---

---

---

---

“Aw, my favorite color.”

The sound of her gentle, yet slight tad tired, chuckle filled the immediate air around her very person, falling from between her soft lips as she watched her class seemingly take to the idea like ducks took to water; the two students she had chosen as captains both making their way up to the front of the class, each taking their place standing on either side of her so they could go ahead with choosing who it was they wanted on their teams.

This was the part she loved- one look at the excitement that flashed behind Giddeon’s eyes, and she knew for a fact that she’d made the right choice in throwing the lesson plan right out the window. The kids had been working so hard… dodge ball, conditioning; she could only ask them to put up with all that for so many times before they gave up, and decided to throw a mutiny. Turning her head back around as she felt a pair of eyes lingering upon her, Zoé let her gaze meet with that of Giddeon, her smile changing ever so slightly… becoming just that bit more motherly as she reached a hand out towards him, resting it upon his shoulder for a few moments of encouragement before she lowered it back to her side, her attention falling back to her class as they waited.

“Uhm… Alright. I pick Mr. Zaiger!”

Zaiger..? Quirking her brows in slight surprise, Zoé once more turned her attention back over to where Giddeon stood, her dark eyes once more meeting with his own as she searched for a sign that he was playing around, however, when she found nothing but complete honesty and innocence behind the request, she let out a soft sigh, her head dropping slightly and her shoulders hunching a bit before she turned her gaze over to the door, letting it linger on the man in question whose name was called out.

It wasn’t the first time that he had decided to join their class; and she was pretty sure that it wasn’t going to be the last time either. Jake was a nice guy, one who cared a lot about the students the taught; he was one of those teachers she was sure was going to be hanging around for quite some time… even long after she was gone…

“Come again?”

The sound of the students enthusiasm filled the gym, each one of them doing their best to encourage Jake into saying yes; into joining the match and giving them that chance to best their teacher in a game of touch football… though she was sure that with this bunch, most especially with the girls in class, there was ulterior motives; but then who was she to ruin their fun..?

“Fraid not. Haven’t had my physical renewed.”

Shaking her head lightly from side to side, Zoé opened her mouth to speak, although the words never made it to her lips as the sound of rushed footsteps hit her ears, causing her to turn her head around, her eyes searching about the room until they came to a rest on the quick retreating figure of one of her students leaving the gym.

“..wait; Madison-…”

Lifting her hand up as though reaching out towards the girl as she ran, Zoé scrunched her brows together, her eyes shutting as she lowered her head, a pain shooting through the forefront of her temple causing her to stop in her tracks before she even had a chance to go anywhere- this was not how she thought the morning was going to be… the last thing she needed was for her leukemia to overwhelm her in front of her class.

Raising her hand further, she once again pressed her fingers against her forehead, her body going still as she seemed to freeze completely in place, waiting for the spout of dizziness to pass her by before she even thought about moving again. How had this become her life- no, when had this become her life..? She didn’t want this; she didn’t choose this… it had just happened, and now, three years after her initial diagnosis, there was nothing anyone could do about it… there was nothing anyone could do to help her…

She was dying… nothing was going to stop that.

“..now G-Giddeon… if Mr. Zaiger doesn’t want to play, you can’t force him to…” Opening her eyes slightly as she felt something brushing against her free hand, Zoé turned her head over to the side slightly, glancing down at the note being handed to her, though the child’s words were lost as a light pounding filled her head, “..it’s fine Miss. Ryd… just join the rest of the class please…”

@Vicier@YoshiSkittlez@Nallore

---

Clifford inhaled and Ickes the rest of his team after Giddeon picked his. To look at his team would have really anyone notice something. They were all the outcasts. One in particular named Tim he had picked first. This kid was scrawny with large circular glasses and he seemed to light up at being picked first for once. His team picked he was about to get out there when he paused.

He heard her tone of voice the pauses...the pain. He lightly made his way to his bag. He made his way to Ms. F and glanced at Zaiger. He then focused on Ms. F and that's when a change could be noticed. Eyes that seemed to show raw emotion. Someone who had lived too long and seen too much death. He gently pressed a bottle of aspirin into her hand and gave a very small barely noticeable smile. A smile of comfort.

Then that mask popped right into place as the sound of bulling reached him. He spun and a snarl came from him. He hated bullies. This particular one was a football player with an ego larger then his Neanderthal head. It seemed the bully had taken tims glasses...Clifford growled again and stormed his way to them.

He stepped inbetween bully and victim and crossed his arms. He was a good foot shorter then football head and had to look up...but that did not deplete the anger in his eyes. He plucked the glasses from the bully and handed them to Tim who quietly and wisely ran and re joined the red team. really ginger what are you gonna do now? Stare at me? Clifford responded by raising a brow and walking away. The bully acted like he won that round.

His team blinked back to reality from the moment and went back through the motions of the game.

---

---

---

---

Scott nodded at Callie's words. "I suppose I understand your purpose. Although humans won't have anything to fear from me. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy your blood. It has the most exquisite taste... His stare at Callie became intense. "But I'd rather drink from animals than deal with your kind. I find you all bothersome."

Claudia roared out in laughter. "This is the first time I've heard of a vampire shunning humans because they're 'bothersome.' I think you and I will get along well, Scotty"

At the nickname, Scott made a face. "Please refrain from calling me any other name aside from Scot."

"And uptight too!" Claudia continued laughing, earning her a perplexed look from the vampire.

"I fail to see why I amuse you, wolf," Scott muttered.

"Oh don't look so serious, old man. Come on, let's get something to eat." Claudia said, grabbed his arm and dragged him outside the shop.

Caius watched his sister interact with the vampire amusedly. Who would have known that it would take a shapeshifter to change her mind about the specie she had always referred to as parasites. "I'm glad that Claudia's found someone to keep her amused. But I almost feel sorry for Scott. She'll be a handful," he said as he watched the two exit the shop. He continued nuzzling Callie's neck. "Until what time do you plan on keeping the shop open? Any chance you can close a little early? I want you all to myself later," he murmured against her neck, loving how her pulse quickened in reaction to his suggestion.

---

---

---

---

---

A quick flutter of pink, and a gentle flash of blonde whipped past the rest of her team, and the next thing she knew, she had both hands pressing flat against Drew’s chest; her body placed between both him and Clifford as she did what she could to help keep the two of them apart from one another, and to help bring the situation back from the metaphorical ledge it seemed to be perching on- this wasn’t a good for anyone… Drew was nothing more than a normal, everyday human; Clifford was not. He was a werewolf, and one who was stuck as a teenager at that; it was as clear to her, just as it was everyone else in their little ‘supernatural circle’ that he wasn’t exactly pleased with the fact either…

Not that any of them really knew the exact details of his attitude issues…

“Drew, please… you heard what Ms. Flores said; today is supposed to be fun…” Lifting her head up, Lailah let her brilliant light-blue eyes meet with his, a gentle though rather playful smile gracing her soft pink lips as she let her hands slip, allowing them to trail lightly down his chest before eventually, they came to a stop on his sides, her thumbs brushing back and forth over his skin in a soothing manner just under his top, her head tilting ever slightly to the side as she continued to hold his full attention, “..so, can you please try not to get in a fight..? Please..?”

Pushing her lower lip forward slightly, she pouted, her brows furrowing together as she held his gaze causing him to shift slightly in her hold before finally, he seemed to give in to what it was that she was asking of him, his arms both reaching out to grab her rather roughly by the waist so that he could pull her body into his, holding her pressed against him as she once more returned her hands back to his chest.

“..well, I guess for a price I could give the dweebs a break… what do you say, huh? You, me; Ryan Kessler’s party this Saturday.”

“Ryan Kessler’s party..? Really..?” While the party sounded great; being forced to spend it with a thick-headed Neanderthal like Drew wasn’t really something she wanted. Turning her head back, Lailah shot a quick glance around at the others in the gym, her eyes seeming to search for a few moments until eventually, they came to a rest on a familiar figure, her bright eyes meeting with his as he seemed intent on staring right back at her; though why, she wasn’t quite sure…

“Drew-… Drew, I would love to go with you; but-…” Tearing her gaze away from Giddeon, she brought it back up to the guy who had his arms around her, her hands once more returning to his chest as she pushed, removing herself from his hold as her expression became one of apology, “..I already said that I’d go with Giddeon; I’m sorry… If you wanted to go with me, you should have asked sooner…”

Shrugging her shoulders lightly, Lailah brought her hands back into her body, her thumbs hooking on the blue sash she wore as she took a couple of steps back, her long blonde locks bouncing lightly over her back as she turned, a slight bounce in her step as she made her way back to her team, coming to a stop only once she was standing by Giddeon, a gentle smile playing over her features, though it was clear she wasn’t as confident as she was before as her eyes flashed with uncertainty, “I, uh… You don’t mind going to this party with me on Saturday, do you..? I mean; if you don’t want to go, that’s cool too. I just thought it might be fun; you know, the two of us going… together…”

---

---

Alicia looked towards Ms. Flores with a concerned look on her face her gym teacher looked like she wasn't feeling all that well as she was about to say something to her Mr. Zaiger walked over to her and whispered something into her ear something she couldn't hear. She felt bad she couldn't do anything much really. She looked at Giddeon as he spoke up to her and offered her to be the co-captain for his team. Alicia smiled as she moved over towards him and accepted the blue flag that he held out to her.

"Sure I wouldn't mind being your co-captain." She said with a smile as she moved over next to him and the rest of the blue team that was picked out.

---

---

Callie watched Claudia and the Vampire Scott, a little bemused at the way that Claudia was acting towards the vampire. It was a little refreashing, really. She watched Claudia practically drag Scott out the store, and gave a soft laugh, turning to lean against Caius. There was always that warm, happy feeling around Caius, that knowing that she was safe, cared for. Protected, and loved. That feeling that whenever he was near of closeness, of simply moving and knowing he would be there. At his question about closing early, Callie was sure her heart beat was going as fast as a humming birds. And then there was always that, such a wonderful coupling...She blushed deeply, and hasitly threw up a spell to warn her if any one approached the store.

Professionalism seemed like a good thing for profits.

"Oh, well, Eretria will be around after school finishes for her, I can leave her to close up..." She trailed off, the thought of some alone time was delightful to Callie, and she made a mental note to tell Jaxon to bugger off for the afternoon, so that they'd be well and truly alone, and not have a pixie audience. She smiled, wondering when her life had gotten so...amazing. That she could plan to have a few hours free, to be with her partner? That was something she'd never thought to have. She was well aware that Caius had the stronger attachment-imprinting was something humans, even witches, lacked, but Callie knew she loved Caius with all her heart and soul. She gave a soft, happy sigh.

"All going well...we could have most of the afternoon to ourselves" She said brightly, knowing full well that Caius could hear the way her heart was beating faster, the slight change in her breathing, and probably even feel her flush. That had long since ceased to embarrass her-she couldn't keep her reactions to herself, and besides...she didn't hide anything from Caius. It would be nice to have some carefree hours. If Callie was right, they weren't going to have the chance for many soon.

---

---

---

---

@Vicier@Nallore

---

Clifford had been about to walk away. To storm off like usual and try to control himself. But then, she stepped in between them. As if he was about to obliterate the jockstrap. His jaw clenched as he listened to her try to calm the neanderthal down. Of course there was also talk about that party they were having. What was that kids name again that was throwing the thing...Ryan right. He heard the name and yep Ryan's party on Saturday. He never usually went to parties...why the hell not this time. He shook his head and watched her run off to Giddeon. He felt his eyes roll and walked off.

He looked at Timmy. "You're in charge." Timmy nodded, the kid seemed to be perfectly okay with this...heck he was picked first for once. Clifford stormed his way to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He splashed water on his face then gripped the sink edge. Frustration and anger vibrating though him.

Why was he like this? Hell who wouldn't be like this. His parents died along with most of his siblings. He watched her have a family then die then his nephew grow up have a family and die. He watched his entire family tree pan out and while mot would love to see that...he hated it. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was not supposed to be watching people he had cared about grow up get old and die. He was supposed to die with them.

He inhaled. He had never really felt the urge to make a pack. Never felt the urge to pass on this curse and even if he had the non original wolves eventually died too. He shook his head. Now however was different. Zoe had cancer. It was killing her and he was watching from the sidelines. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and paced the floor. He gave himself more time to calm down enough to deal with teenagers and opened the door. He made his way back out there and rejoined the game.

---

---

---

---

"Most of the afternoon and the whole night until tomorrow morning," Caius corrected, grinning at how fast Callie's heart was beating. They had been together for for almost a year already and his hunger for her hasn't waned, not in the very least. She might eventually tire of him but he was sure that he never will.

He was not, however, particularly fond of her pixie friend, Jaxon. He had the tendency to flit around him like some sort of bug, buzzing and chattering in his ear. In his human form, he could tolerate him well enough but it was a completely different thing when he was in wolf form. And for some unknown reason, the pixie appeared to prefer bothering him when he wasn't human. One time, he swatted him with a paw and sent him hurtling into the bushes in the back garden of their house. The pixie had been extremely miffed and Callie wasn't pleased but the pixie had stopped bothering the wolf for the rest of the evening. Of course, he tried tolerating Jaxon the best he can for Callie.

"I'd appreciate it if you can get Jaxon to leave us alone. Claudia will probably be out with her new found friend so we'll have the house all to ourselves." His eyes twinkled with excitement. He leaned forward and nibbled on her ear lobe. "I'll fix us dinner and then we can make love all night long," he whispered in her ear.

---

---

---

---

---

Claudia bit into her ham and cheese croissant. "Are you sure you don't want any?" she asked, gesturing at the other croissant on the plate in front of them.

Scott made a face. "Human food is---"

"Good," Claudia interjected.

Scott shook his head. "While I am undeniably somewhat similar to you and your brother, I am still a vampire. Human food does not, in any way, interest me."

"Right right... I'm still curious about that. How do you... I mean, you're not a hybrid are you?" When Scott raised an eyebrow, she immediately explained what she meant. "I mean half vampire half werewolf." She sniffed the air. His scent still confused her.

"No, I am not. I may be able to change my form but I am a vampire and nothing else."

"Can you change into a cat?

"Yes."

"A canary?"

"Yes."

"A turtle?"

"Yes. I fail to see how this is pertinent to our conversation."

"Pertinent to our conversation..." Claudia repeated and then made a face. She laughed. "Who the heck speaks that way anymore? Loosen up a bit. You sound like an old man."

"I am old," Scott replied, not at all bothered that Claudia laughed at him.

"Well, it's a good thing you have that pretty face. Otherwise, no woman would---"

"I believe you are as old as I am."

Claudia stared at Scott. "Oh, no, no no, don't you dare go there. My age is not open for discussion."

---

---

Callie wondered how long her feelings could continue to grow, it seemed like just when she thought they couldn't grow anymore, couldn't become even more intense, even fuller, there was some well that was waiting to be filled, with the love she felt for Caius. How could a year suddenly feel like it had both been too quick, and so long. She felt like she'd known him her whole life, and yet not long enough. Forever just didn't seem long enough to have with him. She caught his grin, and knew it was at her expanse, his senses were just so hightened, her heart beating was probably a beacon of her...enthausism. She smiled, bashfully.

More then a few hours, alone together? Callie was almost tempted to close down the shop right then and there. Yet she knew she had a responsibility here. As Caius mentioned Jaxon, Callie nodded, knowing that Caius and Jaxon didn't get alone particularly well. She didn't understand why. Callie couldn't ask Jaxon to leave, the Pixie had been injuried and now wouldn't survive without the garden he tended for her, it was his home, She would one day have to figure out how to get the two of them to get along. One day. Hopefully before the pixie died-they had short life spans.

"Mmmhmmm. I'll send Jaxon to the shop, Eretria can watch over him" She said, knowing the Pixie would be in good hands with the Original Witch. Her breath caught as he nibbled her ear, and she closed her eyes blissfully, knowing she should argue, should say they were in the shop, that someone could walk in right then and there, but she was weak, and the attraction of Caius was all too tempting. She couldn't make herself say any of that, and she was pretty sure Caius knew that. She sighed happily though, there was no being mad at him.

"You always make it so difficult to be responsible" She said softly, "Its so tempting to just close the shop, and go right now" She shifted, to lean into him some more, the warm feeling of love filling her, the simple knowing that he was there, and always would be, and the fiery, hot passionate love of knowing all that, and knowing that she wanted him, as he wanted her. The kind that made it hard to focus. She was becomingnn familiar with both emotions, and all that was in betweent them. After a year, it shoul dhave been dying down, the wonder of him, of what was, shouldn't be so shocking, and yet it was. Everyday. "I love you, which makes it hard to watch the shop" She said with a laugh.

---

---

---

---

---

---

Once more, Madison found herself being assulted by the dog again. Before he could knock her onto her ass, Madison crouched and wrapped her arms around him again, taking comfort from the warmth he offered, and the softness of his fur, and the scent coming off him. she gave a sigh, burying her face against him. She risked a glance to the man. "Funny, she didn't consider that she is a danger to me, and that i might need protecting from her" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, but Madison was too...scared. Annoyed, ticked off, to give a damn. That woman, that witch, and oh, wouldn't she love to change one little letter in that word, had taken her away from her home, had left them there with virtually no way of getting home, and had trapped her. She was furious. Part of her wanted to turn around, and go rip the woman throat out. And that scared her. She swallowed, and buried her face in the dog's fur once again, seeming to not hear what Corann was saying.

She blinked, hesitating at his command to step back, she shifted, rising, but keeping a hand on the dog-Boris?-head, stepping back with him, she crouched again, holding him, not sure now whether she was comforting him or herself. Either way, having her arms full of dog was soothing. As the storm seemed to come in from no where, no, no, it was controlled...she shuddered, clutching Boris harder, she was careful not to cause the dog any harm. She closed her eyes tight, feeling wary, she didn't witness what happened, but part of her felt the freedom, and she was up. This time, Madison darted off at a fast walk, not going any faster then Boris could, but she still wanted to run, to flee. It seemed to to take a lot of will to stay at that pace. Madison turned towards the signs of human habitation, and she continued on with relief. There had to be a phone there.

She knew what she must look like, a run-away, with her wind swept hair from running, a little panicked, covered in dirt and dust, with a dog, and persumable a man with her. Well. Maybe she could pull off the car broken down thing? She swallowed, approaching the building warily, glancing about her as if at anytime the witch could appear. Which she had made perfectly clear that she could. The next time though, Madison might not run...

She entered the building, what seemed to be a pit stop or small general store, and warily approached the person behind the counter. "Excuse me? Do you have a phone" She winced at her voice, which was still filled with panic, worry, fear. She swallowed, shifted, and shook her head, letting her mussed up hair fall around her face, she shifted her stance slighttly, and plastered on a smile, laying one hand on her hip, she relaxed into an easy stance, letting her slight curves show, and maximising the effect her chest would, hopefully, have. No one could resist a girl in need, could they? "Sorry, Its just, its been a long walk here, my Daddy's car broke down, and poor Boris here is sick, and I've walked what seems like miles" She let her voice rise slightly, making it way to cheery, like one of those prissy girls who used their bodies and what they thought was charm to get what they wanted.

Madison was surprised she could pull it off, but it seemed focusing on that helped her to not focus on the smell of blood. "I want to call my friend, see if she'll come pick us up. Please, I'd be ever so grateful..." With a grin, Madison reached over, reaching for the phone she saw, thrilled when she wasn't stopped. The cashier seemed...flabbergastered, and that was oddly...powerful. Licking her lips, Madison hesitated, fingers hovering over the buttons, she hesitated, before punching in the numbers, holding her breath as she waited for, hopefully, Lailah to answer. She'd understand if Lailah didn't, she'd been avoid just about eveyone these last few weeks, but she hoped...she hoped she'd answer. she did regret disturbing the class again, but she didn't really know how she'd get back...or how she'd explain being where she was, in what was probably something like ten minutes?

If Lailah answered, Madison would quickly say, keeping her voice low so as not to be heard "Lailah...Lailah, I'm scared...please, please, will you come and pick me up? This...this crazy woman...oh, Lailah, please? I'm sorry...I'm sorry I've been distant...but would you? there's this dog, he's sick, and this guy, he saved me, and...and Lailah, I think I might be some sort of monster...please...come?"

---

---

@YoshiSkittlez@Vicier

---

---

---

---

Alicia looked around at the team that she was put into for a moment and smiled at them, she was ready to get the game started despite waking up in the hospital this morning she felt fine better than she ever did actually. She looked towards Clifford for a moment she got the feeling that something was upsetting him, she looked at her teammates for a moment. "I'll be right back." Alicia said as she started to make her way towards the bathroom where Clifford had ran off to. Once she was there Alicia tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge and knew that he locked it.

Alicia decided to give the door a few knocks to try and get Clifford's attention and to see if her classmate was alright, she leaned herself up against the wall near the wall. "Hey Clifford are you alright?" Alicia asked she wasn't sure what was upsetting him, she just wanted to make sure that her friend was alright and cheer him up if she could.

@Nallore

---

Clifford paced the floor before heading a knock. Irritation flickered through his features and he worked his jaw. He ran a hand through his red hair causing it to fall over his eye. "Yep I'm totally fantastic." sarcasm dripped from each word and he paced again anger fueling him. "She protected that asshole" more pacing until finally he stopped and gripped the sink knowing that if he didn't come down he had a chance of turning.

"They treat me like some sort of monster....that I'll hurt anyone and everyone" he looked in the mirror at his amber eyes. At one point they had been called wild eyes. He looked back down. "I'm surprised you even cared to come check on me" he inhaled again jaw clenching and releasing as he continued to try to calm down.

---

---

---

---

The note she had been handed not moments before slipped from her hand, replaced only moments later with a small bottle of aspirin, and though the thought was a kind one, it was something that could only work on part of the pain. Lifting her head up just that little bit more than before, Zoé let her gaze meet with Clifford’s, her soft lips parting slightly though turning up in a gentle smile as she curled her fingers around the bottle, holding it just that little bit closer into her body in a show that she was accepting his help before the sound of another voice, and a warm breath fanning out over her flesh caught her attention, causing her to turn her head and for her eyes to meet with another’s.

Jake was willing to take over her class for her..?

Frowning slightly, she thought over his offer- she couldn’t take him up on that… could she? It was her class after all; she didn’t have many left until she was being forced to leave not only them, but also the school for good.

“Really Ginger, what are you gunna do now? Stare at me?”

Drew Foster… of course… this was the fifth time this month alone that he was going out of his way to cause trouble in the class. He was already on the cusp of being suspended from the football team; not to mention, his third warning would lead to a suspension from school altogether. Closing her eyes, she sighed softly- today was not going the way that she’d been hoping it to go… and at the speed this lesson was tumbling down hill; she wasn’t sure just how much of the day she was going to be able to handle…

“Drew, please… you heard what Ms. Flores said; today is supposed to be fun… so, can you please try not to get in a fight..? Please..?”

Flinching as the sound of a door slamming filled the air, Zoé slid her free arm back, her hand taking a gentle hold of Jake’s as though to help keep her stable as her mind tried to keep up with everything that was happening… She was losing everything; losing control of her class, of her body, of her health… everything.

Nothing was right anymore…

Madison had run off to god only knew where, Clifford had gone and locked himself away in the male bathroom, Giddeon seemed more than preoccupied with his eyes locked onto the head cheerleader who in turn was now on her phone with a worried and confused look on her face, Alicia was trying her best to get the attention of Clifford by knocking over and over again on the bathroom door, and if any of the others were paying attention, she couldn’t tell anymore…

How had things gotten so… so out of hand..?

Shutting her eyes tightly as she seemed to finally come to her conclusion, Zoé tightened her hold over Jake’s hand, the woman taking yet another moment to herself before she stood herself up just that little bit straighter, her eyes flickering with a slight sadness as she tried her best to once more gain control over her students, at least long enough for her to be able to make her announcement.

“..e-everyone… Everyone; I-… I need you to listen up, please… This is important…”

Waiting until everyone had once again joined the group, and she once more had everyone’s full attention, Zoé shifted slightly, her tired eyes gliding over the group in front of her before they shot back, meeting with Jake’s for that tiny bit of encouragement before she nodded her head lightly, letting him know that she was willing to take that step back as she turned back to the class, ready to explain to them just what it was that was so important.

“..I really didn’t want to do this now, not at the beginning of the day, or a double period that’s meant to be for nothing but fun, but…” Hesitating a moment, she took but another glance around at the students standing in front of her, meeting her eyes with almost all of theirs before continuing on with what she was trying to say, “..this will be my last year here at Carson high; it’s been an amazing experience teaching you all, and I can honestly say, being here and able to spend these last few years with you has been the best of my life…”

Biting down softly upon her lower lip, she dropped her gaze- how was it so hard to tell them the truth about what was going on..? She’d already come this far, it shouldn’t take too much more courage to tell them the rest. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her gaze back up to meet with theirs once more, “..I, uh… I don’t want to keep anything from you… I have Leukemia; I was diagnosed three years ago, and it’s at quite an advanced state. The doctors I’ve been seeing believe that I have less than two years left… For now-… For now, Mr. Zaiger will be helping me out; taking over class for the rest of the day… please be good for him…”

Tightening her hand even further over Jake’s, Zoé paused, forcing a smile onto her features as the familiar sting of tears hit the corners of her eyes, though she did her best to keep them from falling, “..you have all made my life so much better just by being in it; by being yourselves, just the way you are… I will never forget any of you…”

"I had every right in the book. She is one of the children after all," Layla looked unamused and unstirred by Corann's tone. "Besides, I probably saved your lives. They were gathering. They wanted her. I could hear the greed in their hearts. The prospect of a newborn hybrid was too good to pass up. If I had not moved us, it would had been a possible bloodbath outside of the school. And that would definitely have turned her, probably gone insane as well from it."

She crossed her arms as the mention of the guardians. "Should I worship whatever created me? Then should the children worship me and a few fellow witches? I think not," she said coldly before sitting down in a meditative stance. Layla let her mind stretch out as she took in the hints from the girl's mental state that she wanted to run. She let her. There was no point in keeping her here. The dome was wide, and no other humans, special or otherwise, was inside of it. Those that were when she cast it had been compelled to leave.

Neither of them would be able to get out without her permission, they didn't have the strength for it. Corann could, possibly, but it would be expensive for him to do so. Druids were idiots after all, using blood magic for their ends and needs. Even if they themselves did not call it that, it was essentially magic powered by life, thus blood.

She had hoped that they would stay within the barrier after the child hit it with her week fists. She had given up, which was good, but then Corann approached and Layla sighed. She was thinking of using a projection to make them stay within. Who knew what kind of hunters would be after them if she let them out? She bit her lip as she contemplated her options.

Before she could make up her mind though Corann went to action and started channeling his magic. "You fool!" she hissed out into the air. The idiot was using a far too powerful spell for his body. Why was he using up his body like this? If he had just asked nicely and given her his plan, she would had let them out. Or if he had just carried her trinket she could had kept track of them easily and been able to teleport in if trouble arose.

Layla was thinking of inserting more power into the barrier. To give it resistances towards the elements. To prove how fruitless it would be to try to escape by force. But knowing him, Corann would probably exhaust himself until he could not walk just to prove a point. She sighed and shook her head and cut the feed into the barrier, lowering its tolerance towards damage. She decided to test Corann, to see if he could actually break through the spell at it's base value. She heard a crack and soon after the barrier shattered. She felt a mixture of proud and sad at the same time.

She stood up and reached out towards her side and pulled out a staff from thin air. She smacked the base against the ground and a hawk appeared from the ground. "Follow them, report on everything they do," she said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. She was back home again. Today had been way too exciting for her slow lifestyle. But she feared that things would get a lot more hectic from now on.

---

---

---

---

Claudia walked out of the cafe across Callie's shop, marveling at how the vampire offered to hold the door for her. Whaddya know? This old timer has manners after all. Can't hurt that he's handsome too, she thought.

As Scott stepped out, he looked around, still not used to being in the city. Something had pulled him here and he wanted to know what. But if he was staying, he'd need somewhere to stay. He turned to Claudia. "Where do you reside?" he asked.

Claudia looked at Scott, still amused by how old fashioned his way of speaking was. "In Caius and Callie's house for the moment. I'm still thinking if I should actually settle down here with them or you know, just be transient. I can never get tired of running."

Scott nodded, understanding what she meant. But then he shook his head. His actions strangely made sense to Claudia.

"I don't suppose you have a place to stay, do you? Why are you in Carson City anyway?" she asked, pausing across the street and watching Caius step out of Callie's shop.

Scott turned his grayish green eyes to Claudia and then followed her gaze towards her twin. "No, I do not have any human habitation to stay in. And I can not say what it is that brought me here. Perhaps it is the coming war."

Claudia raised a hand and gave the male wolf across the street a wave. Caius acknowledge her with a nod of his head. "Huh. I guess you being an original can sense it too," she sighed. "And human habitation? You can just say that you don't have a place to stay at, you know?" She scratched her head and then gestured with her head across the street. "Come on. It won't hurt to ask my brother if we can have you stay with us for a while. My brother's mate is a human, okay? Don't eat her."

"Why would you want to invite me into your home? And why would I eat your brother's human?" Scott asked, confusion apparent in his voice.

Claudia rolled her eyes. "I guess it's really been a while since you were in civilization. A thank you would have sufficed." she walked across the street.

Scott followed suit. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Hey, Cai. Would you mind having Scott stay at the house for a while?"

Caius looked from Claudia to Scott and then shrugged. "I don't mind. But you'll have to ask Callie about that. It's as much as her house as mine."