@Nymeria@ScorpionFlower@lucius cypher

Following the sound of violence he moved with purpose down into the depths of the vampire lair, unafraid of what he would find. Rather than tentative steps of caution his footfalls were fast and hopeful as the final corner revealed what he had hoped to find. A true alpha, a being who was top of the food chart before their hellish transformation. The thing practically oozed confidence.

Armor was minimal, weapon handle well worn from use not age, with a simple fighting stance that spoke of its familiarity with heated combat. Davos took it all in in an instant, absorbing everything he could observe. The most telling part of the creature was the ones behind it. They feared the hunters, cowering behind their leader with fear and respect both.
A worthy creature stood in front of them. Only a minute of staring in awe had passed but that was enough, Drystan and Donnel already engaging it in combat. Davos stepped forward, ready to engage, but a noise caught his attention.

Turning around he saw the Vampire woman holding that damn Urchin, another creature of the night trying to find a way of protecting its own miserable hide with the flesh of another! Enough was enough.
The trapper was prepared to kill both here and now when it happened.

Juniper transformed, from weakling girl to a werewolf of impressive stature, in moments. Adrenaline or fear was her trigger? The thought didn't habe enough time to register. The archers would be torn to shreds before it could be killed.
Donnel was out of reach and engaged with the Alpha..

"ARCHERS, MOVE!"

@norschtalen@migyudon

Half running half leaping Davos broke past the two and focused on the newest threat. An alpha vampire was trouble enough but unless his guess was off the girl in Lycan form cared not at all for the group now. It would be savage and unpredictable in its fury.
A Human who had truly given in to their baser instincts.

His fist struck first as he landed a heavy punch in the creatures snout before leaping backwards, claws a hairs breadth from rending his chest wide open as Juniper lunged forward with snapping fangs leading.
From his belt came the unopened bear trap, heavy enough to serve as a club he slammed the metal contraption into the beasts head with enough force to drop it to its side against the wall, dazed but not truly hurt she was back up and snarling in an instant.

"Come on then!" Shouting at the top of his lungs, feet spread and back arched over he practically mirrored the Lycan. A telltale intensity to his eyes as every ounce of focus was on the creature now.

Grinding metal signaled his wrist blades extending, almost a foot of metal sharp enough to shave with. Flexing his hands in anticipation he waited. Eyeing kt unafraid, trying to keep its attention away from the others. From the Alpha.

From true harm.

*Throughout the Kingdom guards recieve orders to begin distribution of a new royal notice, delivered to doorsteps, posted on job boards, and posted plastered all over the cities of the kingdom.*

@Nymeria@AtomicNut

Mikhail followed the red-haired Rosaline through the city. Indeed, her parents had a wonderful sense in names. Though, beauty often comes with a darker side, much like the thorns of a true rose. His thoughts turning thus, Mikhail was brought back to this present, his slightly darkened face returning to its lighter nature. Brynhild gave a playful yip as the young Charillos patted her head. It seemed as though he was having fun with the wolf, and Brynhild had always been good with children. Strange when you think about. Something so devastating in combat, and ruthless, yet so caring among the young and helpless. Like a knight in her silver armor, yes that was Brynhild. Much more the warrior than Mikhail would ever be. Smiling, the man's country accent leaked out, "Charillos, do you like Brynhild? If you do. then I can try and bring her around more."

Suddenly, as he stopped speaking, Rosaline started to talk about the surrounding shops. Apparently, the Weyenburg family kept many of them afloat. He had heard rumours that one of their daughters were to be betrothed to the prince. Though he couldn't remember anything else about the family. Like most of politics, they remained unimportant to the young hunter. Then a voice, young and feminine, called out. Of course, when he looked up, the first thing he noticed was not the young girl, but the two armed men following behind her. Immediately, the hair on the back of his neck bristled at the same time that Brynhild's hair bristled. If it wasn't for her armor, Brynhild would have looked as though she doubled in size. His hand falling to the hilt of his sword, Mikhail struggled to keep his smile.

As Rosaline introduced him to Emmaline, Brynhild's tail flicked the inside of his knee. Someone was coming, someone with the scent of the woods, and they were coming straight towards him. However, in the crowd he couldn't see a thing, too many people pressed in around him. Then a hand, reaching out, tugged on his maroon coat. A girl, older than Emmaline, yet looking all the more a child, faced Mikhail. About to speak, she was cut off by Rosaline's question. Ignoring the girl behind him for a moment, Mikhail quickly answered Rosaline. "Oh, about that, well, I was looking for the Hunter's Guild." A smile on his face, Mikhail pulled out the King's Notice. The folded paper came out of his pocket , and, unfolded, held the entirety of the King's original notice.

As he showed the notice to Rosaline, Mikhail heard the stranger's words. A love filter? Mikhail had always been told dark legends about magic ever since he was a young child, but had personally never held anything against it. "I'm sorry, but I have no need of a Love filter, and I believe that you must be mistaken. This woman and her family cannot be nobles." Taking a quick look at Rosaline and the two armed men, looking all the more like guards as they stood there, he continued. "Beautiful, yes, and more affluent than the true commoner, most likely, but surely no noble would walk the common streets. Even if they did, they would would ride in a carriage or on horses, but never by foot." Mikhail smiled at the younger forest dweller. Surely, Rosaline was no noble, or, at least, Mikhail hoped that she was no noble.

@Zelosse
As Juniper was contemplating all of the targets around her and possibly assessing threats, she received a massive punch right on the snout, making her take a step back in surprise. She clawed forward as a basic reflex of self defense, but hit nothing more than air. Looking back up in front of her she saw him: a menacing cloaked figure. His smell was not like the others. He was not a hunter. He was a predator.

The rage was fueled by hunger, but also by something more. She had met this prey before, though her thoughts were in shamble right now and wolf Juniper cared little for the reason why she'd tore him open first. She simply lunged forward with a menacing growl thinking he'd be as easy to open up as the previous vampire - she was wrong. Just as her claws were about to reach the frail body, she felt a massive object hitting the side of her skull. her jaws snapped at the air right beside the man's head as she was led off-target and into the nearby wall.

She shook her head to get back into it and slowly raised her stare back up at him, showing her fangs and snarling even more than before. Digging her feet solidly in the ground, she raised herself to the maximum of her new height to be as menacing as possible then let out a powerful growl at her target just as he shouted back at her in a similar fashion.

Her upper lips fell back unveiling the full series of razor sharp fangs she had, snapping at him. His Blades mirrored her now fully extended claws. His show of strength and his lack of fear made the Lycan hesitate for a mere moment, but she lunged back at him all the same.

With no self regards for safety she got in close trying to lend multiple slash of her powerful claws, but the man evaded with relative ease. It angered her all the more, causing her to be push the attack to the point where she made mistakes. One such mistake caused her to almost impale herself on of the wrist blade of the man and let out a high pitch pain noise while stepping back. She blade had made it's way deep into her side.

Now on the defensive, her blood hunger calmed down enough for her to take a look around and realize in what a dangerous situation she was in. The hunters were busy with the vampires, but if more than one turned to face her first she couldn't handle them by herself. The vampires themselves were not allies either. The only solution to this was flight. Feelings like pride had all but left her in this state and were not troubling her in the slightest. She was lucky in the fact that Davos' might not realize, in his focused state, that she was envisaging fleeing. He probably expected another attack, and she was gonna give it to him.

The Lycan feinted another aggressive leap, but used her heightened reflexes to quickly evade any attacks and jump around him, bouncing off the wall in a great leap towards the staircase. There she turned around to stare at him one last time. In that final gaze there was more intelligence than a beast. There was hate, anger and a strong desire for vengeance. On all fours, she made her way up the stairs and exited the vampire's den in a matter of seconds.




@LordLinguinie
After her escape, Juniper ran through the nearby woods for a long time. She was not exactly aware of where she was going, but her instinct were bringing her back to the only place she felt was home: Rothenburgh.

She stopped between two trees as the walls came into sight, sniffing the evening's air. She ran up to the wall and easily enough climbed it up and, from there, jumped on a roof inside the city. Unaware of it herself, she was making her way to the old hideout where she had been welcomed by other beggars. To both Juniper and her inner wolf it was perceived as home and safe. There were still people on the streets, but she managed to remain unseen by remaining on the roofs for as long as possible.

Since the sun was setting, people were quick to empty the streets. Juniper judged it safe to make her way down into an alley since she was closer to her destination. Just as it came into sight, however, a noise caught her attention. Making her way down on the ground had caught the attention of a group of about six men who were making their way towards her right now: armed. Were they keeping watch on the place where a previous werewolf attack had occurred?

Everything after that happened in an instant. She gave up a as much as a fight as she could, but exhaustion and her wound sapped at her strength. While she managed to rip through the first guard she leaped on, tearing him to shreds, and severely wounding the second man who attacked her, she eventually was outnumbered. One spear piercing her tight brought her low and another man threw a net around her. They seemed to be well equipped to deal with such a threat while not being hunters.

Exhausted and beaten, Juniper turned back from a large whimpering beast to the form of a little crying girl. Her agony did not last long before she blacked out, however. One of the man threw a large blanket over her possibly to hide her from any prying eyes and prepared her for transportation.

Charillos smiled up at Mikhail at his question. "I would LOVE that!" he practically yelled, excitedly petting the wolf once again."We're not allowed to have pets. Mom says we couldn't take care of it and that they wouldn't like dad..."

Rosaline quickly shushed her brother, cutting him off. He shot him a stern look before turning her attention back to Mikhail. "Oh, the Hunter's Guild? I can show you were to go after we finish our shopping and I drop Charillos and Emmaline back off at home." She gave a sweet smile before turning to her two siblings. She was about to set off when she had a second thought.

"Actually, you can handle the shopping, right?" She referred to the two guards. They both nodded, stoically without a word. "Make sure to get enough fruits and vegetables. And a variety too. Not just one radish." She shot a sly smile to her sister who blushed and looked away.

She turned back to Mikhail, seeing the small girl standing near him. She hadn't heard what the girl said and simply tilted her head to the side in question. "Hello, sweetie. Do you need help with something?"

Aeva fumed so slightly, wrinkling her nose. The nerve of some people! She was not a little kid, she knew the stakes of life. The forest boy was intent on correcting her on how things worked. He was still dirty from the road and was carrying a wolf, and He -dared- to lecture her on the city's outlook. Still she gritted her teeth. If she threated him with becoming a toad it would gain nothing, so thinking of the honey cakes and the future gains, she decided to let his obvious patronizing attempt remain unanswered.

There were uses to this gullible fool still, the little witch thought. "More's the pity." She just shrugged, as she faced the young noblewoman in front of her. She also had a patronizing attitude, but her father told her not to mess with the nobles. The guards would no doubt sneak upon her if she tried to give her warts or bad breath, even. Curses took time. She knew how to do them though, she totally knew, even thought they had never worked before.

She straightened herself while she was addressed and reached in the depths of her mind for her arcane knowledge. "My Lady Weyenburg is too kind, but I do not seek help. I merely offer trade." She said, folding her arms. "I am a wise woman, you see. Fortune Telling, Potions, or even strange fare if you fancy, my lady." She said. "Mistletoe has a little of everything, and wouldn't mind selling it cheap today." She added, pushing her sales pitch further. And totally not related to honeycakes.

Rosaline smiled at the girl and shot a quick glance at Mikhail. She wondered if he caught the fact that the girl called her by her family name. She didn't expect him to stay ignorant to her social status forever, but she also didn't expect him to find out right then either.

While most of the items she needed to purchase were food related, she was sure she could use something that this girl was selling. "Hmm, let me think..." she paused, glancing up at the sky."My father has been rather ill lately. What sort of potions and remedies do you carry?"

Weyenburg...

The name sounded familiar, but Mikhail couldn't remember from where he had heard it before. Regardless, it must be Rosaline's family name. If the girl, Mistletoe, knew it, then that would mean Rosaline's family was of great help and importance to the city. However, Mikhail couldn't figure out if the term "Lady" was from respect or actual nobility. Of course, when he thought about it the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand on end. Rosaline certainly carried herself with grace and power, but that doesn't make her a noble.

Troubled by his thoughts, Mikhail lost focus on the conversation at hand. Instead his attention turned to the crowds around him. Snippets of conversation floated on the air. "Did you...Spiders...Sleep...Outpost destroyed...Hunter's Guild...Reward...Nest" Mikhail's eyes snapped wide as he put the pieces together. Smiling to himself, the young man cursed his rotten luck. Spiders, why did it have to be spiders...

Entering back into the conversation, Mikhail heard as Rosaline talked about her father. Being a little knowledgeable of natural remedies, Mikhail decided to bring up the subject. "Your father is ill? Do you know what the sickness is?"

"Ufu" Mistletoe's reaction to the attention was like as one would expected. Puffing like a toad, she bore a grin as wide as a lion's mouth. Her eyes full of smarm and smug traced back to the young man's face, to see what it would look like. She decided that he would still look better as a frog. Her attention however sprung back to the noblewoman, before the woodsman's intention to woo the lady interferred any further. He should've bought the potion, instead of trying to be useful to heal people.

Before the great Mistletoe, he would make a fool of himself, wouldn't he be? Aeva just nodded slightly, as she spread open her cloak, revealing several pouches with glass phials of unknown content. "Currently I do have love filters, potions of beauty, potions for old people's pains, potions of...virility"- she whispered this one a little lower- "but I am pretty sure short of healing a decapitation I can make any healing potion you would want on request, my Lady." Well, she did overshot her abilities a little there. Her potions could not restore mangled limbs, not yet...but anything short of a deadly pox, dismemberment or a cursed bite she was confident she could handle.

Rosaline was taken aback by the question. She really should have expected it but she hadn't thought of how to respond. "Uh, well...it's quite complicated," she answered, shifting her eyes to the side. "The healers are unsure what it is, but he is unable to leave the house. Some say..." She paused and looked around, then lowered her voice before speaking again. "St. Anthony's Fire." She quickly straightened up and tried to smile. "We don't want it getting around though, as it could cause a panic over an outbreak. So far, it is just him who is sick, however. And we've kept him quarantined in the house to avoid spreading any of the illness around."

She glanced between Mikhail and Mistletoe. "But please, don't tell anyone. A panic among the commonfolk is the last thing that we want."

"Catch this!"

Donnel tossed his hook at the big guy, wrapping around his arm before hooking into his sleeve. Not the flesh as Donnel wanted, but he'll take whatever he can get. He tried to pull against the giant, figuring that he could match the monster toe-to-toe. His first mistake. Certainly the giant vampire seemed surprised that he could not overpower Donnel, and the masked marauder held his ground. But then the vampire lord simply used both hands to wrath the chain towards him, and Donnel with it. "Shit!" He shouted as he was pulled towards the vampire. Then he raised his axe high into the air, slashing down at the hunter. Donnel raised his shield at an angle, and soon was thrown away from the front of the horde. Donnel looked down at his arm. It was numb, likely bruised, but fine. His shield had taken the brunt of the blow. Speaking of it, it was also sundered in half. Had Donnel not have his shield, he'd likely be down to one arm, or dead even. The vampire lord was certainly more powerful than Donny had first thought, but all the better when he slays the man.

With his hook still around his arm, Donnel stood up, hand on his axe, ready for the second go. The vampire wouldn't get another chance to pull Donnel in as he slashed through the chain; he had another hook so he wasn't worried about loosing one. Instead Donnel did something horrible; he had tossed another hook at one of the children, expecting the lord or another vampire to intercept the attack. And during that momentary distraction, Donnel would've charged at the lord, cleaving his blade to split the vampire's head from his neck.