Arista

Project: Revival

"I'm sorry." Aneira whispered softly into the silence, heart still pounding like a drum against her temples. She's not really sure what exactly just happened, but with the two wolves gone all she can feel is relief. Her stomach which had been in knots without her knowledge, relaxes and with it her entire body. She feels like a puppet with its strings cut as she falls back onto the floor, head lightly thumping on the wooden floor as her eyes focus on the ceiling above. Within her mind the wolf that's she's slowly realizing is her other half, fidgets and whines softly. The ghost of Lucian's hand on her knee lingers even as he moves away from the door towards the kitchen, tension leaks out of her with a long silent sigh until she feels like she's more settled.

She's not sure what a Pack is, but the way the older man had spoken about it gave her the impression that it was something important. It had her mind racing even as she remained sprawled out on the floor, ears tracking Lucian despite him still be close enough to follow with her eyes. The pups grow bored of her and move away to follow the man in hopes of getting food possibly, Aneira slowly sits up and then rolls her shoulders. Footsteps and a unique breeze of a mix of scents drew her gaze up, eyes blinking as Lucian hovered over her. The phone feels odd in her hands as it's handed to her, brows knitting together at Lucian's words and his lack of eye contact.

She reaches out without conscious thought, arms winding around his shoulders even as her heels lift up from the floor. A low rumbling sound comes from deep within her chest as she gently, carefully squeezes him in a hug, uncaring that she has to reach so high to do so. His scent has soured into something that makes her uneasy, plus she thinks they may both need this small act of comfort right now. Pulling away after a few moments, Aneira silently dials the number that Lucian gives on keys that feel far too small until she's done.

She presses 'Call' without hesitation seconds after, eyes flicking up to her companion as the dial tone echoes in the silence. Impulsively she hip checks him and then darts away on silent feet, phone in hand and a small smile curling her lips as two furry bodies scamper around her heels.

Project: Revival

She may be sitting on the ground, a puppy in her lap and hardwood beneath her thighs and palms. But she feels adrift and her head won't settle on a solid thought, eyes staring forward but not focusing on the bloody hand being held out. There's silence in the apartment, but her ears are roaring with the pounding of her own heart and nothing else.

She can't make that decision. She couldn't decide on something like this after literally just having faught against the pair not even ten minutes ago. She's not flailing right now because she's frozen where she's seated, Lucian's body heat a solid presence at her side. She swallows around a tight throat, fingers twitching against Echo's fur and her thigh.

A cool nose nudging agaisnt her cheek jolts Aneira into motion, little paws pressing against her collarbone has her eyes blinking rapidly. Pipper has her head tilted to the side, Echo looks unimpressed even as he lowers himself to his hunches once more. "I don't know what that means." She admits softly under her her breath, head lifting to focus on the older man and young woman with a frown pulling her lips down. There's a coil of emotions in her chest that scream at her, her head remains oddly quiet and it makes her jittery.

"What do you mean you don't know what that means?" The woman asks around a huff, manicured hand settling on her hip. She shifts and leans against the wall, hair spilling over her shoulder as she focuses her eyes on them. "A Pack is family, we make the initial bond through blood." She gestures with her chin towards the man who still has his hand out, fingers lifting to card them through chestnut-brown hair.

"But I'm not like you." Aneira adds with a shake of her head, lifting an arm to gesture to both herself and Lucian who hasn't moved or retracted his wings. "I'm not a full-blooded Werewolf by nature so this doesn't- I can't-" She falls silent with her teeth digging into her lip, what feels like a hysterical laugh bubbling within her throat.

"Why don't we give them a day, boss?" The woman asks after a beat, gaze flicking between the two of them before shifting away. Her tone is nonchalant and almoat flippant, like this isn't something time sensitive and important. Aneira swallows again and flicks her gaze to the older man, who hasn't once taken his eyes off of her and has his head slightly tilted now.

She can't just choose without taking it all in, without doing some research. This isn't just for herself afrer all, she has others to take into consideration.

"Tomorrow morning." She blurts out, knee beginning a slow bounce against the floor. "I'll have answer in the morning." Aneira adds with her tongue darting out to wet dry lips, free hand itching to reach for Lucian's shirt to grip onto. She won't force her winged-companion to call his friend when he's hesitant to do so, but she also won't go into this blind and with no knowledge either.

She just hopes they accept, and give them some breathing room.

Project: Revival

"In terms of you two staying here long term-" Aneira grimaces and wrinkles her nose, hands moving through soft fur as Echo and Pipper settle down in between them both.

"Not long term, no. A few days at the most and then we have to move on." She replies with a shrug, legs crossing and fingers unconsciously tapping along both dogs spines. "In all honesty we ended up in this town by accident, and aside from a few....disagreements we've been lucky to find some help." Aneira adds with a slightly stiff nod of her head towards both Weres, there's still that urge to defend herself but she stamps it down with a bite along her tongue.

"We can...we can offer a seasonal lease." The young woman says with a hand lifting to cradle her cheek, eyes focused on Lucian for whatever reason. Her lips are curled into a smirk that Aneira wants to punch, pride curling in her chest at the sight of the others disheveled hair. "It will mean that you'd have to pay rent- but the apartment will be yours and you can come and go whenever you want." Her tone retains an almost purr as she speaks, Aneira exhales through her nose and glances at Lucian.

"What do you want to do?" She asks lowly, eyes flicking to both Weres before settling on him once more. She can't make the decision for them both on her own, Lucian said he'd call his friend first and then they'd go from there.

But a place to stay while he gathers his courage to make the call would be nice, a respite even if temporary.

Project: Revival

Her sole focus shifts as Lucian's words reach her ears, jaw closing from the open-mouth snarl she had been aiming at the older man. Though her wound and body aren't rebelling against her, she knows that this fight can't keep going. Pulling away and exhaling a breath, Aneira let's her focus and senses expand outward.

Various doors below are opening, voices murmuring amongst themselves as soft footsteps follow. They've drawn attention from the other tenants, which can only mean one of two things. She needs to wave the verbal white flag and try to explain just why they're here, or turn tail and flee and hope they find another place. A low whimper has her head turning to find the other woman lurching to her paws, head shaking once Aneira exhales a huff and closes her eyes.

The shift this time moves fluidly along her body, no extreme pain aside from thr tug along her side where the bullet had been. Her eyes open, and widen as she's met with an open mouth and rows of sharp teeth. Her right arm lifts to block the attack, her left lifting and aiming a punch straight agaisnt a black nose.

"We're not here to take your territory or cause problems." She says succinctly with her eyes flicking from one wolf to the other, body curled and head slightly ducked so she wouldn't accidentally flash anyone. Her ears catch the faint sound of claws moving along the floor, she shakes her head and huffs out a breath. "My friend and I, as well as these two strays just need a place to stay and rest for a few days." She adds with a frown tugging her lips down, attention pulled away when something soft is nudged against her bare thigh. Echo has a shirt in his mouth and his tail wagging, Pipper stands beside him with a glance at everyone and a twitch of her ears.

Slipping the shirt on she feels slightly better, not minding that it's double hrt size, and has a faint scent of sweat and dried blood. Below voices and movement move almost as a group, no doubt the others are trying to find out where the noise is coming from. With a click of her tone and and an annoyed glane at both, Aneira lifts a brow and shifts so that she's kneeling on her knees. "Unless you want the othe tenants to start asking questions or come up here. Maybe we should go somewhere to talk?" She says it with a blank face, tone soft in the silence. Someone needed to be the responsible adult here, and if no one wanted to listen to Lucian then she would have to take charge.

Project: Revival

There's the need to defend rearing its head in her chest, muzzle parting to show her canines. She moved back to stand beside Lucian, eyes flicking over him and the pups in search of any wounds. Her muscles relax minutely when she doesn't find anything, ears flicking forward at the sound of nails moving along the floor.

The girl with her dark-chocolate brown fur is slowly pacing beside the white wolf, tail held stiffly and ears pinned to her skull. Their heartbeats echo in her ears as silence fills the air, nostrils flaring out slightly as she tries to gather some information. The older male has this authoritative aura around him, Aneira catches a sour scent coming from him that she somehow instinctively knows means irritation. The younger girl snaps her jaws at them, the scent Aneira catches from her is sharp like spices and it filters in her head instinctively as mirth.

She dips her head and nudges Echo and Pipper back a few paces, nipping gently at soft fur when they wiggle as if to try and evade. She can't focus on them and Lucian during this fight, rumbling lowly at them she nudges gently once more until they lay down with lowered ears.

Shaking her head with a huff of breath, she nudges Lucian gently as the faint coppery scent of blood reaches her nose. A rumbling sort of sound has her looking away, muzzle curling up as the female lunges forward.

Instincts guide her forward with little hesitation, teeth seeking purchase in a bid to harm. They meet once more with their bodies colliding, but this time Aneira let's the wolf side of herself take over just a bit more instead of pushing it down. She ducks her head and lets instinct guide her in her next movements, ears flicking at the yelp of pain that echos in the air as her teeth find a spot to sink into. She's not at all gentle as she tightens her hold and begins to shake her head, using her advantage to physically shove the girl away while never once releasing her hold.

The girl is sent flying back with a howl of pain, blood trailing after in a mimicry of a trail until she slams into a wall. The Aneira's turning away and lunging towards the male, fur marred by blood and her teeth on full display.

She will fight to defend her pack, her family until she can't anymore.

Project: Revival

One moment Lucian was stepping forward, speaking to the two arrivals and the next all hell breaks loose. Warning bells blare in her head as she watches Lucian being grabbed and forcibly slammed into the wall beside the door.

Her attention zeroed in on the woman who had been smirking at her seconds ago, eyes scanning her expression. She looked different now, features distorted in a way that had her swallowing. Then the attacks came from claws that extended from her fingertips, thin and sharp-looking as they sliced through air.

A flash of white in the finner of her eye had her looking away, stomach churning when she saw Pipper aiding Lucian. The girls taunting words drew her focus back long enough to lift her lips in a snarl before claws met her skin. There's an echoing snarl in her head as she steps back, pain racing along her skin as she takes stock of what just happened.

Something that felt like liquid heat coiled in her chest as the wound across her cheek slowly healed, anger spreading through her veins until it was all she could focus on. Unnoticed her own features shifted to match the other womans, longer canines and her nails becoming claws. Her vision sharpened significantly as she dropped down to a crouch, hands lifting in front of her face as if she knew how to fight. She could make out the movement of muscles beneath thin skin, the sweat that was coating her skin as she lunged forward again. The beat of her heart along the column of her throat, and the individual lasbes that fluttered as she moved.

Though her heart was pounding in her ears, Aneira could feel nothing but detached calmness. Something in her saying that this wasn't going to be any normal fight, not by a long shot. The girl snarled and rushed forward when her taunting was with no reaction,  Aneira ducked and lifted a leg up instinctively to aim a kick

The girl was sent flying into the same door they'd just opened, only to immediately come lunging out with bared teeth and glowing eyes. A yip met her ears seconds before Echo came flying out over the shattered door, little ears lowered and teeth on display.

Aneira felt her body shifting within a beat of her heart, form shifting and then lunging forward with a growl. She caught Echo as he was sent flying, pausing long enough to gently set him down before spinning on her heel.

They met with a body-crushing slam of their bodies, jaws snapping at one another on a bid to injure. Claws meeting vulnerable underbellies and digging in, Aneira stepping away only to lunge forward again to ram her head against the girls side that sent her flying back and hitting the elderly man she'd been with.

Project: Revival

There's a prickling sensation along the back of her neck, eyes following Lucian as he moved towards the door. The wolf in her mind snarls lowly, Pipper and Echo still and go quiet.

The voice and words have Aneira rising to her feet, entire body rigid and coiled tight. There's a mixed need to run towards the door and hide everyone until these people leave. But even before she was caught and locked away, she was never one to back away from a fight. Inhaling through her nose, she moves forward and nudges Lucian aside with her hip.

She can hear two heartbeats on the other aide of the door, nostrils flaring slightly to catch the scent of a man and the softer scent of a woman. Hand flicking the lock, she curls her fingers around the knob and pulls the door open.

An older man and a young woman immediately fill her field of vision, one with his arms crossed and the other with a bored expression on her features. Though that quickly changes when Lucian moves behind her, eyes widening and lips lifting into a grin.

"Hello there~" The girl all but purrs out with a wave, painted nails gleaming with the gesture from the overheard lights.

"I've never seen you two before." The old man who she assumes is Mr. Solomon from the call she'd heard yesterday's, frowns at them. They're both tall and slender, alarm bells shriek in her mind.

There's the simultaneous need to tell the truth, and lie through her teeth as she eyes them both. She lifts a hand to push a strand of dark hair behind her ear, the girls eyes watch her intently.

The wolf, who's she's slowly beginning to think of as herself snarls and snaps her jaws within her mind. "We need a place to stay for awhile." She settles on saying, voice calm and soft despite the urge she has to snarl out her words.

The girl arches a brow and takes a step forward, face inches from her own as brown eyes flick this way and that. "Oh? Do you now?" It's said mockingly, a smirk curling pink lips upward. Aneira inhales through her nose, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from punching the girl before her.

-----

"We have our choices." A monotone voice murmurs quietly, metallic door sliding closed behind them. A tablet was held in a gloved hand, glasses reflecting the light hid the gaze behind the lens. The Conference room fell silent, murmurs falling away until the only thing that could be heard was the soft buzzing of the air conditioning.

"Perfect. Now let's see and get them ready to hunt." The Directors voice echoed in the silence, words underlined with an accent and a curl of crimson-painted lips.

"Sir." That same voice replied evenly, right gloved hand lifting to begin tapping along the tablets screen. The office held nothing personal, shife walls with a line of windows on one side. A desk and a blank wall that held a large screen that flickered to life and filled with four different profiles.

Project: Revival

The food did smell amazing, sweet and spicy in a mixture that had her stomach grumbling. She settles in to eat with little hesitation, legs absently shining forward and back. Though not a fan of eating with her hand, she's too content to have actual food that any complaints are silenced.

Her mind begins to wander as her eyes settle on the pups, eating slowly with their tails wagging behind them. For now they can keep them, but what happens when they leave this town? Or if the property manager comes knocking?

Lips pressing into a thin line, she exhales a slow breath through her nose with a shake of her head. For now they're going to take things slowly, one step at a time. Softly and absently Aneira begins to hum, legs swaying forward and back and she eats her meal.

When she's finished and her stomach isn't trying to eat itself, she jumps from her perch on silent feet. "Do you think we should name the boy pup? Pipper already has a name." She murmurs quietly, setting her empty "plate" down before turning on the sink to wash her hands. The pup in question yips as if he understood, Aneira hummed softly as she pats her hands dry on her own shirt.

He like Pipper are gorgeous and stunning, how they ended up together without an owner is baffling. Crouching down and glancing between both, she lifts her eyes to Lucian who's "plate" is just about finished as well. "I say Atlas, or Echo. Thoughts?" She adds after a moment, lowering herself carefully go the ground despite the flare it causes in all her muscles. She feels relaxed and yet not, like there's something prickling along her senses. Pipper stretches out her entire body, the puppy all but jumps into her lap.

The impact doesn't really Hurt at all, but her body's still recovering. She catches him in her hands as he wiggles, a click of her tongue has him stilling though his tail keeps wagging.

Project: Revival

She wakes slowly, eyelids fluttering as consciousness pulled her to the surface. There's a weight wiggling along her side, another slightly larger weight presses against her other. A grumble leaves her throat as her eyes open, ears flicking up as she's met with brilliant blue eyes and a rather Unimpressed expression.

The husky puppy yips and wiggles its tail, ears perked and heartbeat a quick little thing in its chest. Aneira shakes her head once, extending a paw out to settle it atop the pups head. Her nose works as she adds the slightest bit of pressure, something instead of telling her that this was a way to reprimand the hyper ball of fluff. A flash of white on her left as Aneira blinking, Pipper stretches with a yawn before sitting and tilting her head. They both smell young in age, coats dried and in no doubt in need of a washing.

Her head lifts when she finally realizes Lucian isn't laying on her, ears perked even as she glances around the room. She finds him holding the phone in his hand, heartbeat steady instead of hummingbird fast like it had been. Standing on limbs that feel heavy, she shakes out her entire body once before yawning.

The aroma of food reaches her as she moves closer to the other man, steps slow and stiff. Scrambling paws echo behind her as the pup races to catch up, Pipper following at her side with her nose already sniffing. Gently nudging Lucian with her head against his hip, she carefully retrieves her discarded clothes. Thr pup is dancing around Lucian's ankles as she turns to head into the bathroom, Pipper wiggles where she sits by the fridge.

When she shifts it's quick and not as painful, her side flares slightly as she slips into her pants and shirt. She's not sure who's stomach is rumbling so loud, but at this point she's mildly worried the neighbors will call in a complaint. "The food and phone are from a woman I met last night." She says softly as she leans against the doorframe, bare feet shifting slightly as the pup pauses to eye her. "The dogs...usually they don't react well to me but these two..." She slowly lowers herself to a crouch, extending a hand with her palm upward. Pipper comes immediately with a wag of her tail, the pup tilts its head before snorting and moving closer as well, a quick peek tells Aneira that they have a male and female pair with them.

"They followed me here. Did you want to make your call first or eat? I'm not sure what these guys can ea..." She falls silent as she notices a third container beneath the other two, one she's not sure she'd taken into account as she ran here. Moving closer to Lucian she sets the two tantalizing plastic to b tanners aside, opening the third to find it filled with kibble and pieces of chicken. "Huh, well Monique is kinda freaking me out now." She murmurs as she carefully pulls the top off, splitting the food equally between both "plates" before turning to both dogs. "The collie was named Pipper, the husky doesn't have a name..." She adds with a shrug as she sets both down, blinking when they don't immediately lunge for the food. "Okay." She says in Russian despite doubting they know the meaning, she's left feeling surprised when both immediately begin eating.

Standing she glances at Lucian and shrugs, turning to wash her hands before hoisting herself up onto the counter with a wince. The sky outside has stopped jts storm, but thick clouds hang low as if ready to start again at any given moment. She's not sure if they're keeping the dogs or not, she's not even sure about their next few steps. But she's glad to not be dealing with this alone, she's exhausted with being alone.

Project: Revival

Aneira wakes with a jolt, wincing almost immediately at the flare of pain it causes. There's too much saliva in her mouth, body heavy in a way that has her brows furrowing.

Slowly is clicks in her brain that she's not leaning agaisnt a wall or on the floor, instead she's leaning agaisnt a firm and warm body. Her right ear is muffled by the beating of Lucian's heartbeat, her left is greeted with the rumble of thunder from the storm still happening.

Heavy eyes blink slowly up at the popcorn ceiling above, throat working to swallow the extra saliva.

Her stomach revolts harshly, rolling even as she jerks to her feet. She barely makes it to the kitchen sink before her body is vehemently protesting.

When she can finally breath without retching, she opens her watery eyes as a hand turns the water on. Nose wrinkling at what she finds, she straightens and wipes at her mouth. Making a mental note to write down black goo as a side effect of the bullet, she settles a hand on her stomach as the gunk washes down the sink.

Her body aches she notes with a slow blink, right hand reaching down to touch her side. It doesn't feel like a burning itch anymore, calmer but still sensitive. Grimacing she leans over the sink to rinse out her mouth, then turns it off to return to Lucian's side.

He's out cold, slightly slumped over agaisnt the wall he'd settled along. She lifts a hand to glide her fingers along his cheek, frowning slightly in concern at the chill she can feel emanating from his skin. His heartbeat is slow and steady, with careful fingers she smooths his hair down and stands.

Now that her stomach feels more steady, she can feel hunger pricking at her. A glance outside shows that night has truly fallen, the sky a violet gray as lightning streaks across it. She remembers that Lucian needed a phone to make a call, and for that she needed to go out.

Biting her lip and glancing down at Lucian's sleeping face, she inhales slowly through her nose and nods her head.

"I'll be back, okay? Get some rest." She whispers softly, patting his cheek once before turning to the front door.

Outside is chilly and wet, and yet people still mill about under umbrellas and jacket hoods. She glances around in hopes of finding someone using a phone, nose scenting the air for food all the while.

"Do you need help?" A female voice from beside her makes her jump, snarl lost under a rumble of thunder. She'd somehow wandered from the apartment complex, and now stood in what looks like a market of some kind. Vendors call out jovially despite the rain, and the smell of food teases her senses. The woman beside her is dark-skinned and tall, curvy with black hair tied high. Something about her has Aneira stepping away, only to pause when a slender hand grasps her wrist.

Heat travels up her arm like a pulse, warm and oddly comforting. "I..well a friend of mine needs to barrow a phone." She says without really meaning to, cheeks flaming immediately as the woman grins at her.

"I can lend you one, and some good." Her tone has an accent to it, eyes bright and kind.

"I'd be grateful to you. We lost our phones somewhere on the bus." She offers as the woman turns away, Aneira follows after a beat and a glance around.

"Here you go, darling." Is said as she reaches a wooden stall, eyes landing on a phone and a two large containers of food.

A whine draws her attention to a dog slowly approaching, a white-black border collie with what looks like a gray ball of fluff in its mouth. "That's Pipper, the pup we can't close to so we haven't given it a name. I'm Monique by the way." The last minute added on introduction had Aneira wincing, her lips lifting into a sheepish grin as she crouches down. The dog's scent is sour and yet spicy in a way, the pup wiggles and yips softly.

"Aneira, and thank you very much." She says as she holds out a hand, black-tipped ears flattening against white fur for long moments before they relax.

"A pleasure, I'll be seeing you around!" Monique says with a grin, Aneira licks her lips as she collects the items before her.

"I'll pay you back for these. Thank you." Turning on her bare heel she takes off, keeping her treasures close to her chest to keep them as dry as she can.

It's only as she reaches the apartment building, thar she notices she has some followers. The Scientists used to put dogs or wolves in with her, a test they said to see if she was advancing or not.

They always either attacked her or themselves. Or hid and refused to move, only to be taken out by the guards.

Pipper and the puppy were behind her, one tail wagging and the other its entire body.

Opening the door they sprinted inside, shaking off water and leaving a puddle on the floor. Shaking her head she moves towards the stairs, clicking nails following behind her.

The apartment is quiet when she opens the door, Lucian's heartbeat steady and slow. She sets the food and phone down, watching as the dogs settle in the living room curled up together. Exhaustion tugs her toward where Lucian rests, body shifting with little hesitation.

She's gentle as she tugs him against her, curling around him in a protective manner. Sleeps claims her with little fight, head lowering onto the carpeted floor as her eyes slip closed.

The Pups