet.

Sun would blush softly as Ravenia spoke to him gently. She was so affectionate in the way she spoke to him and he always enjoyed her proud and endearing company. He lifted his head up slowly and smiled to her warmly. "Morning my lady", he said to her in a precious tone of voice, almost giddy like. Sun brushed off his knees and looked up briefly, taking notice of the gatekeeper who had finally scaled the wall and to The Falcon. Now The Falcon....that was an intense woman. But Sun admired her intensity. Her large metallic wings glistened and reflected the light of the sun like a solar panel. It was quite magnificent in fact. And Sun had always found himself a tad bit envious of the harpy sisters. There ability to fly must be the most magnificent gift on the planet. There is just such an untethered beauty about flight. That...and the fact that you can easily avoid the mindless carnivorous Dead that roamed outside the Paradise walls.

Anyways. Sun shook his head and cleared his thoughts of the harpies and placed his gaze back towards Ravenia. He blushed once more at her statement. "Sorry my lady. But I must admit. It is rather difficult for me to not bow to you. It is a show of respect. And if I may...I'm surprised more people don't do it.", he said passionately. Sun was incredibly passionate about people showing respect and being polite to one another. He had a way for using honourifics for everyone, even towards people younger than him and/or his enemies. Sun blew his bang from out of his eye and huffed in annoyance as it felt back over. He took his delicate fingertips and ever so slightly carressed it back behind his ear and securing it with a skeleton shaped hairpin he took from out of his pocket. Ravenia spoke and motioned for him to follower her, with which he did so immediately. "I hope the day will be a peaceful one. I truly due. Except....". Sun paused, having lost his train of thought. He continued behind her as she went about her rounds for the morning. He paused awkwardly as the thought came to his head and then he spoke once more. He quickly noticed that they were heading towards the medical center. Most likely to check-up on the sick girl.

"My lady! I cannot believe I almost forgot, but I had another dream last night. I have so many dreams its hard to distinguish which one is about the future. But....the one I had last night, for sure is a precogntive one. I saw...a young boy. And a young girl I think? Outside of the Paradise Walls. I'm not quite sure how they would have even managed to get out of the city. But...in my dream...they were. And they were running from the Dead. A large horde of them that seemed to be heading in the direction of the city. The sun seemed to be at its peak in the sky...so....possibly it was around noon. I'm not quite certain. What should we do?", he asked her urgently. His voice was quick and hasty, nervous almost. Although he had fought the Dead on numerous occassions, he never got used to it. He was definitely worried about the dream and the children he had dreamt about. He looked to Ravenia with a leery and unsettling countenance on his face, waiting to hear what she would say. And currently...it was already 11am. So if his dream were to come to fruition, it would be very soon.

Ravenia chuckled at Sun's words. "It's hard to show the respect of a Leader to somebody who is younger than you. It was a battle being appointed Mother. Many people have come to accept it, but it doesn't mean they like it. I mean, they know I work hard for them and that I would do my best, but they still see me young and inexperienced. I don't know why, though. The Mother before me was sixteen when she was appointed." Ravenia said with a chuckle as she thought to her predecessor. She had been very respected, Ravenia could only hope with time the people came to see her truly as Mother.

She was brought from her reverie suddenly at Sun's quick words. She trained her eyes on him fully as he hastily told her about his dreams. Knowing just how pertinent dreams could be, Ravenia listened intently to Sun. Nodding her head, Ravenia tilted her head back and eyed the sun too. "Knowing your dreams, we have anywhere from a matter of an hour to seventy-two hours for this to happen." She stopped for a moment, thinking something over, chewing her inner cheek in heavy consultation. "Sun, go find Shaylly for me, I'm going to need her to do a wide perimeter sweep across the Red Waste. Have her report to me here at the gates. Send a warning out that all traveling outside of the Paradise is strictly forbidden for the next few days. I need to alert the Harpies and the Gate Keeper." Ravenia said quickly, clutching Sun's shoulders firmly as she eyed him carefully. "Thank you, little Sun." She said as she gave him a smile and turned quickly towards the walls.

Running quickly back to the wall, held tight onto the cable and scaled quickly up the side. Reaching the top, Ravenia was barely standing before she started running down the length of the wall. "Ramera!" She called out loudly to catch the Falcon's attention, waving her arm a few times as she continued to make her way towards the Gate Keeper. "Marcus!" Ravenia called, as she got closer to the Gate Keeper. "Good morning, I hate to seem so urgent in the morning but Sun just informed me he had a dream of a large wave of Dead possibly heading our way. I'm going to need you to be on stand-by as much as possible for the next few days. I need you to go at a moment's notice. The gates are to remain shut for outside travel. However, Sun believes there are survivors traveling across the Red Waste, this is who the Dead will be following. We need to get them in and the city locked down as fast as we can, if this is the case. I'm going to be sending out scouts soon, these are the only permitted out travel." Ravenia said, her eyes quickly landing upon Jacob not too far away.

"Jacob! We are going on strict lock down for the next few days. There will be no lights allowed to be used at night, there may a horde of Dead traveling our way soon and I don't want to bring any unnecessary attention to us. I want you to shut down all outside lights leading into the city, as well. If anybody comes to you with having a problem with this, they will answer to me. Leave the medical center at full power, we will just cover up all of the windows to keep it from lighting up too brightly." Ravenia called to Jacob. Her eyes looked out across the Red Waste, wondering when Sun's dreams would become true.

the young mother sat next to her daughter, who was sipping on the concoction that Alpha had fixed up and given her, which was the cause of his current perdicament. having been at his station, mixing what he knew would help the girls fever and ease up the coughing, he had forgotten to grab one of the main ingredients he needed, it was a good foot away on the shelf still. for a normal someone, this would have been easy, go and grab it, for him however, before he even knew he had forgotten it, the second he looked up, it was hovering before him, right in arms length. wrapped around the jar, was a flesh color tail, around four feet long in length, at the base it was a good five inches, at the tip two, but it was fully fuctional and completely Prehensile, hince how it had grabbed the jar for him. after the initial shock, he had at first returned to the task at hand, and prepared the girls drink, a look of shock on mother and daughter's face as he came back to hand it over.

with a quick excuse, and instructions for the girl to drink all of it, then go home and rest, he exited the medical center and took a moment to inspect once again his ability's lastest 'gift' his pants ruined now with the hole right above the ass. he sighed and took a moment, it wasnt the first time his power had did something that would make him more of a Pariah, but luckily it wasnt perminant. his power as he had come to understand was only possible when he was in direct need, he couldnt control it, his body just did it on its own, not that it hasnt saved his life in times, more often then naught it saved his and others, but now it was just annoying. he was still inspecting his tail when he heard Ravenia calling out for Jacob, another of the Blessed ones who's gift was more a curse at times. seeing their leader back on the wall, his tail forgotten as he headed that way, wondering what was going on his tail hanging a foot off the ground, and moving side to side with him as he walked. "Ravenia!" he called up, grabbing the rope in his hand, he scaled the wall with enough ease to make it look simple. it wasnt, the first three times he had tried it, he fell on his ass, then he adapted to the problem and now it was second nature. rising to the top he first glanced out at the red waste, making sure they didn't have trouble before he turned to the leader. "whats going on? second time for you on the wall means trouble" crossing his arms over his chest, awaiting. his tail swishing back and forth.

Hearing a familiar voice call to her, Ravenia turned to see Tobias making his way to her. Good, she could have him prepped as Well in case they had any injuries. "Tobias, good I'm glad...." Ravenia's words slowly fell off as she eyed the taold swishing behind the Doctor. With a quirk of her brow, Ravenia felt a mischievous smile creep across her face. "My, Tobias, I never realized how happy you were to see me until now." Biting her lip, she shook her head with a smile. "Im sorry, that was inappropriate. "

Clearing her throat, Ravenia became serious once more. "Little Sun predicted a horde attack within the next few days. The city will be on strict lock down. I'm going to need you to cover all windows in the medical center to block any lights you may use at night. During the next few days Jacob will not allow the city to use power for lights. Candle light is permissible in households, but No city lights. The medical center will be the only building with this access. I'm also going to need you on standby just in case we have any injuries. The next few days will be tough. Hopefully, we can get through this without too many injuries... And more importantly, without anyffatalities." Ravenia said, once again chewing on the inside of her cheek as she was in deep thought. She tasted the familiar metallic taste of blood in her mouth as she realized she had bit down too hard. Wincing slightly, Ravenia looked around at the others of her camp.

Tobias noticed the look she gave and was prepared to tell her to ignore the tail, but then she said what she did and he blushed, and reaching back, snatched the tail that had been wagging back and forth and wrapped it around his waist til the thing disappeared. "its fine" blushing a little himself, he cleared his throat and got back to being serious, nodding when she mentioned Sun, he knew the young precognitive though he hadnt had the pleasure of meeting him yet. "the windows will be covered as soon as i get back" he assured "im always ready for whatever, medical and fighting needs" not that he was noted as a fighter one didnt wander the Red Waste and be completely unable to defend yourself. "if it will make it easier, if i have no one in i'll keep the lights off and use candles as well, that way no one can complain to badly about the no power" looking out at the red waste, he remembered what it was like being surrounded by the dead. he tore his gaze away, and his hand reached out and caught Ravenia wince, shaking his head he looked at her. "times like this i wish i could develop a healing power, then i could heal you up whenever you worry to much, how bad did you bite your cheek?" he asked.

Ravenia nodded at his words. "No, the medical center is an important building. The people will understand. Just No unnecessary lights, only use them when you're in the room." She replied with a nod. "I wished you would let us train you, Tobias. With your skills youve already acquired and your powers, you could become a warrior in No time." Ravenia thought aloud. "And I bit it pretty hard. It will need to be glued up, again." Ravenia said with a little frown, thinking of the horrible taste the glue left in her mouth. She was such a baby when it came to get herself treated. There were many times when Ravenia would avoid the Doctor and he would have to come track her down to tend to her wounds. Getting stitches or vaccinations were the worst. She shuddered at the thought of needles. Lord she hoped she wasn't due for a shot...

Ramera gazed at the landscape, searching for any potential threats. She could hear people speaking below her, but simply ignored the voices, continuing her survey of the land. That was until her name had cut through her thoughts, pulling her attention away from the red land, and down towards Ravenia. She could see her below, ordering the Gate Keeper, instructing some civilian from Paradise, and then speaking to a doctor. What for? She didn't know, but it appeared the situation was rather urgent. She decided that she best quit wasting time.

Ramera gave one hard flap of her wings, extending herself upwards before drawing them in, pulling her head down and bringing herself to a nosedive. She could feel the wind, running its long invisible fingers through her long blonde hair, and tugging on her maid’s uniform. She could feel a rush of adrenaline as she began to near the ground and, with a resounding woosh she expanded her wings out, bringing herself to a slowed descent, landing almost directly between Ravenia and the doctor she'd been speaking with...Toby, she'd believed his name was. Interrupting their conversation wasn't something she took pride in, but it brought her some sort of pleasure deep down. She cast the Doctor a cold, sideways glance, before giving her full attention to Ravenia. "You called?" she asked, an inquiring tone escaping her lips.