---

---

Time: Morning
Location: Walking along the streets of Ember Grove
Interaction with: @princess Violet(mentioned), @Ithradine Lucius(mentioned)

---

The raindrops felt cool against his face as they fell causing an easy smile to spread over his face and a feeling of peace to envelope him where he stood on the sidewalk - head inclined upwards so as to better appreciate the weather. There were few things that Carter loved more than rainy days and the fact that they were able to enjoy one the first day he was able to explore his new town after spending the last couple of days unpacking...he's not about to take it as anything but a good omen.

Breathing in deeply, he took a minute to appreciate the smell in the air - to him the smell of rain is the smell of cleansing, the smell of life - before continuing on his way. Much as he would like to, he couldn't just stand in the rain all day long. He still had errands to run, groceries to buy, especially since breakfast this morning used the last bit of food in the fridge. Once I'm done, I'm going to take a nice long walk, maybe through the park? A smile crossed his face at the thought. And after I head back home, there are several blankets and books waiting for me as well.

Nodding his head as he finished planning, his rain-induced smile becoming just a little wider, he refocused his attention back to his current mission. Alright, first things first, getting supplies while acquainting myself with the town. Now I just need to figure out where the grocery store is...maybe in or near the mall?

One of his hands reached up, tousling his hair slightly as he tried to recall a map he had seen of the town, while the other one found its place in one of the pockets of his black bomber jacket. Some people might think it was strange that he was walking around without an umbrella, but the rain wasn't that heavy and he felt that he was dressed appropriately enough for it not to matter much anyway with his jeans, sneakers and moss green long-sleeved shirt.

Turning a corner, there seemed to be a few more people on the street as well as what seems to be a couple of businesses, so he figured that he wasn't too far off track at least. Giving a friendly smile and nod to a young woman and a dark-haired gentleman busy conversing with each other as he passed by, he figured that even if he does end up getting lost, he should be fine asking someone for directions if it really comes down to it.

---

Finn

Location: Alexi’s
Time: morning
Interacting with: Damian Crawford@FunnyGuy

“Beep….Beep……..beep…….beep” The sound of an alarm clock left the speakers of a cellphone to force a young wolf to start his day. Soon the beeping sound was accompanied by a mild groan as an arm reached for the cellphone from underneath the blankets. With a quick slide Finn ended that agonizing sound that forced him to leave his moment of slumber. His sleepy eyes stared at the lit up screen for a second. 9 am, zero messages, no missed calls. Still no word from his brother.

With he beeping sound gone, the lone wolf noticed how quiet it was. No sounds of his father talking agitated on the phone, no sound of his mother making breakfast in the kitchen with the tv on. Just an eerie silence. For the first time Finn realized he was all alone. No parents to take care of him. No pack to have his back, no coach to train him and no friends to hang around with. It was just him alone in a town he didn’t know and a world he did not understand. Finn knew one thing, and that is that Ember Grove was nothing like New York.

The young wolf left his bed and moved towards the small bathroom. The bathroom was nothing special, just a run down shower that hasn’t had an update since the 1970’s, a small sink with a mirror with a big crack in the center above it and a toilet. Finn looked in the mirror and watched his reflection while murmuring. ”It’s only us buddy. All on our own in some shitty little town. I better get my act together and set my priorities straight.” He knew that if he would not get a daily routine, the wolf would grow bored and slip back into old habits of causing trouble and petty crimes.

After splashing some water in his face Finn grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from his bag and started to write things down. ‘Priority 1: Find Mike, Priority 2: Prepare for next fight, Priority 3: Get additional source of income, Priority 4: Make friends/find pack?’ Once the young wolf was finished writing things down, he taped the piece on the door. Finn always wrote such stuff down. It was an exercise his brother had taught him. The young wolf needed it because his energetic mind would often go in a new direction every 10 seconds. This way Finn reminded himself of what truly was important.

Next up Finn opened his gym bag and grabbed a bunch of papers from it and spread them out on the small table in his room. He quickly grabbed the sheets with his training schedule and read them trough. Running, rope jumps and other physical activities where easy to do in Ember Grove but sparring and technique training would be more difficult to achieve. Maybe some local gym had a decent coach but most gym’s don’t really run practice sessions on the level for professional competition. Finn knew all to well that he still had to train hard regardless the circumstances. Losing a match isn’t such a big deal but losing a match because you are not properly fit due to lack of training could end his career before it would have taken off.

The young wolf quickly started his pre breakfast training routine with some stretching before moving on to the part with the pushups, sit-ups and squatting. Usually he would do rope jumps as well but since Alexi’s was located in an older building the young wolf believed is was better to do it outside. Once he was finished with the first part of his exercise routine Finn quickly put on his grey jogging suit and grabbed his cellphone and earbuds. He quickly cycled through his music and put on Slayer’s Reign in Blood album and made his way downstairs. Nothing beats Slayer when it comes to doing an 8 mile run.

His plan was to do a run towards the campground and see if he could find Boris’s pack but as Finn opened the door to the bar area he noticed that the first patron had already entered to get his morning booze or something. He could not really hear what the black haired dude was talking about due to slayer’s raining blood was blasting in his ears but noticed that the atmosphere was rather tense, as if something was about to happen. The young wolf quickly unplugged his earbuds and waved at the bartender and the black haired patron. “uhm, good morning? I guess”

Time:Morning
Location: Operation Humanity Headquarters
Interactions: @FunnyGuy Sean

---

Angel had laughed at Sean's words, though it was a bit forced. He was right. She was a grown woman grounded. It was pathetic. "You're their bitch as much as me, at least I'm not a loyal golden retriever." Listening to what had happened to the old man made her uncomfortable as much as hearing about the other crazy shit they did to people if they could even call those things people. "How welcoming of them to torture him upon arrival." She commented bluntly. It irked her at times that after going out of their way to drive home how much of monsters the other creatures were, they would do just as terrible things. Maybe they were all monsters in the end.

Thankfully, he switched the topic, but not to one she loved. "We got Taco Bell."She replied and she shrugged. "Probably an adrenaline rush from the battle or something, I'm sure he'll go back to his regular programming." Angel rolled her eyes as she spoke. This topic sucked too. "So. I'll meet up with you around dusk and you can tell me your plan on the ride. Just get some sleep before you pass out on the floor." Angel had found herself worrying over how tired he was, but she did not want to let him catch on to that, so she kept bringing it up in a nonchalant tone.

---

She had only let it her expression slip for a moment but it was enough for Lucius to know he had caught her off-guard. Lucius himself maintained a gentle, kind expression with the poise and stature of someone who possesses a great deal of wisdom. Regal, yet soft "Ah, I appreciate it. While I do love the rain, it's never good to be in it for too long." He said in response to her sheltering him with her umbrella. However, she quickly shifted the conversation onto him. It was not too surprising. He had mostly secluded himself for the past couple weeks with the Children of the Black Moon exclusively and only rarely ventured into the public areas of Ember Grove. Two weeks and he had usurped the the spineless wrench of a leader from her position. Now it was time to plant the seeds of dissent in Ember Grove one step at a time. However, he needed far more information about the different forces in play.

Lucius nodded in response to her question with sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck "Yeah, you got me. I'm still trying to figure out where everything is. People seem to think I'm a little scary so its hard to get directions." He laughed at his own misfortune. It occurred to Lucius that he might be able to avoid the hassle of finding the proper body to imitate, if she would simply introduce him to her coven. While playing this kind teacher character was painful at times, it was less so then some of the other lives he's taken over the years. The first step was letting her known exactly what he was in terms of being a warlock. Second, would be to earn her relative trust. The latter he was dreading. "Inde rem hanc adducite." He spoke just loud enough for her to hear, making a hand movement similar to a performing magician.

A red rose with a shortened stem appeared in his hand, a rather cliche item for a magic trick but that was the point. Bystanders would simply see it as the same magic trick they've seen a thousand times but only Violet would know otherwise, at least so was his hope."Not too bad, right? I thought learning some simple tricks would help break the ice in a new place." He lightheartedly said with a cheery expression. In the unlikely event she was not a witch, playing it off as a simple magic trick protected his identity as well. Infiltrate and identify the main threats then proceed to eliminate. Any coven that was not the Disciples posed a threat to his end goal. A process honed over a thousand years of trial and conflict. At last he had the chance to make his ultimate goal come true.

Time: Late Morning
Location: Alexei's
Interaction with: @Milkman Finn

---

Damien had just downed the shot of tequila before his attention was pulled from the bar and to a passerby giving he and the bartender an unconfident greeting.

"Good morning!" The bartender beamed to Finn while Damien looked upon him with amusement before giving a brief silent wave. The bartender slipped back into being slightly uncomfortable while Damien pointed into the empty shot glass in front of him

"Another…" Damien didn't even need to turn to address Finn who seemed to be paying close attention to him. "Need something?"

I can kill you if you'd like.

Time: Morning
Location: Operation Humanity Headquarters
Interaction with: @princess Angel

---

Taco Bell? How the fuck does she keep her body so… No drifting Sean. Sean struggled to pay attention to Angel, and managed to do so with some good ol' fashioned willpower. Well, he tried his best at least. Maybe I'll let myself get experimented on in order to get... the power of sleeplessness! Damn, I'd be a fucking… shit! Stop. Drifting. Sean.

Sean sighed at himself before nodding at Angel's words in order to let her know he hadn't zoned off on her.

"Yeah… dusk." He said before turning from his teammate and walking away. He couldn't help but let a chuckle escape him. "And I always pass out on the floor!" Sean called out as he exited the track area. It was virtually a fact that Sean usually slept at his desk where he had a comfy sleeping bag staged. He had an actual bed at here, but he often complained that his living quarters were too far from both the facility's gym and his workspace.

Sean hit the locker room first to shower and change before making his way to workspace so he could slink into his sleeping back and tuck himself beneath his desk. Now you can drift, Sean. A sweet smile formed on his face.

Time: Morning
Location: Vie et Mort HQ and the woods by the lake
Interaction with: Desiree @Potter, Kade @Kkushmar

Had Noah’s heart still been capable of beating it certainly would have skipped a beat as Desiree addressed him as her ‘favorite boy’. He was left speechless by the queen’s presence; all he could do was listen to his commands and bask in her dark glow. Noah listened closely, overjoyed to have been giving the task of tracking down the mutt for Desiree, he’d make sure Luna paid for the vampires who died because of her. What an exciting game he could make of his new job, toying with the werewolf, convincing her come willing back to Desiree and a place that would bring her nothing but torment. This was a wonderful chance to tune his ability to manipulate others and to impress the older vampires with what he could do. Noah only nodded to show Desiree he understood his tasks; first to clean up his mess then, the more fun game, to track down Luna. He was off as soon as she waved a hand at him, signaling that she was done with him for now.

So, Noah headed back to the woods, following his queens command to clean up the mess he’d left. He figured he could tie the body to a big rock and drop in in the lake, which seemed easy enough but he didn’t much care for the idea of carrying the dead guy around. He was going to get dead guy smell all over him and then the smell would end up in his car, which meant that Noah was going to have to do more work later to get rid of the stench. It also occurred to him that he could’ve brought a change of clothes with him but he hadn’t thought of that before he got to the woods, luckily, he had at least remembered to bring rope which he carried with him.

Noah wandered around the woods trying to retrace his steeps but nothing that he remembered clearly from last night was all that helpful. He could recall with prefect clarity the thrill of stalking and chasing his prey, how their scents had changed once the fear hit them, and how delicious it had all made the blood taste. None of that was helpful in remembering where exactly he’d left a body though, and the woods all looked the same to him, just a bunch of mud and trees. At least the sun was hiding, as nothing but an endless stream of rain shielded Noah from the harsh rays of light that normally kept him inside during the day. Although it was preferable to sunlight the current day’s weather left him soaking wet and covered in mud from the wandering the forest only adding to his annoyance at having to take care of such a boring task when he should be looking for the runaway wolf.

Noah had settled on trying to sniff out the scent of death, a task made more difficult by the pouring rain. This took longer than expected after his nose lead him to a half-eaten dead raccoon before he finally found his way to the dead guy. Oddly enough the dead guy was not alone, and Noah watched as a human poked around at the corpse. He tilted his head and remained silent as he studied the man and wondered if he was a hunter. If he was then Noah had quite the dilemma as Desiree had told him to clean up this mess and to stay away from the hunters. Clearly he could not do both, and since he had already spent so much time looking for the dead guy, Noah decided he did not think the man snooping around was a hunter and he was pretty sure he had enough rope to weigh down two bodies in and drop them into the lake. It wasn’t like Desiree could expect him to know which humans were hunters after all.

“See something you like?” Noah asked as a playful smirk crossed his face. “I could show you how I did it.” He added widening his smile to show off his fangs.

Liam had spent the night sleeping in a folding chair outside in front of the trailer where Luna rested. Should anything happen during the night he would personally see to it that the young wolf in his care was protected. It wasn't that he doubted the members of his pack who patrolled the grounds, or the ability of the others to fight should trouble find its way inside the campgrounds, but that he had given his word that she would be safe here, and Liam did not give his word lightly. Seeing another wolf in such a state had affected him deeply; not only the torture endured from the vampires, such brutality was to be expected of creatures of death, but the fact that she had seemed afraid of her own kind as well, made him wonder what sort of hell Luna had escaped from. The threat of these Vie et Mort vampires also weighed heavy on him and Liam couldn’t shake the feeling that he might be biting off more than he could chew. He’d heard of Ember Grove being a hotspot for supernatural activity but the whole town gave off a sense of danger more intense than any he’d felt before. All he could hope for was that he hadn’t brought his pack to a place of certain death.

All of this led to night of restless sleep and the morning greeted him with a heavy and cold rain, an ominously gloomy start to the day. He got up from the chair and stretched out his sore muscles, noting that the bite from the night before had mostly healed up. An outstretched awning provided just enough cover for him to light and smoke a cigarette, which along with a cup of black coffee, was always his preferred way to start a day. Getting some coffee would have to wait until after he checked in on Luna though. So, after finishing his cigarette Liam knocked on the door of the RV so as not to startle Luna before heading inside and out of the rain.

"Hey, little wolf, how you feeling today?” He asked.

Finn

Location: Alexi’s
Time: morning
Interacting with: Damian Crawford@FunnyGuy

“I can kill you if you like”. Those words resonated through the young wolf’s head. What was this dude thinking? Was he picking a fight? Finn found it incredibly hard to read if the black haired man was joking or serious. At first look you’d think that this patron would be one of the regulars. The kind that enter on opening and leave totally wasted at closing hour but the man was far to clean looking to fall in that category. Not to mention he seemed to be distant to the bartender. From some no-life alcoholic you’d expect a sense of defeatism in his voice and body language and yet he came across as calm and confident. As if he was convinced of his own superiority. His presence in Alexi’s gave off an eerie vibe.

For a moment Finn observed the man, as if he somehow could figure out what he was and what brought him to this place. Not that it worked, this was Alexi’s and the owner made sure that any trace of the supernatural would be masked as long as people where in the bar. The big question was, where did this eerie vibe fit into Finn’s list of priorities he wrote down earlier. Somewhere down at the very bottom or not at the list at all. In the end, this odd fellow was nothing more then a distraction and yet the young wolf’s gut feeling was that he could not be trusted and that he was here with a purpose. Although he doubted that the purpose would involve himself.

Finn decided to let it go. Whatever the dude came for was not his business and sticking his nose into it would only distract him from what truly mattered. The young wolf sighed and replied with a sarcastic undertone “Not much, maybe a picture of you that I can hang on the wall, just as a small reminder to do whatever it takes to not end up like some dud downing shots at 10 a.m. in some run down bar.” Finn paused a bit as he walked to the door, turning one more time to the strange fellow at the bar and spoke“ Enjoy your drinks and have a nice day.”

Bzzt.

Bzzt.

His hand swung wildly for his phone, eyes struggling to open with an accompanying groan. Once his digits grasped his phone Felix brought it up to his face and forced open his eyes. A text from Violet.

"I doun tht wsrlpck."

What the fuck does that mean? Doun? Wsrlpck? What’s a wsrlpck? Woodpecker? Wallspeck? Wallpaper? Warlock! I doun the warlock? I found the warlock?

I FOUND THE WARLOCK! FUCK! Felix sat bolt upright and reached for his glasses. Only to find that the bedside table wasn’t his. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. A completely different room, furniture, bedding and a quietly snoring guy lying beside him. Oh fuck! he thought, as the memories of the night before came flooding back. They’d had a great time with Monica - trust his cousins to adopt a newbie so quickly. He’d then had a few too many but definitely recalled making out with a guy in the bathroom and swapping numbers. He just about recalled getting home but then must have snuck out once more through his own ward to this guy’s place.

And now here he was. Hungover, in a place he didn’t know, with no useful spell casting equipment whilst his cousin was possibly in serious danger from that sinister warlock. He slowly slipped out of the sheets and grabbed his clothes as he tiptoed out of the bedroom. He winced at the sunlight as he quickly dressed in the lounge and let himself out of the apartment. Only then did he reply to Violet:



He orientated himself on the street outside and started the chilly walk home, hoping that the brisk walk, fresh air and decent coffee en route, would clear the cobwebs from this mind.

Time: Late Morning
Location: Alexei's
Interaction with: @Milkman Finn

---

Damien smiled to himself knowing the young man couldn't help but linger. It lasted maybe a few seconds, but the brief connection he felt with this stranger was unmistakable.

Identifying other wolves was not something he sought, but it was good to know what kinds of pieces were on the playing board. Lucy had informed him of a pack currently residing at the campgrounds to the west and was sure it was the same pack that also clashed with a vampire clan. Damien had noted all of this and wondered where this fellow fit in as light verbal jabs were sent his way from him. As he said the stranger said his farewell, Damien turned to him and spoke.

"Wait." His mouth had a slight upturn as he gazed at Finn. "You're new around here, huh?"

Packless too?

"I'd be careful. The town is quiet, but far from safe… unless you make the right friends of course." Damien smiled and turned back to the bar. "Right?" Damien rhetorically asked the bartender before grabbing his shot and downing its contents. He winced before his smile returned. Once he set his shot glass on the table he pointed to it. "Last one." The bartender nodded silently as she took the glass. To refill it again. She'd definitely let Rose and Kyran know they kept bad company next time she saw them.

---

---

Time: Morning
Location: On his way to Ember Grove Mall
Interaction with: NPC-James Winslow

---

I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things
We can do the tango just for two
I can serenade and gently play on your heart strings
Be your Valentino just for you
Ooh love ooh loverboy
What're you doin' tonight, hey boy

Pausing in his search for the mall to pull out his phone, Carter glanced at the screen, grinning at the caller id that popped up. Finger hovering over the answer button, he mouthed along to the words of his ringtone, having long since memorized the song.

Set my alarm, turn on my charm
That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy

Swiping to answer at the literal last second before the call would have gone to voicemail, he continued walking - head tilted slightly to keep most of the rain off of his phone - as he greeted his caller with a smile like a cat that got into the cream. "Carter's phone, how can I help you?"

"Would it kill you to pick up sooner?" Carter's smile just grew "It very well might. That's not a risk I'm feeling all that inclined to take, thank you very much! Also, I love that song." Smile softening slightly at the ensuing grumbles from the other end. "How're things back home, James? Any particular reason for calling? Not that I'm complaining mind, but its still early." Turning a corner he waited for his brother to respond and was rewarded with an amused huff.

"Why do you think I'm calling? Someone needs to make sure you don't sleep the day away."

"Oi!" Carter tried to sound offended, he really did, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing. While James rose with the sun, he rose with the smell of lunch - it balances out pretty well considering James can't function without eight hours of sleep while Carter can go three days with only five or six if he has to. The only reason Carter isn't still asleep now though, is because today is Friday and the stores will probably be way more packed than usual. While he doesn't mind people, it's not the easiest to run errands in the midst of crowds of them.

"Things are alright over here, me and Dad are already making plans to turn your room into either a game-room or a home gym, we're still deciding." Huffing as he crossed the street - he looked both ways, don't worry! - Carter answered as indignantly as possible. "The bed's not even cold yet and you're already trying to erase my existence? I'm glad that I mean so much to you. Make sure not to damage any of the books I left back there with your renovations, though, or we'll have words."

Laughter followed that statement. "Don't worry, we'll keep you're precious books safe." Carter gave an indignant sniff at his brother, in spite of his grin. "You better." "How about you, little pup, how are you settling into town? The locals treating you alright? Meet the local wolf pack yet?"

Nose scrunching up at the mention of the childhood nickname James picked up from their mom, Carter wisely decided not to open that particular can of worms at the moment. "So far so good, I just finished unpacking my stuff and am out on a supply run as we speak. I've only met a couple of people, but they seem nice enough from what I can gather and as for the local pack...no luck yet. It's only been a few days, though and I haven't really had the chance to look until now so, that could change soon enough."

The mall finally coming into view, Carter quickened his pace and swiftly cut off a response from his brother. "Sorry Jay, but I need to go. Got shopping to do and you always make me forget something from my list. I'll call you later, yeah? Tell Dad I said hi." There was a sigh on the other end and Carter could practically see the eye-roll James must be giving him right now. "Alright, don't let me keep you. I'm only your brother, after all. Take care of yourself over there, Carter. Chow." The last part was said with a soft tone, only ever used when James was talking to his little brother and Carter made sure to return the favor. "Bye, Jay, stay safe."

The call ended and his phone was back in his pocket just as Carter finally entered his destination. Giving his head a quick shake to dislodge a couple of rain-drops (a habit he picked up to annoy his brother and hasn't been able to ever shake - not that he ever really tried to, mind) before setting off. The smell of various restaurants and food-stands drifted through the air from the food court, stores proudly displayed their merchandise through their windows and people were walking around through it all, partaking wherever their interests beckons them. Carter grinned slightly as he joined them, eyes peeled for his target.

---

---

Nothing disturbed Helene on the journey to her destination, allowing her the single company of her thoughts. She had already decided on the piece she was going to play. Niccolo Paganini Caprice No. 24 in A Minor Op. 1. Widely regarded as an incredibly difficult solo to play, Helene had spent most of her free time mastering pieces just like it. It had been her obsession since the first time she held an instrument in her hands. Music flowed through her veins instead of blood. Her violin was a special construction designed for the incredible wear Helene put on her instruments due to her vampiric qualities. Now at last, she had arrived at the first destination on the path to her dream.

The strength in her knees began to waver as she stared up at the sign to the restaurant. It could have been any place but knowing that she would be performing in front of real people? Well it chilled this vampire to the core. Helene took a deep breath and collapsed her umbrella before heading inside. Stage-fright. That was what it was called, and she was terrified as she followed the directions to the stage "This way, mademoiselle." What if she wasn't good enough? What if her dream was the foolish notion of a child? What if it would have been better to stay in her gilded cage? These and many other questions assaulted her mind as she took her steps towards the stage. It was so overwhelming that she felt like crying. Running away.

Helene placed her violin's case on a table provided and took out the black instrument outlined in silver, leaving her umbrella off to the side. Two men and one woman sat in chairs next to a round table in front of the stage and she could feel their eyes on her. Holding the violin in one hand and the bow in the other, she closed her eyes and opened them a moment later. This was not the time to have second thoughts. She could do this! No matter how scared or nervous she was, she couldn't back down. And so, she turned to face the three who would judge her fate with a determined look in her eyes. Just from observation, the women appeared to be in her mid-thirties while the one man appeared in his late-thirties and the other about early-forties. Helene, of course, was much older than them but she would appear no older than her mid-twenties and she could see that judgement in their eyes already.

The older gentleman was the first one to speak "Would you please give us your name and what you plan to play?" His tone hinted at Germanic descent but one that has been in America for a long time.

Helene gave a nod and spoke clearly "My name is Helene Si-St.Claire. Yes, Helene St. Claire. I shall be playing Niccolo Paganini Caprice No. 24 in A Minor Op. 1." She had nearly given her clan name.

A shared look of surprised gripped the judges, with the female judge seemingly a little offset "Are you sure that is what you'd like to play?"

Helene gave a beaming smile and a simple reply"Yes."

The female judge looked at her fellow judges and shrugged, the look on her face made it seem like she didn't believe Helene could pull it off "Very well, Miss St. Claire. Please begin." The oldest gentleman said, taking hold of a clipboard and pen as did the others.

Helene inhaled deeply just for her own focus, putting in her the proper mindset to let the spirit of the music flow into her. Years of practice was fervently engaged as she began to slide the bow across the strings of the violin, her fingers deftly manipulating the strings to play the exact note she wanted. Her eyes closed soon after as she began, allowing her to completely put the judges out of her mind. It was just her and the music, pitting her skill against the complexity of the piece in a heated battle. Her hopes, dreams, and passion flowed into her performance and soon her body began to move with it. What was only minutes felt like centuries but soon enough her performance was reaching its end. As the final note was struck, Helene slowed opened her eyes, nervous about what she might see.

The three judges who had shown some disbelief in her piece selection were utterly blown away, their expressions appearing as though they could not believe that such performance had come from such a young and unheard of woman. Their senses finally seemed to return to them, but they looked at each other as if not sure what to say. However, the older gentleman smiled at Helene and rose from his seat and turned to face the man who had shown her to the stage "Monsieur. We have concluded the auditions, please turn anyone else who shows up away.". Helene wasn't entirely sure what was going as he came up on the stage "Miss St. Claire. In the twenty years I have been performing, never once have I heard a performance quite like yours. It would be our honor to invite you to the Sierra Quartet." He said with extending his hand out.

The words didn't even register at first Helene was so shocked. They were willing to close down their auditions just to have her? Her gaze turned to the other two judges who smiled back at her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she took the gentleman's hand in an enthusiastic handshake, one in which she might have gripped too hard."I-I..graciously accept.It was hard to even speak with just how happy she was right now. Living in her mother's shadow for so long and finally she felt validation for something she accomplished. The three people had no idea what this meant to her, nor did they know of her identity as a vampire. She suddenly felt light-headed and her eyes locked onto the large vein that pulsed in gentleman's neck and all the blood that must flow through it....

"Miss, are you alright?" She snapped back and released her grip, realizing she had not let go of his hand yet.

Helene laughed it off and nodded "That performance must have taken more out of me than I thought."

---

Genesis strode casually out of the sweet shop, her two companions following closely behind. While Illia lapped up the chocolate frosting on her cupcake, and Oliver took frightfully large bites of his pretzel, she took in their surroundings. There was no shortage of mom and pop shops to explore, but she found herself drawn to the mall. It was a safe location, with plenty of people and plenty of stores that would be attractive to both Oliver and Illia.

”What do you guys think of the mall?” She asked, already altering their course to guide them there.

”I just hope they have a Lush! I need some good conditioner…” Illia remarked, lifting a clump of frizzy auburn hair to her eyes.

Oliver grunted in agreement through a mouthful of pretzel, chewing slowly. His tongue darted out past his lips, licking a crumb off the corner of his mouth.

Genesis winced at the sight, forcing a small smile. ”Alrighty, mall it is.”

In about five minutes, the group found themselves inside the mall. Genesis was greeted by an array of sights, sounds, and…interesting smells. It was just as overwhelming and nauseating as any other large, commercial area, but she hid her distaste well. Besides, the Greens seemed to be overjoyed, which was all she needed.

Making her way past a directory, Genesis decided against getting directions and opted to float around the individual stores, seeing what piqued the pair’s interest. Oliver gravitated heavily toward the tech stores and kiosks for a time, gradually losing interest until he pulled out his headphones, plugged them into his old phone, and tuned out entirely.

Illia was inexhaustible, leading Genesis into clothing stores and shops filled with smelly goods, only to walk out empty-handed. They repeated this pattern for a time, before eventually beginning to wander without entering any stores.

”Ya know, staring at your phone like that is gonna strain your eyes!” Illia said, trying to draw Oliver’s attention and annoy him at the same time.

Oliver said nothing, still staring down at the video playing on his phone.

”What are you even watching?” Illia asked, lips slightly pursed. She despised how he was able to ignore her so easily.

Again, the older boy said nothing.

Genesis watched the interaction, wondering who’d come out on top in their little squabble.

Illia huffed, creeping closer before launching a hand toward the phone. Seizing it, she tore it from his grasp and tapped on the screen. ”Too Many Cooks? What--hey!” She exclaimed as Oliver wrenched the phone from her hand.

”You’re being disrespectful.” Oliver quipped, moving to plug his headphones back in.

”And you’re being a shut-in! In public!” Illia spat, reaching out to grab the phone once more. Oliver stiff-armed her attack, sending her flailing into a stranger.

As soon as Illia’s eyes flashed yellow, Genesis stepped in, grasping Illia’s wrist and tugging her in close. ”Calm down, yeah?” Her voice was motherly and quiet, a gentle scolding for their public setting.

Raising her voice, she addressed the man Illia had been shoved into. ”Hey, sorry about that! My friends are just a little rowdy.” She waved at the man, hoping he’d let it slide without making a fuss. ”You didn’t drop anything, did you?”

Time: Morning
Location: Sweet Keks
Interactions: @MsMorningstar Genesis, Oliver, and Illia

---

Sorrel had heard the door open to the shop and she glanced up to see a trio enter. She gave them a friendly smile as she responded cheerfully, ”Good morning! What can I do for you guys?” She listened to their orders, giggling a little at the young woman who wanted the chocolate cupcake. ”Lucky you, I just finished frosting this one and I think it has your name written all over it.” She said as she handed her the cupcake she’d just finished frosting. She then went about getting two fresh and warm giant pretzels and handing them over to the other two customers. She offered them some homemade beer cheese if they wanted it to dip the pretzels and then took their payment. ”Have a good rest of your day.” She told them as they left.

She then glanced over at Helmar who’d sat there quietly the whole time watching them. ”Well it looks like we’ve got quite the influx of werewolves here in Ember Grove recently.” She told him, having smelt the familiar scent on the trio with her alpha senses. She briefly wondered if they were also from Liam’s pack or a different one. Perhaps she’d see them again when she went to go visit Luna later in the day.

Detective Wyatt Hawthorne rode in the passenger seat of the nondescript black car while his partner, Detective Brady drove. His partner always insisted on driving and when pushed about it he went on some tangent about not being able to trust kids these days to put down the damn phone and watch the road. Although Brady didn’t look that much older than Wyatt, he was a seventy something year old werewolf, so he was about as much fun as any disgruntled boomer. All in all, it was better not to get the old dog going as Wyatt didn’t care to listen to yet another rant about his generation. Early this morning a body had been found in dumpster and the first on the scene had said it looked like an animal mauling. Funny thing about animal attacks was they didn’t tend to toss a body out with the trash. Bizarre animal attacks were nothing new to Ember Grove, and while the majority of the cities police department remained blissfully unaware of the supernatural elements in town crimes with the obvious markers of supernatural involvement were frequently kicked over to Wyatt and his partner by those who truly knew what went on here.

They pulled up to an alley way already blocked off by the bright yellow police tape and the two detectives headed into the alley. A steady rain was already doing it’s best to muddle the investigation, washing away traces of the killer. They got a good look at the body before it was taken away, deep puncture wounds in the poor kid’s back and covered in bruises and abrasions. The man’s ID read Kyran Wright, and Wyatt recognized him from a local bar, Alexi’s, where Kyran had worked. They continued poking around the alleyway, noting the bloodied cracks in some of the bricks. If the state of Kyran’s body hadn’t made it obvious enough, the amount of force in which he was tossed around the alleyway meant whoever killed this guy had a lot of rage.

"Pretty cut and dry werewolf attack, any new players in town?” Wyatt asked his partner once they were out of earshot of the other, strictly human, officers.

“Several, can’t say I know much about any of ‘em though.” His partner replied.

“I’ve seen the victim working over at Alexi’s, we should stop by there and see if he had any enemies. Maybe he pissed off the wrong customer last night.” Wyatt suggested, he didn’t know much about the guy beyond where he worked so he hoped maybe his co-workers would have a bit more insight. Brady simply nodded in agreement as his cell phone rang and he took a moment to take the call.

“Seems like a good place to start but it’ll have to wait, we’ve got another body in dumpster over by Twisted Lizard, this one’s been drained of blood and has some rather telling puncture wounds on the neck.” Brady said shaking his head. It seemed that the supernatural residents of Ember Grove had been rather busy last night.

"Sounds like a conspiracy to make sure we’re working all weekend long.” Wyatt added dryly.

Finn

Location: Alexi’s / Lover’s lake / Campsite
Time: morning
Interacting with: Damian Crawford@FunnyGuy
Mentions: Liam Donovan@helo

Before Finn had the chance to leave Alexi’s the black haired fellow at the bar asked him to wait. What came next was a big surprise. The young wolf turned around and stared at the man with a mild shock on his face. How did he figure that out? This is Alexi’s, he’s not supposed to be capable of sensing his supernatural side inside this joint. Subconsciously Finn touched his wristband as his eyes tried to see if this fellow was wearing one too but he couldn’t see. Even more concerning was the fact that the young wolf still could not sense anything from the dude at the bar. Finn was clearly still under the spell of people who ran this bar.

After a few seconds the young wolf regained his composure from the sudden revelation from the man at the bar. For a moment he eyed the man, searching for a way that he could determine what he was. Was the black haired dude truly a lycanthrope as his wording suggested? But Finn knew that as long as he remained in Alexi’s he could never truly confirm it. ”Got some business in this town, not intending to stay in this hole afterwards.”

Finn waited to open the door. He didn’t trust the man and did not want to give him too much information so he deliberately skipped answering his question about being in a pack. However his surprised reaction the the question probably had given away more than he intended. One more time the young man turned around and spoke before he stepped out into the pouring rain. ” Thanks for the advice and have a nice day”

With the rain pouring down on his head Finn wondered if he had made the right decision to walk away from the bar. Quickly the young wolf shaked off this eerie feeling and put in his earbuds again only to notice that his music has shifted away from slayer to ‘Gonna fly now’, a movie score. ” I guess I should find some stairs to climb now” murmured the young man to himself as he started to run east. Finn quickly picked up his pace, passing pedestrians and joggers as he made his way to the bridge and crossed the stream at road 68.

Finn had planned his route in advance. He knew where to go from studying a map at Alexi’s. After crossing the bridge, the young wolf took a turn right and took a trail that ran parallel to the stream towards lover’s lake. Mud was splashing all around as his powerful steps projected him forward through the rain.. For a moment Finn thought that had might have been wiser to run in town rather than take this muddy trail. Now he would be all soaked and muddy when he’d arrive at his destination. But that was nothing a shower and a change of clothes couldn’t fix.

With lover’s lake in sight Finn knew he was getting closer to the campgrounds. Subconsciously the young man picked up his pace even more as he hoped he might find some answers at the wolfpack that was residing there. With firm steps the young wolf dashed alongside the lake, jumping over some long haired hobo that was sleeping under a windbreaker that was sleeping near the lake as he continued to follow the trail. It was only a matter of minutes that Finn had circled the lake and made his way to the road again.

The young man used the last mile to the campground as a cool down. The entrance to the campground was all quiet. Finn walked up to and placed his feet firmly onto the ground to do some post workout stretching. Suddenly the snapping of a twig broke the peaceful silence that the forest provided. As the young wolf turned around he spotted 3 men who didn’t look too happy to see him.

The typical scent of lycanthropes filled the air as the small group of persons quickly surrounded the young man that was stretching his muscles near a tree. Finn smiled as he realized that he had probably found the pack Boris belonged to. ” Good morning, I hope you don’t mind that I finished my stretching first? You know, you always need to do a good cooldown after a workout, otherwise you risk injury”

The youngest of the group stepped forward and pushed Finn against the tree and shouted “Quit fooling around! Who are you and what is your business here!”

Before Finn had even a time to respond one of the older people dragged the youngster off him and pushed him aside. He turned to his younger companion and gave him a quick angry stare. “Go get Liam, now!”. The young man growled as he sprinted towards the campgrounds.

---

---

Time: Morning
Location: Ember Grove Mall
Interaction with: Oliver Green, Illia Green and Genesis Stewart - @MsMorningstar

---

Carter had just finished up his shopping a few minutes prior and was doing a quick round of the mall, trying to think of anything else he might need back at his new place while trying to memorize the mall's layout. He had just stumbled across a bookstore and was examining their stock through the window, making a note to come back later for a better look, when he heard the sounds of a light scuffle taking place behind him. It sounded playful enough, so he wasn't planning on paying it any mind had it not been for the smell.

He had only ever associated that smell with two people before; his mother and his friend from university - the only thing they had in common was lycantrophy, which could only mean...

Hands tightening slightly around his bags, he started turning around for a better look at whoever was behind him, when a young girl came stumbling into him. Taking a step back to help balance himself, he dropped the bags he was clutching in his right hand to the ground and reached out to try to help steady her as well.

"Whoa, easy there." He hoped he sounded calmer than he was feeling. Three. There was three of them. He's only ever interacted with two other werewolves in the past (one of whom was his mother!) and only ever with one at a time! Was he hoping to meet other wolves upon moving here? Yes. But that didn't make this feel any less surreal.

One of them looked similar to the girl who bumped into him, he’s probably her relative as well as the reason she went flailing in the first place if the glare she was giving him while straightening up was any indication. The third one, seemed to be the head of the group – at least that’s the impression he got from the way she tugged the first girl close to her.

”Calm down, yeah?” Her voice was quiet and reminded him of whenever his mother scolded him and James for something while they were in public.

She addressed him next, ”Hey, sorry about that! My friends are just a little rowdy.” giving him a wave which Carter returned with a slightly awkward smile. ”You didn’t drop anything, did you?”

Okay, just stay calm, don't stare and remember that the're just regular people. Just act like you usually do and you should be fine. It's not like you just met a unicorn, or Aslan or a talking horse or anything like that. Nope, just others like you, no big deal.

Giving a friendly smile he shook his head slightly. "It's fine, don't worry about it." Quickly scooping up the bags on the ground, he was relieved to see nothing had fallen out. "My breakables were in my other bags, so all's good. I'm Carter by the way." Turning to the girl who bumped into him, he gave a smile. "I hope you weren't hurt at all?"

So far so good...