Who: Zach, Nico, Dante, Dione, and Adrienne
When: Early Evening
Where: A cave near the western edge of the haven.
What: Zach and Nico wander off from the search party and find trouble.

[save spot! writing up]

Who: Dante, Dione, and Adrienne
When: Very early morning (~3 am)
Where: A cave near the western edge of the haven
What: A very special
Warning: Will possibly contain violence against a woman. Mature themes. Torture?

The forest was always quietest in the middle of the night, but even then it was never truly silent. There were crickets in the distance, leaves that rustled overhead, and bushes that moved unnaturally because of the nocturnal creatures that stalked their prey. Dante felt most comfortable in the night, but unlike the other animals he already had his prey in his grasp. He sat alongside Adrienne, her ankles and feet bound tightly with thick rope. She was dirty, but that didn't tarnish her beauty, or perfection.

And then there was Dione, the one he didn't have to tie up in any way. She came with him willingly, and that meant she wouldn't try to run away. Dante gazed at her calmly, but when he turned to look at Adrienne there was a fire in his eyes that burned like Hell itself.

He ran his fingers through Adrienne's hair, gentle at first before he turned it rough by grabbing at the strands to pull her head back. "When are you going to realize that you've lost," he said close to her mouth. "And you belong to me?" He licked her bottom lip, and pulled away before she could say anything to him. "Dione realizes she belongs to me," he said. Somewhere in his fucked mentality he thought a comparison would sway Adrienne to his side. Dante sidled over to the blind woman, and cupped her cheek in a manner that resembled love.

"You know you're mine, don't you," he asked Dione before he pressed his lips to hers. The action wasn't loving, but domineering, and rough, and all the while he watched Adrienne from the corner of his eyes. "Dione," he said afterward. "Beautiful Dione. How shall we celebrate this Valentine's Day, hm?"

OOC: Posting order can be Dante, Dione, then Adrienne.

Who: Dante and Dione
When: Around 2 AM
Where: Dione's cottage
What: Dante comes around to take the rest of his possessions

For the first time since his arrival Dante felt as if everything was falling into place. He had Adrienne nestled away in a cave at the furthest reaches of Elysium, and as far as he could tell no one had yet been alerted to her disappearance. He half expected for there to be guards, and townspeople running about looking for the missing girl, but the town was quiet as he stalked back within its boundaries. The silence brought a smile to his face, and without hesitation he made his way toward the water bungalows.

Though Dante had already taken Adrienne there was one more thing he needed to take with him. Another person he had claimed as a possession. Dione’s water bungalow was dark, but he found his way inside through an unlocked window. Sneaking around was easy for the lycanthrope, and he felt most comfortable in its element. The shadows were his friend, and his silent footfalls did not betray his presence to anyone. Another lycanthrope would have been able to smell him, but Dione did not yet have those enhanced senses. It did not matter to Dante what she was or was not able to do. If his first bite did not work then he would bite her again and again until she became one.

Dante snuck into the girl’s bedroom, and stood silently beside her bed. He spent a few moments staring at her before calling out her name. “Dione,” he said into the darkness. “It’s time to go.”

Who: Sascha and Dione
When: Evening
Where: Dione's bungalow
What: Time for a long overdue visit

Three months. It had been nearly three months since Sascha had last visited his musically inclined friend, and he felt more than a little guilty about the fact. He'd tried to drop by the Wine Bar from time to time, but something always ended up preventing him from following through on his plans. It also seemed that Dione would periodically go missing, which was strange but also understandable. The medium had certainly never been the most social of creatures, anyway.

Even his attempt to visit her the previous day had been thwarted by bad timing, as he'd learned after talking to Irei. The necromancer, apparently, had been able to pin the woman down long enough to get a piano lesson out of her. Well, that just meant that if Sascha wanted to see her, he would have to stop relying on her appearances at the Wine Bar and go straight to the source.

That was how he'd ended up on the doorstep of her bungalow just before sunset, knocking tentatively and waiting for an answer. He'd never visited Dione at home before; he knew that she tended to keep to herself. He hadn't exactly been invited here tonight, either, so he really hoped she opened the door.

"Anybody home? Miss Dione? I promise I'm not selling anything. It's me, Sascha."

Who: Dione and Irei
When: Afternoon Saturday Feb 9
Where: The Wine Bar
What: Dione goes back to her life and part of that life is giving lessons.

Dione had retreated mentally if not physically. There was nothing she could do or hope to do about what was going on. Not when her own brother sought to betray her and the person she loved was kept untouchable behind bars. She needed to go see him, but the idea of others watching them made her nervous. Would they continue to twist her meeting with him into something more sinister than it was? Already they wanted to accuse him of some crime against her as if he had done her any harm. He had never been less than a gentleman to her, even when he bite her, which her mind had labelled as necessary now that she understood what he was to some extent, he was no more forceful than necessary.

( There was still the small matter of the other woman )

Who: Theora and Dione
When: Afternoon
Where: Town Hall / Conference Room
What: Questioning Dione about her presence at the temple during the showdown

If there was anything that the priestess had learned over her lifetime it was the fact that everything in the world had an antithesis. Every positive thought, emotion, or action had an equally negative aspect to it. Their haven, peaceful as it was, would experience some chaos eventually. It was this knowledge, this passive anticipation that allowed her to remain calm when she was told the news about Danté's rampage through Helicharis. It was tragic as violence often was, but it did not trouble her as much as it troubled others. This wasn't to say that she didn't care because Theora cared very much, she just didn't let any potential confusion or sadness over the event cloud her judgment.

Reading over the witness accounts of the event Theora found it very odd that a blind woman was present during the altercation in the Market Place, and at the temple. She wondered what the girl's connection to the entire situation could be, and as a result she sent a guard to Dione Castel's water bungalow to summon the girl. Theora did not suspect anything of the medium, and she had every intention of questioning the other witnesses in due time; but she couldn't escape the tugging feeling in her that there might have been more to this one's story. It was intuition on Theora's part, and it was hard to find any given moment when Theora's intuition had been incorrect.

The priestess waited patiently in one of the conference rooms for Dione's arrival. She had instructed the guard to show the woman the utmost respect, and to give her all the time she needed to ready herself for the questions. The guard had taken a covered buggy to pick up the girl since the walk from the bungalows was quite a distance, and the weather was not exactly pristine. It would keep the girl safe on the road, and make her feel more like a guest rather than someone suspected of a crime. Dione had not committed a crime from what she read, and apart from the cane swinging incident involving Nicolas Vega-Fernandez and James Ross the woman was a quiet bystander during the entire ordeal. So why then was she there at all? That was the question Theora hoped to answer.

Who: Dante, Zach, and whoever else wants to join in
When: Evening, after this
Where: The Temple
What: The showdown finally comes to an end

Too many voices. There were just too many voices inside, and out for Dante to deal with. He had to run. Had to feel free even though he was anything but. There was no freedom in this place, and so his frustrations were showing themselves in the most violent of ways.

The lycanthrope carried Zach through the more deserted areas of the town. Back alleys that were nothing like the ones of New York or L.A., but still back alleys with little light, and places to hide. But Dante didn't stop to hide. He just ran, and ran, holding Zach tightly in his clutches. Without realizing it he ran all the way to the Elven temple, a place that would normally be a sanctuary would be the place where Zach would meet his end. It seemed fitting in the werewolf's mind even though it would effectively corner him in one place. Dante just wasn't thinking clearly, but every decision he made was backed-up with a fallacy he created in his mind.

Inside the temple Dante dropped Zach to the floor before he put a heavy foot on his back. He began to revert into a human form if only so he could talk to Zach. He was shirtless when he was done, and wearing a pair of tattered jeans. Dante knelt in front of Zach, and lifted his head by pulling on Zach's hair. "I don't usually kill men," he said with a smirk. "But I'll make an exception for you just like I made an exception for that other guy. What was his name—" He paused, and tapped his chin with his free hand. "Oh right, Simon. You remember Simon, don't you?"

Who: Dante, Zach, and open to others
When: Evening
Where: Beginning at Market Place
What: Dante's a shady mofo, fo'real, and he's mentally unstable.

The dark aura around Dante spread out like grotesque wings, slicing through the tranquil air in the haven and leaving behind a heaviness that hadn't been present before. Dante flew through the night on those dark wings with Zach in tow. One hand clasped tight around the boy's smaller wrists as he dragged him through the dusty trails of the cottages. The lycanthrope didn't know where he was going, or what he was going to do with the boy. No - he did know what he was going to do with Zach. He was going to kill him. Gut him from throat to groin, and let his innards spill to the earth. He'd display the empty shell in front of Adrienne's house as a final show of power. How could he resist her then if she saw how weak the alchemist truly was? Surely, she wouldn't.

He was only semi-shifted with sharp claws on his hands, and sharp teeth in his mouth. His shirt was torn with the protruding muscles of his arms, chest, and back. The vertebrae of his back was pushing upward, curving into the lumbering form of the werewolf. His muzzle had yet to form, but the madness in his eyes was already there. It had always been there. Lying in wait for the perfect moment that didn't exist. There was no perfection in this - only insanity and chaos. All of Dante's planning didn't mean a thing when it seemed violence was the only way to make things happen.

He should've known that the only way to get things in life was to take them.

All logic was gone from the man's mind, and he made his way toward the market place without another thought. Dante didn't think of the people he would encounter, or the fact that someone might recognize him. He was a rabid animal running wherever his feet took him. Instinct had taken over, as did madness. Madness must never be overlooked.

He was in the market place before he knew it, and there were eyes on him. Staring at him. Whispering about him. He heard them all, too. It was too much. He growled as loud as he could, a warning to everyone to stay back.

Who: Dione and Dante
When: Evening
Where: The Wine Bar
What: Dione's back at the piano, her usual station.

Dione's routine had returned to something close to normal since her minor meltdown for Christmas. It was still a matter of walking into town and seeing people, making her way to the bar and taking up residence at the piano to play whatever struck her fancy. Occasionally Sheldon would take a break from the bar and join her, sitting shoulder to shoulder, assisting when he wanted but mostly just making conversation as she played. Dione didn't always answer him back because a lot sheldon's conversation didn't so much require her to answer as it required her to nod in the appropriate places to let him know she was indeed still listening and paying attention to the words that came out of his mouth. She'd learned to like his accent and didn't even mind his strange sense of humor so much anymore. She still for the most part didn't get it, but whether or not she got it wasn't the important part of the conversation. The important part was that he was talking to her and it was pleasant.

Tonight was a similar night in that she found herself settled at the piano and the soft strains of music floated out from her instrument to those in the room. There were rumors floating about in the air. Snippets of things she took little stock in. Dione didn't know enough people on her own to have any idea who most of the people were others talked about.

Her hair pinned up off her shoulders, she was dressed down in a simple black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Even still she managed to make it somehow look more elegant than one would normally. Maybe it was just the juxtaposition of a beautiful woman with an impressive instrument, it was hard to tell usually. Dione did have a self-possession when with the piano she didn't have anywhere else. Her jacket and cane were settled on the bench beside her, she never liked for them to go far; after all, there was no telling how long she would stay.

Who: Max & Dione
When: Afternoon
Where: The Library
What: Time for searching, and time for apologies.

Normally, Max wouldn’t have been in a library. Today, though, his curiosity got the better of him, and he let the questions take over his mind. If his mother was attacked by a vampire when she was pregnant, he wondered what that meant for him. What if all of the things that happened to him were a result of that attack? The fangs he had as a child and teen, the sensitivity to daylight, and even the skin condition that made him have to protect himself against harmful UV rays at all times? He never was a kid who could go to the beach. Beaches were a deathtrap, according to the doctors his mother brought him to see.

There was no way all of this could be just some coincidence, so Max got up the courage to go to the library and look up some information on vampires. Surely, they had a book or two on those suckers somewhere. He wasn’t going to go up to one and ask them himself. That was out of the question. If he talked to vampire, Max had a feeling he might want to take out all his frustration on one of those son-of-a-bitches, even if it wasn’t the same person who attacked his mom. Even if the vampire was nice, Max would sucker punch the joker.

He asked for help at the circulation desk, and they told him where to look. Max nodded his head and headed down the non-fiction section to look for the right aisle number. He found some books on real vampires, took a few of them, and made his way to a table in the sitting area. He wondered just how much reading it would take before he could find out if what happened to his mother had inadvertently done something to him.

Shutting out the unpleasant thought, he flipped open the first book and started to read.

Who: Dione (&Dexter) and Sheldon
When: Christmas Day, afternoon December 25th
Where: Dione's Cottage
What: Sheldon, realizing he hasn't seen Dione in a few days, decides to drop in on the medium and make sure she's still alive.

Dione hadn't gotten any better overnight. Instead, she seemed to shrink into herself further as the night wore on until by morning she truly seemed a shadow of herself. She refused to get out of bed, previously she had at least wandered about her home, not trying to go anywhere, but at least she was out of bed. It seemed even that had been abandoned in favor of simply remaining in one place.

Dexter had given up talking to her as she wasn't answering him anymore. Nothing, hours upon hours of silence only broken by the sound of her breathing. At least she was still breathing, that was one small favor. Though he did find himself wondering if this might not all be easier if his sister did die. It was a line of thinking he squashed quickly, but it kept coming back. Would things be better if they were both dead instead of one of them being dead and the other alive? He loved her. He wanted what was best for her. He would not condone that course of action.

It was afternoon, the wane sunlight of water was filtering through the windows to throw patterns on the floor. The light would start to fade into darkness soon. Another night of her alone in this house, another night of her curled up in a pathetic ball. Perhaps the only thing making it truly bearable for him was the fact she wasn't crying anymore. It hurt worse when she cried because he wanted nothing more than to make her not cry anymore. He wanted her to be happy again. Anything to make her happy again. If things continued this way, he might have to go find Irei and see if he could convince Sascha to come roust her out of her bed.

Sad that he needed someone else to help him, but when stuck with being an incorporeal ghost, one took whatever help was available. He was slightly surprised by the sound of someone coming up to the door. Dione didn't have visitors at home. Who was this and why were they here? And better, would they be enough to get her out of bed?

Who: Dione Castel
When: Evening, Christmas Eve
Where: The Castel Cottage
What: This is the first Christmas without her family. All in all, she's probably taking it as well as can be expected.

Dione sobbed at the sound of her name. Though she had been happy while out with Dante, she returned and it seemed once the door finally shut and she realized the season truely, she began to fall apart. It was nearly Christmas. Christmas. The King of Holidays the family would spend together except the family was not there.

Dexter was dead. Mother was dead. Father was dead. Everyone she cared about was dead. Lying on her bed, she stared at nothing, hair half covering her face. The woman had made no move to clear it away. It didn't matter. Let it stay. Sitting in the chair beside her bed, Dexter called her name again and felt her flinch.

Dione, you cannot stay here, he'd been saying that for at least two days now. She could not stay in this place alone. Perhaps it was his own fear making him want her to seek company. Often she was quite happy without company. Yet tonight, knowing how much the holiday meant to her, he wished she would have gone to the bar. Wished she would get up from her bed and go somewhere, do something, anything to distract her from the pain he could feel all around and over her. She only sobbed in his general direction, curling harder into a ball. Dione wasn't strong enough as a person to take her own life.

"Why did everyone have to leave me?" It came out in a rush, a painful rhetorical question. She hated herself for surviving.

Dione, I love you. He didn't have an answer for her. People died. There was nothing anyone could do about that. The fact of the matter was he did not want her to die. He did not want her to take her life which he saw as a very distinct possibility as the night wore on. She was alone and lonely. There was nothing holding her in the world. Let's go to the bar. A few songs and you'll feel better.

The tears started then and Dexter could only shake his head. He would keep watch over her. Let her make it to Christmas morning. Once the holiday passed, she would feel so much better. He hoped and prayed she would feel better. Otherwise, he was going to have to find a different way to protect her from her own sadness.

*italics*=French, Dexter uses no quotes

Who: Dione & Dante
When: Midmorning, December 20
Where: Helicharis
What: Another discussion

Snow. Dione couldn't see it, but it still managed to fascinate her, the sound so very different from the sound of walking through leaves or on hard ground or really being anywhere else. It was closest to her ears as walking on sand, like the beach, in the way that it seemed to both crunch and slide under her boots.

( Dex, say something. )

Who: Sheldon and Dione
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Wine Bar
What: The Psychic meets the beautiful piano playing Medium once again

People were packed into the bar because of the curfew. It had them talking, it had them pissed and it had them itching to get drunk in the early hours. Before the sun was even setting people were escorting others home in order to make it without passing out. Some were escorting others home for other reasons that made Sheldon smirk a little. Lucky bastards. Though some of the women he wouldn’t be that desperate to sleep with.

Some of the regulars that pissed him off were more irritable which caused him to want to spit in their beers but he figured he was no picnic himself about the curfew. Who wanted to be tucked into their homes when there was still four hours until midnight after the curfew? Fuck that. He wanted to challenge this.

After a few hours, Sheldon began to hear some familiar piano playing and he was intrigued to see how the blind musician was doing. He told a fellow bartender to take on his position while he moved through the various tables to check on what he remembered as the female named Dione. It was such a shame that she couldn’t see what she looked like.

Knowing it was quite absurd, he hopped on top of the piano and let himself sit there.

“Mind if I listen from here, Dione?” He wasn’t sure if she would remember his voice. Last time he was with Caden.

Who: Dione Castel and Hayate Ishikawa
When: Morning, Wednesday the 7th
Where: Outside the Bakery
What: Dione and Hayate have a conversation.

( It was a choice between standing out in the cold or going inside. She seemed to have chosen to stand out in the cold. )

Who: Dante and Open
When: Mid afternoon
Where: Park Bench/Market Place
What: Enjoying the smell of carnage in the morning

There was something soothing about the smell of coffee interlaced with the pungent smell of blood all around him. There were traces of the attack that occurred yesterday, and the lycanthrope was a bit disappointed that he had missed all the fun. Sadly, it couldn't be helped - he had spent the entire day before exploring the Southern parts of Elysium and the various caves that were in that region. He brought the 'to go' cup to his lips, sipping the hot beverage slowly. It warmed him from the inside, but it was a superficial warmth. There were a few things that made him feel alive and sadly, this was not one of them. But it was comforting... and soothing. Definitely soothing.

His eyes glanced around him slowly. He imagined the 'battle' in his head, and the confused state of all the denizens in the town. It made him chuckle a bit - a low, resonating sound that shook his chest. Dante's voice, coupled with a darkened room, would have been enough to scare the piss out of those with faint hearts. He was not someone that anyone would want to run into in a dark alley. Or maybe he was? He had his moments of kindness, when something tugged at his heart, if you could even call it that. Dante didn't have a heart that he knew of, and he certainly didn't have any emotions. Obsession was the furthest thing he knew, and he had a couple of things on his plate currently occupying his attention.

Dante's breath rose into the air with each exhale. The chill made it visible, and he did it a couple of times in amusement. "You know, there's room on this bench for another," he said suddenly though his voice was calm. A person had approached him, and though he didn't look up to see who it was he knew someone was there. He could smell them, and he heard them as they took steps toward him. It was hard sneaking up on a werewolf, especially one as trained as he was.

Who: Dione Castel & Max Doyle
When: Evening.
Where: The shores of Lake Alata'elen
What: Dione is celebrating the deaths of those she cares for.

It had taken Dione a while to walk to Helicharis and return because she was very tired lately. However, she had decided that since she had missed the day of All Saints and honestly there were no graves here for her to visit, at least not the graves of anyone that she knew, that she would find a new way to celebrate what her family considered a holiday.

( I toast to those who have gone before )

Who: Echo and OPEN
When: afternoon.
Where: the Wine Bar.
What: Echo sneaks in.

Echo was not in the mood to go home just yet, so when people's attention were not on her, she hurried out of the library. Once she was free, the rush of excitement hit her. What to do now? She only paused for a second before starting to walk down the road. Her gaze met the Wine Bar and then she had her idea. Maybe not so many people would be there, but that was just a chance she had to take. She entered the building a minute later and ducked to the tables at the back wall, farthest away from the bar. If she was here, people weren't as likely to notice her. Hopefully.

She rested her feet on the bar supporting the chair legs, neon yellow tights all too obvious below her capri trousers. There were several people sitting around the place, some sitting together and others looking at their drinks as if they possessed some secrets of the universe. Echo had no idea why they preferred to sit alone when talking to someone was much more enjoyable. There needed to be major upbeat music here and perhaps that was only a matter of time before it happened. For now, she looked around and tried to determine who seemed like they could do with a bit of conversation.

Who: Dione Castel & Voe Cochell [open to others]
When: Evening, after the Town Hall Meeting
Where: Walking in town after the meeting
What: Dione hasn't had an interaction with Voe since Nathaniel's dinner party and apparently Voe is interested enough to follow the blind medium around in an effort to ascertain her level of skill.

Dione had come to town simply because there was supposed to be a town hall meeting. So she had walked to town wearing a coat that she had brought with her, it wasn't quite heavy enough for the falling temperatures of this area of the world, but that was something she would consider on another day. At the moment, she was just trying to understand the information that had been presented. This place made her so confused. Generators working off of magical power?

( What did it matter if she never knew the truth? )

Who: Dione Castel and Irei Arakaki
When: Afternoon October 26th
Where: Dione's Water Bungalow
What: Irei comes to see a lady about some lessons and ends up teaching a lesson or two of his own.


Dione was quiet as usual, few of her neighbors even seemed to really notice that her bungalow was occupied much less by whom. It was not as though she were the kind to socialize at home. First that would have meant admitting someone into her home. Second she would have to be comfortable enough with them to actually hold a conversation. That made such a thing exceptionally difficult as she rarely seemed to be comfortable with anyone enough to actually talk to them for long periods. It had been nice, however, talking to Duncan at Dr. Wyatt's dinner party. Someone who spoke French as well as she did was a blessing for a girl who couldn't quite get her point across in English.

( It was all in her head )