---

---

"Last night was strange, at least, stranger than usual," Terry thought to herself as she walked to school. She had never seen Grimbold do anything like it and wondered why they all had to be there to watch. He said that they were "learning" something, but he didn't even bother to explain what that something was. It had to be some sort of ritual, that much was obvious, but the purpose of the ritual remained unclear.

Teryn had walked all the way to school only to find out that her teacher had cancelled class. She was somewhat annoyed that she woke up early just to attend this morning class, but at the same time, she enjoyed having the day off. "Hm... so what do I do now?" she wondered as she sat on the bench outside her locked classroom. "Ah... I know."

She got up, grabbed her stuff, then made her way to the infamous Castle Street Cafe. Students loved to come here to drink coffee, study, and hang out. But unlike them, she had a different reason for going though: She was going to ask for a certain bat boy's help.

She didn't like asking for help, that was for sure. But it was kind of hard to keep a person indoors all day with only breezes. Daniel had the powers to give people headaches, which combined with her breezes might be able to keep her target inside. She thought about turning back and maybe going to the library instead to work on her report. She didn't want to owe anybody anything. But soon enough she was already outside the door of the cafe.

Terry internally groaned as she saw that there was already a line at the cafe. She fidgeted with her bag,made sure to not make eye contact with any of the other customers, and shuffled up the line whenever it was possible. A few stiff moments later, she found herself in front of the line at last. "I'd like a small chai latte please," she said to the man taking her order. She paid what she felt was overpriced for a small cup of latte, but that was capitalism. "Teryn," she answered when he asked for her name.

While she waited for her drink to be ready, she scanned the room for Daniel, only to find him by the display cases. "Good morning, Daniel," she approached the young man, who might have been too busy working to have noticed her right away. "When is your break?"

---

Death. Sloane had practically grown up with it, looming over her and stealing from her, a constant reminder that her life would one day end. And although she had remained still as a deer, watching Grimbold take the life of the swan stirred a familiar fear within her and her little doe heart had quickly and loudly thumped against her ribcage. She had been with the Mentor for years and she had never seen a display like that, and the unfamiliarity only added to her anxiety. Needless to say, the walk back to the cabin was a somber one. Sloane had followed the little pack back to the cabin, gaze forward and hooves steady.

Once they had returned and dressed, Sloane remained quiet. It wasn't uncommon for her, but everyone had shared the heavy atmosphere before leaving one by one. And, she wasn't one to drink much at all, but that night Sloane had stopped at a bar. The young woman had went home with a stranger--some grad student with clear brown eyes--only to rush home the next the morning. She had clients (and a hangover) to attend to, after all.

And that's where her day really began, but she found herself being distracted even as she worked. She sipped tea between clients, and they were few and far between. Sloane got about as much business as you'd expect in a small town, but she got by. "It's done," she said, leaning away from her client and standing to her full height. Her open-toed, 4" heels weren't exactly business standard, but who were they going to tell? The owner?

After checking out his new, sick ink in one of the mirrors, the frat boy excitedly bounced up to Sloane's counter to pay off the hard work. "Thanks, it looks great!" he said simply before skipping out the door, a couple business cards in his saggy pockets.

The rest of her day would be a slow one, and her shoulders sank as she thought--she didn't want to think. Even as she sipped her tea, brewed specifically to help her relax, she grew tense. So, after double checking her appointment book, Sloane closed up shop for the day, bundled up, and stepped outside to do something. Maybe make up for missing her morning workout.

---

---

Little talons digging into the ground Sky watched as Grimbold killed the swan. It was almost serial. This was supposed to be some kind of lesson? It could be that it was something about death and how life is precious, but even then, it was a gruesome way to teach it. Honestly she didn't know how to react to it. Sky knew these lessons were for a lesson, she's been with Grimbold and the others for years now. It just wasn't something she was expecting that night.

"Sir you have to calm down please. Everything is alright, nothing you're seeing is real. You're in a safe place." Sky said softly to a young man that was suffering from the after effects of a cocaine addiction. He was hallucinating right now and there wasn't really much she could currently do.

There was a wall blocking her from Interacting with him as his case of hallucinations tended to be violent. He tried to choke one of the nurses when he came in yesterday. As her job here was to be a counselor she wasn't aloud to interact with any kind of medication. She's learned though that certain words can benefit someone. The power she held could sometimes help, not that she liked using it.

"Sky I think we're going to have to wait a while more until the hallucinations stop. It's probably best if you talk to other patients for now." A nurse told her and Sky nodded walking back to her office in defeat.

Sitting down in her desk chair she sighed exhuasted. The only thing about this job is that she could always be called in. It just happened her work day started at 4am when she'd gotten home at 2am. At this rate she'd be cut soon and get to go home for the day.

The clinic wasn't the biggest but with the college around here it was good for it to be here. She was one of four counselors at this one.

---

---

Fair to say, Angel's first experience with the "lesson" Grimbold had arranged for the group, wasn't a particularly pleasant one. Before this, she hadn't really considered the potential darkness she was messing with. Sure, a cool little power and shape-shifting seemed like awesome tricks, that weren't large or powerful enough to be something as anxiety-inducing and world-shaking as something like Magneto's powers in X-Men. Because of this, Angel had never figured there'd be a price - unless it was the small tasks that Grimbold asked of them. Like her first task, an innocent - and hella ironic - Pentagram on a church. Then it was ruin someone's weekend, and considering her target, would be simply dealing out some wicked bad karma on the guy.

But sacrificing something as pure and innocent as a swan?

Shit, Angel was hardly the first in line to sign up for PETA - she loved her meat too much. Damn, if somebody offered her a swan steak she'd try it. But what Grimbold did was just disturbing... along with what occurred afterwards.

Chills had gone down her back, as she and the others sat and watched in their animal forms. Suddenly, being a Coyote didn't feel so cool. It felt even less cool as this black stuff began emanating from the swan's lifeless body. A whine pitched in her throat almost subconsciously, thinking back to the Game of Thrones jokes she and Cara had been throwing around earlier.

"Didn't realize Grimbold had contacts with Melisandre and the shadow-baby army." She thought to herself weakly - trying to grasp at some form of humour to relax the situation. But alas, she could not share this quip, and she simply watched on uncomfortably until Grimbold dismissed them.

Fair to say, she'd found it hard to find sleep immediately that night - nothing a few drops of rum didn't cure, but still - she didn't like the fact that something their supposed Mentor had done was giving her second thoughts about sleeping.

---

---

"Nate, so help me GOD, if you don't turn off that music I'll burn your goddamn dick off in your sleep." Was Angel's second sentence of the morning. The first had been a similar threat, unheard by Nate, followed by a large string of muttered expletives.

What had brought on this particular threat to her charming younger brother, had been Daft Punk. Robot Rock, to be specific. Now, Angel didn't have a problem with Daft Punk - enjoyed them, in fact.

But not at 7AM, using the sounds system cranked high.

On her one weekday without class.

Not even bothering to get out of her bed, Angel had simply phoned her brother, and hung up once the threat was carried across. The music stopped.

Sadly, Angel's ire had been tickled enough to keep her awake, and she came to the unfortunate conclusion that her full bladder and empty stomach had now overtaken rule in her body, making sleep impossible at this point.

Waiting for her Gremlin of a brother to leave for High School, Angel commandeered the bathroom, putting on her own playlist as she showered. The soothing yet upbeat tunes of Clean Bandit were more than enough to relax her, paired with the warm water pounding away on her shoulders, and her orange scented shampoo and body wash. Angel was surprised to find herself so grimy - it's not like she had been rolling around in the dirt last night.

"Well... unless you count the falling over on the way back to the cabin." Chuckling to herself at the memory, she was relieved to find that the recollection of last night wasn't as haunting as she had thought before going to sleep. Still freaked out slightly by the whole "chanting and sacrificing" stunt Grimbold had pulled, but in the light of day, it seemed less disturbing.

It didn't take long for Angel to dry her hair and get dressed - and then feel somewhat bored. It seemed the right side of her brain was still snoozing away upstairs in her bedroom, as she felt no desire to draw or bust out some tunes on her guitar.

Which left food. And what better food could one ingest than bacon?

"Of course... no pig. Nice one, Uncle James." Pulling a face and turning away from the sadly swine-deprived fridge, Angel noticed her brother's wallet on the dining table, along with his half-empty cereal bowl.

"Jesus Nate; what am I, your housekeeper?" She muttered with a scowl, dumping his slowly congealing flakes in the bin before looking back at his wallet - which he had forgotten. Again.

Picking it up, a wicked smile appeared on Angel's face as she pulled out $20. "Ah, sweet, sweet revenge. Boy should know that I have a fee for cleaning up his shit." Chuckling to herself as she stuffed the bill in her pocket, Angel grabbed her keys as she headed for the door. Little brother was treating her to breakfast at the cafe...

---

---

Upon arriving, Angel had taken up her favourite seat after ordering a bacon sandwich and chocolate milkshake from the counter - a little booth tucked away in the corner. Now, one could consider combining milk, chocolate and bacon to be an abomination, but for her, it was a perfectly balanced breakfast.

---

The Shrine reminded Cara of Stonehenge back home. The careful placement of the boulders in an almost perfect circle around the alter still awed Cara, even if she had seen the exact same rocks almost twelve times within the year she'd met the critters. She carefully untangled her body away from Angel's neck, sliding down her body towards the ground.

And boy was she glad that she wasn't still hanging off the newbie's neck. If Grimbold's chanting wasn't creepy enough, he was holding a dagger in the direction of the swan, who was still laying by the alter helplessly. The sudden strike from Grimbold's dagger would've caused Cara to constrict around Angel's neck instinctively, but instead it looked like she was almost curling into her body as her black pupils stared at the scene ahead.

"---ne?"

This whole situation reminded Cara of a cult sacrifice - one you see in many weird films and horror flicks. It was definitely a first, to see Grimbold killing a woodland critter and watching black smoke ooze from the body like blood from a wound.

"---sborne?"

What was even weirder was that Grimbold dismissed everybody straight after; leading them back to his cabin to allow the others, including Cara, to return back to their home. Cara didn't have the heart to say anything as she ducked out of the cabin after changing. She just gave a small nod in the direction of the elder man, her mind still processing the previous events carefully.

"Miss Osborne!"

The voice came from right beside Cara, the girl almost jolting out of her skin in response. She turned to the right, eyes widened and heart racing as her Professor stared at her with a disappointed look on his face. "S-sorry 'bout that." Cara apologised, looking away to stare down at her empty page that was supposed to be filled with notes. 'Crap, that's an hour wasted. Good job, Cara.'

The Professor turned to the front of the hall once more, returning to his teachings of the nervous system as Cara mentally berated herself. As he answered more questions, Cara realised that she was given a golden opportunity. Discreetly turning her head to the left, as if she were tilting her head to stare at the wall, she peered over her shoulder at the blonde head behind her, working hard like a good student. Cara could use the opportunity to talk to her target, get to know her enough to be able to figure out what scared the girl and use it against her.

Maybe things weren't too bad after all.

---

---

With the seminar over with, Cara immediately jumped out of her seat, spotting Janet already packing up hurriedly. Cara couldn't help but notice how shaky and jittery the girl was, storing the information in her mind as her mouth curled into the familiar sweet smile. Cara approached the blonde, eyes sparkling and a charming grin on her face as she clutched her notepad against her body. 'Gotta lay it on thick.'

"Hi~!" She greeted in a sing-song voice. Cara's mouth twitched as Janet didn't even bother to look up at her, instead busy with shoving her pen in her already filled pencil case. "I guess you already know why I'm here so um, could I maybe borrow some of your notes you took today?" I mean, you're the smartest one here, and if there's anyone I can trust to take good notes, it's you-" Cara was cut short by a cold glare.

"Save it, I need to get out of here."

Blinking twice, Cara barely managed to keep her façade from slipping as she continued, even tilting her head to the side to feign obliviousness. "Pardon? I- I was just hoping you could help me out-"

Once again, Cara was cut short by Janet, who finally slipped her bag over her shoulder, "ask someone else. I have... somewhere I need to be." One more look out the window, Janet brushed past the shorter girl and out towards the exit, leaving Cara's fake smile to immediately wash from her face. Instead of feeling angry, like she would've been after being brushed off like she was nothing, Cara couldn't help but grin to herself. After peering out of the window to find nothing but trees, Cara pulled out her phone, selecting the contact she needed before typing.

Sloane, mind if I drop by sometime soon? Need your help with something.

Father Lynch emerged from the front doors of the church. He had just finished his letter and was now heading to the mailbox to post it. He enjoyed the morning hours when there still shone some sunlight on this otherwise so grim town. It was not only the eternal shadow of the mountain that they lived under. It was also in the atmosphere. Though many people where christians, it was as if the heathen spirits that dwelled here eons ago, never really left this place. As servant of the lord, he could sense these things. But with the awareness also came the responsibility. It was his holy duty, to rid this town once and for all, from the shadow that was cast, by evil spirits of the past. With the light of the lord, he would clense this place and it's people.
The last mayor had considered his ideas lunatic. But now with the new mayor, he was going to take it on all differently. He had his plans all worked out. And once he would get the chance to talk to her, he would make her see the things for how they were. With her help, he would finally be able to fullfill this dream that he had since he was appointed this church in this town, ten years ago.
For he, Father Lynch, was the shepherd of these people -these sheep, that needed guidance. And protection from the ever pressing presence of the wolf. The Darkness that these ungratefull inhabitants were so unaware of.

There was actual lore on this. Ancient tales, that many discarded as child's stories. some parts of the town were older than most people knew. The Library had very old books. The church was build on ruins of a mysterious building that he still didn't know the purpose for. And the mines had been abandoned for longer than anyone's grandparents remembered.

And HE knew. HE was going to figure out why. HE saw the hidden patterns in what people might call bad luck. HE was going to end this. HE, not the Lord.. but Father Lynch.
But ofcourse he was going to need some help.

When the letter slipped into the mailbox, father lynch snapped out of his daydream, before starting his way back to the church.

---

Sloane drew in a long, deep breath. The cold air sent a chill up her spine, but filled her with a new, fresh energy as she looked at the town. Beside her shop and home was the cafe, which she side glanced. It wasn't uncommon for the pack to hang around there. She stood still for a moment before turning in the opposite direction. However, she didn't make it very far until she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. As her heels clicked against the pavement, she pulled the device to check the message: Cara wanted to meet up. The woman dropped her arms and stared up the sky, shaking her head a bit. Why? she thought simply, musing over her options.

Eventually, she raised her phone again:


Hesitantly, Sloane tapped the send button. She was a lot of things and loyal was one of them. Unfortunately. The woman drew in one last fresh breath of air and turned to return to Ink Shields...as she turned, her eyes followed the local Father as he crossed the street. She didn't think much of it, however, and she unlocked the door to her home to step back inside and get comfortable.

---

Tobias knew that their powers were the result of the occult, the arcane, as turning into an animal and having supernatural powers clearly was not the norm. Yes, last night's events should have been expected, but it seemed so surreal. Grimbold sacrificed a swan to someone.. or something. He tried not to dwell on the thought, but hell, this was the stuff of horror novels and movies. What could possibly be what he assumed was Grimbold's master? A bloodthirsty god? Unholy specters? Tobias hated to admit it, but he was a bit fearful of the truth.

Not that he was going to tell anyone anyway. If there was one thing he didn't need, it was Sloane finding out and giving him more shit than usual. Just the thought of it made Tobias cringe. The group was fine and all for small talk, but Tobias doubted giving the group personal information was the best idea. Tobias didn't quite trust any of them with anything significant either.

Damn, even when he was in that gang there wasn't much to worry about. Sure, there was the whole gang rivalry thing and cops beating you to a pulp trying to "arrest" you, but if you followed orders you'd be fine. The gang would have your back. Usually. That might also be the case with Grimbold as well, but when you added in black magic, Tobias wasn't so sure anymore. Perhaps if he crossed Grimbold one day, Tobias would be the one on the altar, being sacrificed up to whatever. But it was late and he needed the rest, so Tobias tried to dispel the thoughts from his mind and at least try and get some sleep.

---

He ended up getting very little sleep, his thoughts from last night preventing any sort of restful sleep. Tobias was used to it, as he woke up as early as 4 am to get to work, but the first few minutes of trying to get up was always a personal battle. Eventually, after using up every single drop of willpower, Tobias dragged himself out of the bed and then to the fridge, where he would whip up a breakfast of...

Nothing. Looks like Tobias would need to use his day off to hit the market to replenish his barren fridge. But first, he was going to get some breakfast at the Café. Luckily for his sleep and food deprived body, it wasn't much of a walk to reach the entrance. Quickly looking at his own reflection in the glass door, he made sure his hair was at least somewhat presentable.

Tobias eventually ordered some breakfast pastries and a cup of OJ. Tobias didn't really like Caffeine, and despite what anyone else said about it, he was pretty sure coffee was some sort of liquid narcotic. Why else would someone spend dozens of dollars buying that crap?

He had gotten his order, however; Tobias found his favorite spot taken. Well, not exactly taken, just that the table half occupied. Shame really, it was the only spot that you could eat your breakfast in some relative silence. But Tobias soon realized the person that had taken his spot was Angel, the newbie, so he took the opposite seat across from her. Looking at her breakfast, Tobias was no longer sure what invoked more fear into him, last night's events, or Angel's food choices. He opened his mouth, intending to make a remark on her diet, but in the end decided against it and decided to just greet her normally.

"Mornin Angel. I don't usually see you here."

---

---

Startled, Daniel looked up from the pastry display he had been busy organizing when he heard someone greeting him. He was even more shocked when he realized it was Teryn that had been trying to get his attention. It wasn't uncommon for him to see some of the others at the Cafe while he was working. It was a pretty popular meeting spot after all. However Teryn, like himself, didn't seem the type to go out of her way to interact with people unless it was necessary. Shaking himself from his reverie, Daniel quickly muttered, "Morning," as he straightened himself up from the display case. Before he could think of something to say, Teryn spoke up again. "When is your break?" Daniel dusted his hands off on his apron as he glanced towards the clock on the wall. She must really need help with something. Daniel highly doubted she merely wanted to hang out. "Umm, in about half an hour. If you want to just hang around, I can come find you when I'm done." Daniel offered her what he hoped was a friendly smile. In reality, he was actually pretty anxious to hear her reason for seeking him out. But in hindsight, she was probably more anxious than he felt since she willingly came to a crowded place just to talk to him. At that moment he heard someone calling her name over the buzz of conversation. "I think your order is ready. I won't be long."

Daniel decided to take his break a little early since he did arrive earlier than normal that morning. Hanging up his apron in the back and grabbing his jacket from his locker, Daniel made his way back up front where he found Teryn sitting near the back of the Cafe. He also noticed Angel and Tobias must have arrived not too long ago because Angel seemed to be tucking into her meal with enthusiasm. He nodded a quick greeting in their direction, not knowing if they really noticed or cared, and continued towards Teryn's table. Taking a seat across from her, Daniel offered a small smile. "I'm all yours for about 20 minutes. We can head outside if you like? A little less crowded out there..."

---

---

"Mornin Angel. I don't usually see you here."

Angel had been gazing out of the window, lazily stirring her milkshake with her straw when Tobias sat opposite her. She was slightly surprised - what little she knew of Toby was that he generally kept to himself. Not that she minded he'd sat down - she offered up a smile in welcome. Toby looked like he could use some company anyhow - he looked more tired than she felt.

"Yeah, I usually take my drinks to go. But my brother kindly woke me up on my morning off, so here I am." She explained, taking a bite of her sandwich as her mind drifted back to the last time she'd seen Toby - the night before.

Swallowing her mouthful, and return the nod with a smile as Daniel passed their table, Angel paused somewhat hesitantly before continuing to speak.

"So, that was really... something last night. Have to say, I wasn't expecting some druid-type shit to go down. Well... I wasn't sure what to expect actually." Angel said in a low tone, glad that they were parked somewhere quiet where nobody could hear their tale - Grimbold was pretty strict when it came to emphasizing how secret their second lives should be. "And judging by everyone's faces when they changed back, I'm guessing you weren't expecting it either? This is the first time he's done it, right?" She asked, the thought of more animals being brutally murdered like that creeping her out even more.

Jeez, fair enough you do it in a slaughterhouse - but the idea of Grimbold stabbing a little bunny to death on a stone slab in the middle of the woods, all while cackling maniacally as he sent it's soul to Cthulu or something, wasn't a nice one.

---

Cara was already on her way out from the university by the time she felt her cardigan pocket buzz, her skin vibrating from the sensation. Adjusting her grip on her bag on one hand, she used her other to fish out her phone carefully from her pocket to check what the message was. Grinning as she read through Sloane's reply, the girl simply hummed to herself.

Originally, Cara had planned to go home to catch up on any notes she had missed, using the notes kindly given to her by a friend who shared the same class as her. However, since Sloane responded so soon, and the fact that her home was between university and Cara's apartment, it was best to try and get it done with sooner, rather than keep Sloane waiting.

Securing her bag on her body and slipping on the black helmet, Cara began riding on her motorbike in the direction of Sloane's home.

Not too long later, the university student finally parked on the sidewalk, grabbing her bag before heading towards the tattoo parlour. Cara knew Sloane enough to know that fake smiles and half-arsed compliments would not work on her, so her plan was to get straight to the point rather than wasting both their time.

Pushing the door open, Cara grinned. "G'morning." She nodded at Sloane. "Slow day, is it?" She gestured around the shop.

---

"I always knew Grimbold was a strange one, but yeah. That was an new one." Tobias glanced around the Café, spotting Daniel, and returning his nod as Angel did. "I honestly have no idea what the hell the old man is doing anymore." Tobias found himself doubting whether he should really follow through on the task Grimbold gave him, but at this point it was too late to just turn around and pretend nothing happened. Not like he even had the money to move elsewhere. Besides, now Tobias wanted to find out what else Grimbold hadn't told them yet. If ended up being some creepy ass satanic cult shit where they offered their souls to the devil, he'd just call the cops and feign ignorance that he used to be a part of it.

Despite being the newbie, Tobias had to admit Angel was taking this pretty well. He'd expected some more shock, fear. Perhaps she was stronger than him at that aspect. If Tobias had seen what Grimbold had done on the first meeting, he'd probably just slowly back away and avoid the whole sacrifice to the blood god thing.

Tobias started to bite into a doughnut, savoring the sugary treat. Not a healthy breakfast in any way, but he figured he could spoil himself once in a while. "Anyway, Any idea how you're going to do what Grimbold asked of us?"

---

---

That was as far as Robert got into Poe's poem. With not much people in the library, he had some time to read away. Not that he was allowed to do that, but hey, Martha couldn't watch him everywhere. This guy was a classic and when Rob saw 'the raven' in the index, he was planning on dreaming away and making unnecessary links to Terry.

But this was only the first verse, and the complete poem's length was too long for his attention span. It wasn't all that catchy. Metrum, seriously. How was he supposed to fit in:"Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore" if he was going to read that out loud.

The other Ed still hadn't replied to him. There was also a poem titled "alone". He sighed. Not going to dwell on being a failure today.

"Excuse me." A voice in front of him said. Quickly Rob closed the book and pretended to be inspecting it. "You work here, right?"
He looked up. If that wasn't what you would call an unrealistic coincidence. Before him stood the wide-eyed girl named Rachel Brooks. "Yes..?"
"I'm looking for a book. It's called eh.. "toxic parents"" She said almost without hesitating.
And this is the girl I'm supposed to do something to? Shit..

"Let me just check in the computer if we have that available."
As they walked towards the computer, Roberts mind was racing. This was his chance. Come on come on come on! Think of something!
Robert scrolled through the endless list of books, pretending to be searching. Then he thought of something. Not an actual plan yet. But it would buy him some time.
"Ah, looks like it's out at the moment. It should be coming back this week. I can give you a call when it's returned, if you want." He ran his hand through his hair. It could be considered good service, or it could be considered rude to implicitely ask for a customers number. Though she could take it as flirtatious. Which could work in his favor. So many if's. She wasn't his type though.
"eh sure. Here's my number." She wrote it down on a piece of paper for him. "Thanks!" Robert watched her leave.
Well that was easy. Should've tried this trick earlier.

Eddie checked his phone as he walked down the sidewalk. A text from Rob. A small smile split across his face. If anyone had a plan, it'd be Robert. Perhaps collaboration would be best for this mission. Eddie's feet kept pace absentmindedly as he typed out a response.



Eddie added the last part as he stopped in front of the Castle Street Cafe, the social hotspot for many young adults and especially his... well, family is technically correct. The small bell dinged as he opened the door, seeing some of the others already there. He mainly avoided eye contact with Terry, and Daniel by proximity. Instead, he made his way past the table where Angel and Tobias sat.

"Hey guys, what's up?" he said, pausing on his way to the counter. "I don't mean to interrupt, but last night was kinda weird, huh?" Eddie laughed, showing a hint of nervousness. It was still swimming in his head, images from the brutal ritual they had all witnessed. He hadn't seen Grimbold do something like that before. He wasn't even sure how it was a lesson. What the hell was Grimbold trying to tell us?

---

---

As Sky sat in her desk chair she pondered more about last night. That swan didn`t try to fight it`s fate, actually it was rather calm for its fate being death. As far as she could think of a wild swan wouldn`t be so calm. "What the hell?" She whispered to herself in confusion. In that case her mind wandered to if that swan actually had been after like all of them. It would explain the eerie black smoke that came pouring out of it. That would mean all of them would do that in animal form if they died though. It was with these realizations that had Sky running to the bathroom with a turning stomach throwing up.

Even though she`d been doing this for some time now she`d never questioned why they even had these powers, or what happened to them when they made that contract. It was like a dark creature was stirred up from a deep sleep within her, one that she`d been pressing down for almost four years. She hoped this whole thing wasn`t something dealing with their true nature.

Dragging herself off the bathroom`s floor, not the cleanest place to sit down. Sky washed out her mouth and ran cold water over her face before drying off with a towel. As she walked back to her office her boss spotted her. "Sky you don`t like so good? You alright?" She asked and Sky nodded. "Yeah, I think I`m just tired, been up almost 48 hours with little sleep."

"Well Mike just showed up, you can be cut for the day if you want."

Sky nodded overjoyed at that news. "That`d be great actually. I`ll see ya tomorrow then, thanks Alice." She replied before going to her office. Putting on her light grey sweater on over the light pink sundress she was wearing and slipping her purse over her head she finally left the clinic, the bell jingling on her long chained necklace.

"I need coffee ASAP," Sky said to herself before getting into her car driving through the town towards the café. No doubt in her mind that the others were there, they usually were. At the moment she was tired though and she had yet to meet her most mysterious John Doe.

The moment she walked into the café after parking her car she noticed Eddie, Terry, Daniel, Toby, and Angel were here. An insanely large number of the gang at this time in the morning.

---

---

Teryn went over to the counter and picked up her drink and had sat back down at one of the tables as she waited for Daniel to be on his break. It didn't take as long as she expected. She hadn't even gotten her stuff out yet to work on homework and studying so she could do that while she waited for him.

"We can stay here though I might request more of your time after your shift," she said before blowing into her chai latte.

She had noticed that for some reason, a lot of the people in their little cult was in the cafe today. Or maybe they came here all the time, not that she would know since this was not her scene. None of those who were there were very fond of her though, so she let their presence go unacknowledged.

"So... I need your help with the assignment," she said softly. She avoided looking at Daniel and focused intensely on her cup. She hated asking for help and rarely did it. "Of course, I would owe you one... So...p-p-please, help me," she added, stammering on a certain magic word.

She took a sip of her chai latte and it burned her tongue. She winced slightly from the pain and couldn't help but stick her poor tongue out. How shameful was all of this. She needed help and she looked like an idiot.

---

---

It was eerie almost as Daniel watched more members of his dark family walk through the door of the Cafe. Teryn was the first soon followed by Angel and Tobias. But not too long after Daniel sat down at Teryn's table did Eddie and Sky enter within minutes of each other. Now, he wasn't superstitious by any means, but it felt like an omen with so many of them gathered in a public place like this. It was silly feeling that way seeing how each one of them was practically a walking omen, harbingers of bad luck and ill will. However, this felt different. Maybe it was just the lingering whispers of last night's events still weighing heavy in his mind, but they hardly ever gathered together like this unless it was under the light of the full moon deep in the woods. Forcing himself to ignore the cold shiver that ran up his spine, Daniel returned his attention back to Teryn as she spoke.

He was a little hesitant now that she was requesting his presence after work. "That should be fine. I get off at 1 and don't really have anything planned after work..." Daniel's hesitation soon faded though after he noticed how unbearably fidgety she was. This must be really hard for her, asking for help. Poor girl... He felt bad now that he had doubts in the beginning regarding her intentions. She merely needed help with the mission Grimbold had assigned them. He mentally berated himself for his lack of trust but it was safer that way.

"I'll help you out but don't worry about owing me anything..." Daniel would feel guilty if she felt she was indebted to him. The fact that she felt she could trust him was payment enough. Maybe in turn he would learn to trust her too.

---

---

Angel found a sense of relief with Toby's answer to her - glad that she wasn't the only one who had issue with what had happened last night - or, at the very least, the only one who felt the need to talk about it. She was new to this group - for all Angel knew, talking trash about their "Esteemed-Leader" to the others could be a one way ticket to whatever dimension that Swan's soul had been sucked into.

At Toby's own question, Angel took a few mouthfuls of her milkshake as she thought her answer over in her head. She didn't want to come across as some helpless maiden, who hadn't a brain cell in her pretty head to work out her problems - how hard could it be to keep a teenager in on a Saturday night?

"Well... I haven't thought all that hard about it too much yet. I needed sleep last night and food this morning - now that I'm really thinking it over, I'm just stuck on how the Hell my little power is gonna help me out." She answered truthfully after a few moments, frowning slightly in her predicament.

She had used her power even less than her shifting abilities - because how in the Hell does Déjà Vu help a girl out? She couldn't even use it to make her Professor's forget about homework, because they'd forget it for a moment, and then get right back on track. At best, it made them lose track of something mid-sentence; and Angel did that herself without any voodoo power affecting her. And if she focused for too long, her own brain got all fuzzy and forgetful. Although, that could be because she didn't know how to use it properly.

She was about to continue, maybe even ask for some help from Toby, as he'd had plenty of years more experience than she had, when Eddie walked on over. Angel regarded him almost curiously as he talked, noticing how he seemed more nervous about the whole situation than she, a newbie, did. However, from what she could regard from Eddie's personality as a whole, he was prone to be nervous about things more than she was. Regardless of how the man's timidness somewhat unsettled her (As it would for any girl as opinionated, and outspoken about said opinions, as herself), she offered up her usual smile as she replied.

"Well, the start of the night was just about as weird as I expected - things certainly turned south when we all went Animal Farm though."

---

Sloane set her bag behind the counter, phone on top, and sat at the stool facing the entrance. She checked her appointment binder for the fourth time that day and sighed in boredom at the blank columns before her eyes drifted to the door upstairs, from which her fat cat stalked out. "You're not allowed in here, Nox," she said, watching the feline stalk over to rub against her jeans. Rolling her eyes, Sloane simply stretched down to her bag to fetch her sketchbook and a small selection of lead and ink. After glancing up at the clock, she picked up where she left off on a sketch of a decorated rose.

The tattoo shop was silent save for the low hum of the heater. The stereo was off--typical for Ink Shields unless a client was stuck there for hours and would like some background music. This was annoyingly common, but Sloane wasn't great at the small talk meant to entertain customers while she worked. Sloane liked quiet...and the roar of an approaching motorcycle was anything but.

She watched through the window as Cara approached before dropping her green eyes down to her drawing. She quickly added a finishing touch, and Sloane was setting her sketchbook aside when her friend walked through the door and greeted her. "Slow as fuck," she replied simply, sitting up straighter with a sigh. "So whattya need? Want tea or coffee or anything?" As she asked, she nodded over to the water (hot or cold), tea bags, and instant coffee she had set up by the chairs for customers to help themselves to. Nox revealed himself from behind the counter to greet Cara with a meow.

---

---

Teryn was a bit relieved that Daniel was willing to help her despite her awkwardness. She had never asked anyone in the group for help before on an assignment nor had anyone ever asked her for help either. It'd be... interesting to see what could happen when she combines forces with another cursed creature. However, she could not tolerate the idea of her not returning the favor in some way or another. That was unacceptable and her pride will not allow it if Daniel simply let her off the hook like that. She was not going to make a habit of asking people for help without doing something for them in return.

"Thank you but I insist on returning the favor," she said less nervously. She was now able to look him in the eyes again and she held her gaze strongly. "I would do anything you want, within reasons of course. It could be something as simple as buying you lunch, so please think of something."

That was all she needed to say to him for the time being until his shift at the cafe ends. She pulled out her laptop and textbook so she could work on her assignment while she waited for him to get off work. A lot of students seem to come here to work on school work so she could probably do the same, despite how much louder this place was compared to the library. "This paper isn't going to write itself," she thought solemnly. She took another sip of her chai latte which had cooled down significantly. It was not that bad when it wasn't burning her tongue. Still too expensive though.

Probably because she did not really want to work on the paper, she let her mind and eyes wander a bit. Toby, Angel, Eddie, Skye, Daniel, and herself. Six members of the same creepy cult. They were all young adults who probably attend the university so maybe it wasn't that strange but what a coincidence. She wondered if any of them were working some kind of agreement of their own for this assignment. Angel probably would need some help since she is new and her powers, like Teryn, does not necessarily matched the type of mission given to them.

They seemed to be enjoying each other's company. Friendships created by unusual circumstances. Interesting... "I know for sure that I wouldn't even bother to get to know any of them if it weren't for Grimbold, not that it matters. But I wonder if the others would still have befriended each other if we weren't bunched up together like this."

She stopped herself there, realizing that she should really work on the paper. She plugged in her headphones so she could listen to music while she worked. It also helped block out the sound of the bustling cafe. She wrote the title and her name on the paper. It was a good start and now she just needed more words.