Yaksha sat in the middle of Norwood Forest, a ring of blood lying around him. He stared up at the sky, blood coating his body as a second set of skin. His hat was lying on his chest, and his hair was curled around his angelic face like a curtain. He pushed himself off the ground, and stared sadly down at the ring of blood. "So much blood. It's all a shame, really. I expected them to put up more of a fight." Around him lay several wolves and foxes, their throats torn out svagely, their faces all masks of pity and agony. He sat down next to one, and slipped his hand into the ragged chewed flaps of its throat, his fingers peeking through its mouth. After a moment, he twisted his arm in a way that would've snapped any normal being's bones, and began to move the wolf's mouth, chuckling darkly. "Don't kill me, please don't kill me! Ahh, even the feircest of hunters will beg at the end of their lives...."

Rose was running through the forest, the silver moonlight cascading on her dark figure as she darted among the trees. Her familiar, a black cat named Twilight, poked her head out of Rose’s backpack. Why the hurry, Rose? You didn’t tell me why we had to set off so suddenly? Are people chasing us?

“No, Twi. It’s just something’s not right,” Rose answered in a low voice.

Not right?

“Something in the forest just changed. Someone or something is here that shouldn’t be. They are causing an imbalance.”

What sort of imbalance?

“The forest normally has an aura of life, but just now something came in and changed the aura to death.”

Why do you care if someone is here killing things, many people do that?

“Because this is on a much larger scale. Normally I wouldn’t care but this is disturbing the peace that I find in this wood. They are disturbing MY peace.”

Don’t try anything out of your league. Rose didn’t answer and only continued through the forest, toward the center of the aura. She felt it coming closer, the sense of death was almost everywhere now. She pulled out her dagger and prepared for the worst. She jumped the brush and found a grim sight.

Seven wolf and fox bodies littered the area. Their blood was a glistening sea of rubies under the moon’s light. The aura of death stuck to everything. She looked over and found the person who disturbed her peace. It was a man. Just one look at him made on phrase scream in Rose’s mind: NOT human.

He had his hand in a wolf’s head and was holding it like it was puppet. A sick smile donned on his face. She growled. Hunters of the forest should not be disrespected; no one should have the right to mock them in such away. She growled and barked at the man. “Who do you think you are? You come into this forest and stain it! What gives you the right to disturb the peace of this forest?” Her golden eyes where filled with hate. Pure hate.

Yaksha turned, the blood on his clothes completely gone. His voice was soft, and mellifluous, and his sick grin was gone, replaced with a look of both pity and neverending patience. "Ahh, the dear Rose. I can understand your anger, after all, I did kill seven animals. While these seven animals killed... over seven DOZEN rabbits and squirrels. 'You shall reap what you sow'. These beasts were completely deaf to the pleas of their prey, and I only gave them what they gave to others." He bowed, and then grabbed his hat, flipping it onto his head. "Yaksha, agent of the fates at your service." His voice seemed to swirl around her, and the truth of his words rang out; why mourn the passing of killers?

"Dear sir," she responded, her voice softer now. "I'm am not mad for the fact that you killed these wolves, or over the fact that they themselves had killed others. What angers me is that you woke me up with the aura of death you released during the killing. Such a release caused everything from the smallest bug to the tree's souls fled. You, being not of elf blood, cannot sense what a great impact you had."

'What is happening?' Rose thought as she explained. 'I should be still mad, but I'm not. What is this? Magic? Maybe..but..why would I care if it was-wait! What am I thinking? What is going on?'

"And you think these wolves and foxes didn't create an even larger aura of death over the time they were left alive? That the aura of death THEY would bring wouldn't easily eclipse what I did? I know full well I brought an aura of death, I can feel it just as you can. But, with death, arises new life...."

Rose was had. No one had ever gotten her this much. And everything he said was true. 'Damn him' she thought. "Fine, you win. I'll let it slide this time. I guess I'm just mad because you woke me up." She looked over the dead bodies and an idea struck her. She knelt down next to one and felt it's coat. The coarse yet smooth hairs of the wolf moved nicely under her fingers. "These are still in pretty good condition," she said. "I think they'll fetch a nice price." She turned back to Yaksha as she said this, "And it seems that your done with them."

Yaksah chuckled, and waved his hand at them. "It is your forest, their bodies are yours to use as you please." His eyes narrowed, and his tounge flickered out quickly several times. After a second, he smiled, and slipped his hands in his pockets, walking towards Rose. Nikkolai. Come to Norwood forest, now. This is very important. He literally dashed the last few steps, and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close. "Give us a kiss, Rose...."

Rose was taken by surprise at his actions, rage began to boil in her. But when she looked into his eyes the rage began to fade. ‘What is going on!’ she screamed in her head. ‘This must be magic, but how to break it!’ On the outside her face merely showed surprise and she seemed paralyzed. But that wasn’t going to last for long.

Twi had been sitting quietly in Rose’s pack this whole time and upon hearing his last request and Rose just standing there dumbly had made her snapped. She jumped out of the pack and onto Rose’s shoulder where she promptly bit her on the neck. “OW!” Rose screamed out flailing out of Yaksha’s grasp. “What the hell, Twi! Why did you do that?”

You stupid girl! Twi screamed at Rose. He’s using magic on you to seduce you! Stop being stupid and get your ass OUT OF HERE! The cat dug her claws firmly into Rose’s shoulders and back making her wince.Run. NOW! Rose decided to listen and streaked off toward the woods, ignoring the pain.

((OoC: was given permission to kinda play into Rose's part, just so we all know.))

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Upon receiving the telepathic order to go to Norwood, Nikkolai dropped everything he had been doing and immediately followed directions. In time he reached the forest, barely making any noise against the ground. The fae was a tiny thing, just above five feet and barely over a hundred pounds. As he walked, his arms swung at his sides, the too-long sleeves of his white shirt hanging down a good few inches below his fingers. The thick, intricate black markings on his back that signified his banishment and crimes shone through the white thread a little bit, too dark to be concealed by such a light color.

Soon enough his brother came into sight, causing a wide grin to come to Nikkolai’s face. However, just after seeing him a woman came into view, running at full speed ahead. He yelped and by instinct threw out his right arm, catching her around the waist to try and slow her down. She was just as light as he was, and he tried to restrain her, getting the feeling that Yaksha would want him to. His demonic brother wasn’t very far away so if he had any orders it wouldn’t be very hard for him to hear them.

“Miss, flailing is only going to hurt the both of us!” he yelped, not doing a very good job at getting her to stay still.

Yaksha grabbed Rose's waist again, and puleld her close, his eyes twinkling kindly. "Rose, I simply wish to talk. Can't you spare me that?" He waved at a stump, and smiled at Nikki. "Just put her down over there. Don't let her get away." He stepped back, waiting. After a couple of seconds, he gave a soft chuckle, and then his lips peeled back in a broad grin. "Has Serian been okay? I've heard he's simply vanished."

Rose had flailed with all her might but she couldn’t get away. Now she had herself sat on stump with two men making sure she couldn’t escape. The worst part; one of them just asked the one question she did not want to hear. The one person’s name that she NEVER wanted to hear, unless it evolved him having a slow and painful death. She glared at Yaksha, eyes burning with a hate that no magic could ever take out.

“You wake me up, scare the crap out of me, let my back get torn up by my familiar, and drag me back here just to ask me about the one person that I hate like no other!” Her gold eyes grew colder and harder with each breath she drew. “The only time I want to hear that name is if that bastard has died a long and painful death and that his head is on a stake where I can spit on it!” She jumped up and growled, pulling her dagger out and going into a fighting stance.

“You picked a bad subject, ass hole.”

Yaksha smiled broadly, and chuckled. "Something I share with you. I'd like for Nikkolai's damnable father to suffer a terrible death, too." He then leaned forward, and his eyes twinkled with a dark, sadistic bloodlust. "And what if I told you I could make his death not only possible, but simple? The bastard left Nikki in his time of need. For that, I wish an eternity of deaths on him."

I asked permission to control Yaksha. So no worries.

---------

Rose tried to take in what she had just heard. 'Nikkolai's...father!? Suffer a painful death too..but that would mean' She drew in a breath, "Are you saying he," she pointed at Nikkolai, "has the same bastard father that I do?" He nodded. "So he's my..my brother?"
Again he nodded. She paused, taking this in. Then an evil grin spread on her face. "And you can give him the death I want him to have?" He nodded, the glint in his eyes growing.

"Name your price. I'd love to see that bastard squeal like the pig he is."

Yaksha laughed, and then his eyes took on a malicious twinkle. "I beleive a start would be an apology. You WERE quite rude to me, before my brother here rushed down here, just to meet you." He then sat on a rock, and waved a hand around him. "Please, come sit with me. There's so very much to catch up on before we take care of Serian...."

Rose still confused about the whole thing. 'He's Nikkolia's brother, is he mine too? Agh, so confusing. Curse our freaking parents.' She sat down on a rock and pried Twilight off her. "Will you calm down, Twi."

How can you expect me to be in this situation. I'm about ready to leave you to deal with them on your own, the cat growled at her.

"I'm willing to listen. After that bastard casted me out just because I would make him look bad I'll pay any price to see him beg for mercy."

You may regret those words, girl. Remember that. The jumped down from the rock and sat down on the ground eying all of them closely with eyes that matched what Rose's were like just a few moments before.

Rose sighed and turned back to the two men who claimed to be her family, "Well, you've got some explaining to do. Better get started."

When told to put her down on the stump, Nikkolai complied, pulling her over and putting her down as gently as he could. He took a couple of steps back to give her some space, and hooked his thumbs onto the pockets of his pants as he stopped walking once he figured he was far enough away. He looked at the both of them, taken aback by the way the girl acted. She was spirited, wasn’t she? It was a bit refreshing, really, frightening as it was as well. The man took a small step back when she stood up and took a fighting stance. Oh, that was great. “Miss…” he started, a tad too intimidated to continue telling her to calm down.

However, the name Yaksha said struck him in his core. Serian… it was different, and while he knew he had never heard it before in his short time in Imythess, it still sounded familiar. He lifted his right hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “Serian…” he repeated quietly, a flood of images flashing in his mind. Every time the figures were either completely black and featureless or misty, and every voice was mumbled. It was only helping to make the headache hurt him more.

“… I'd like for Nikkolai's damnable father to suffer a terrible death, too… The bastard left Nikki in his time of need…”

“… Father…?” he questioned quietly, his eyes clenching shut. The voices were clearer now, the images crisper – but that wall still stood there, separating 132 years of the past from the present. No matter what he did, the wall never seemed to break down, despite how hard he pounded and pushed it.

"So he's my..my brother?"

The fae’s eyes widened as he looked at Rose. He had a sister now, too? His gaze shifted to Yaksha. “You didn’t tell me…” he said quietly. It wasn’t his place to ask why his brother hadn’t told him; to question him was to defy him and a display of a lack of trust. He took a few steps toward them, nodding in agreement when Rose said that Yaksha had explaining to do.

Yaksha smiled wearily at Nikki, and waved at the clearing. "Sit, sit. I'll explain it all in time." Once Nikkolai had sat down, he folded his hands, and then smiled, clearing his throat. "Let us see. Nikkolai share a mother, Suzette Virenda. She was a lover of demons, and of elves. Specifically the elf, Serian Virenda. Your father, Rose. Though Suzette was not your mother, even I'm unsure who she was." He turned to Nikki, his eyes empty. "So, brother. Wouldn't you like to see your father pay? He left you, abused you, he was arguably one of the worst fathers ever."

Nikkolai sat just as he was told, and listened as Yaksha began to speak. He listened, the pounding in his head beginning to increase. He cursed softly, closing his eyes and looking down as he tried to ignore it. It didn’t hurt – such a thing was foreign to him – but it was annoying and so loud he wasn’t quite sure he was hearing correctly. “So she’s… our sister?” he said, turning his head to look back and up at Rose. They seemed to be the only the only family he had, that he knew of. His parents abandoned him, his family was dead – Yaksha and Rose were the only people he could trust. The thought made him smile a little bit.

"So, brother. Wouldn't you like to see your father pay? He left you, abused you, he was arguably one of the worst fathers ever."

Before answering, Nikkolai sat there, completely silent as he thought. There was a part of him, somewhere, that realized what he meant when he mentioned being abandoned and abused. He didn’t know how or when, but he knew and immediately anger began to pulse through him. A tight frown pulled at his mouth and finally, at long last, he nodded. “He’ll pay,” he said simply, his eyes lifting to meet Yaksha’s.

Rose listened closely to Yaksha’s explanation. When he finished she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. ‘Family. They’re my…family.’ The word family was foreign to her except in Twi’s case. But this was different. She had met the ‘pure blood’ children the bastard had. They weren’t family. But these men, they not only seemed to care for her, they were also willing to help her get revenge.

When Nikkolai agreed to help she smirked. ‘This could be one of the best nights of my life.’ She looked over at Yaksha, “So, do we even know where he is?”

Yaksha pushed off the ground, literally trilling as he did. "In my baaaasement!" He began to whistle happily, grabbing Nikki and pulling him off the ground, then Rose, pulling her off the ground and beginning to dance with her around the clearing. "He's right at my house, waiting for us to go and end his suffering."

Rose danced around with Yaksha and Nikkiolai, barely taking note of how foolish they might look. Just pleased to know that soon she could finally have her revenge on her 'Father' for all the pain and suffering that he had put her through. Then the realization kicked in about what they were doing exactly. She abruptly stopped dancing but was dragged along by her new brother's strength. 'No chance of escape.' She sighed and let herself be dragged along, willing to take it all. Just as long as revenge was waiting for her at the end of it all.

Nikkolai yelped when he was pulled off of the ground and pulled into a dance with the other two. It all happened too fast for him to protest, really, and he laughed at their antics. He had to wonder, though, if killing their father was the right thing to do. He didn’t even remember the man; the only thing he knew about him was what Yaksha had told him. A slight frown pulled at his mouth as he began to think. Part of him wanted the bloodshed, to see the man brought to justice. He didn’t remember anything, but he could feel the betrayal, disappointment, and shame as if it had just happened. Still, though, the morals that had been instilled into him told him that killing was wrong and that violence should never be used.

“How long has he been there?” he asked, trying to get his mind off of his internal conflict. He looked at his siblings, looking between their faces and thinking. Nikkolai had been lucky to find them here, after being shipped out of where he had used to live. He didn’t even know why he had been outcast among them, aside from the fact that he had broken some rule and for that his family had been killed. The fairy averted his eyes from the both of them then as he was dragged along, a small frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Yaksha smiled at Nikki, his eyes blank but his face genial and helpful. "Nikki, brother. Do you really want to know the specifics? Vengeance is within your grasp, and you're squabbling over details?" He stared him in the eyes, then broke into a grin. "About a week, if it really matters. He's starving, emaciated, and he'd welcome death at this point." He leaned forward, and grinned evilly. "But he didn't give you what you begged for when you were young, so why would we, my dear NIkki?"

Rose was growing impatient. Maybe Yaksha was one to keep thing on suspence, but she sure wasn't. She wanted to get to murdering this bastard as quickly as possible. Before she could speak her thoughts on getting this going Twi spoke up. Rose...I want you to be careful.

"Careful?" she questioned turning to Twi. "You heard Yaksha, he's been in a basement for a week. He'd be too weak to do anything."

That's not what I mean. I mean- aw screw it. Do what you want. I won't intervene.

"Well fine then." She turned back to her brothers. "So are we just going to stand here a talk about killing this bastard or are we going to actually let the blood run tonight?"

Yaksha laughed, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Of course, let's go. Serian'll keep, but some things can only be milked so long." He walked ahead, motioning for them to follow. He turned to Twi, and his eyes turned dark and sadistic. His message was clear: Back off.

At his home, the door opened, and a man could be seen sitting in a chair, his arms bound to it. He looked up, and growled, his lips peeling back as he saw Rose. "My little halfies are here? How quaint. Did you two miss daddy?"

"But he didn't give you what you begged for when you were young, so why would we, my dear NIkki?"

Nikkolai wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that. He knew there was something wrong about it, though; something terribly, terribly wrong. His face hardened and he followed the other two in silence as they walked to the home in Taras. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach about this whole ordeal. Anxiety made his movements faster than he intended, to the point where he didn’t feel like he was moving at all. The fairy stood back as Yaksha opened the door, preparing himself as best he could for whatever was to come.

"My little halfies are here? How quaint. Did you two miss daddy?"

His voice… he knew that voice. Nikkolai’s eyes widened and he pushed past Yaksha and Rose, standing just a few yards from the man bound to the chair. His chest heaved with each breath he took, staring at the man before him. Images flashed in his head, causing his fists to clench so tightly his palms began to bleed slightly from his nails piercing them. “You…” he said, his voice whispered due to shock. “You…” He didn’t even know what to say. “… I’m not a monster…” It was a weak statement, but it had to be said when he remembered that. Such a small thing that shouldn’t have mattered at all was shaking him inside. He cared what other people thought of him, though.

Nikkolai turned back to look at his siblings for support before turning back to face Serian. His conscious told him to back off and to respect the man before him, but his core told him to just rip him apart. “Why did you say such things?” Nikkolai’s head was reeling, and he still had no cutting words to say. The only thing he could see and hear were the whispered, ghostly images of the past. He just wanted answers; he wanted to know why his detestation for this man ran so deeply. He didn’t understand it, and no one seemed to want to explain it to him.

"My little halfies are here? How quaint. Did you two miss daddy?"

Those words stung Rose. She growled but let Nikkolia go first but when he did nothing against their father's harsh words she forgot her manors. Pushing past Yaksha and Nikkolia she ran up to her "Father" and kicked him in the stomach with all her strength. "Long time no see, daddy!" She fueled every ounce of her hate into that word. A word that he didn't deserve to be called.

She punched him in face over and over, rage boiling inside of her as the memories of her past filled her head.

Get out! You're a useless thing! I don't ever want to see you around here again! Still picutres of his face flashed through her head. His smirk, his glare, his eyes. Every bit of him made her hate grow. She growled and kicked him in the chest as more voices echoed through her head.

We don't want you! Get out you freak! Stay away from us! She stopped hitting him and pulled his head up by is hair so that he would look her in the eye. "I'm going. To make you suffer. Until your last breath." With that she punched him again in the face.

Serian's nose began to weep crimson tears, but he payed no heed to his leaking nose. He only grinned at Rose and Nikki, and took on a tone of mock pity and love. "Why, Rose. Striking your beloved father, that should be a hanging offense!" He grinned demonically, blood streaming down onto his lips. "I never did anything you two didn't bring on to yourself. You're a filthy nonhuman, I owe you nothing but a swift demise!"

He leaned forward, his deep eyes glarind at Nikki. "I spoke the simple truth, you dirty half. No one could ever love you. As a matter of fact..." He leaned forward, peeling his lips back into a sneer, his teeth growing stained with blood. "Mery cursed your very name with her last breath."

Nikkolai stood back as Rose began to punch the man, cringing inwardly at the display of violence. He shifted his weight between his feet, not sure what to do. He knew the man, yet at the same time he didn’t. But if he didn’t know him, then how come there was this hatred and anger so strong that he couldn’t even comprehend its depths…?

"Mery cursed your very name with her last breath."

Mery?

The name struck his core, sending his head reeling and his vision blurring. At the very sound of the syllables, the wall holding back his memories came crashing down, causing Nikkolai to reach up and grip his head, his hair stuck between his fingers. The pulsating pressure was intense enough that it could have almost been labeled pain and he took long, heaving breaths. “Mery…” he said, knowing the name. The word brought up her face in his head. His wife… no. No, Mery wouldn’t have done that. “How dare you…” he grunted, the hatred swirling inside of him into something animalistic and clearly unhealthy. “The only one she would have cursed would have been you!”

The pulsating continued and Nikkolai ran at Serian, lifting his hand back and swinging it forward for his jaw. He wasn’t very strong physically, but he used every once of it, hoping to unhinge or break his jaw. He wanted the man dead. For the first time, he wanted a man’s blood on his hands. The hit landed, but as soon as it did, there was a loud, screaming sound in his head and he was thrown back onto his back as if he had been pushed by some invisible force.

Laying there on the ground, Nikkolai began to convulse and cough, his eyes clenched shut as he was closed off from the rest of the world. The memories poured in and his curse was put into action. It was all too much to bear at the moment and sadly, he wasn’t as much help as he would have liked to have been at the moment.

“Kill… him…” he managed to request, opening his hate filled eyes just to look at Serian’s bleeding face.

Rose didn’t understand what had just happened or who this Mary was. But she was plenty happy to fulfill her brother’s request. After checking to make sure that Nikkolai wasn’t dead she went back to pummeling her ‘Father’. Laying punch after punch on him, her hands became stained with blood. Whether it was Serian’s or her own, she didn’t know nor care. Her hatred had blinded her from any feeling at all.

Her senses just focusing on Serian and the pain she wished to cause him.

Serian laughed madly. "Yes, that's it, kill your daddy! Take away everything you've had! You were always a monster on the inside, Rose. Now.. you'll be a monster on the outside. Everyone will know what a failure you are. How you should be despised, hated, reviled. You will be a refugee, just as you should. Kill me, and ruin your own hopes of a normal life!"

Rose stopped punching him, taking in his words along with much needed breath. “Does that *pant* really matter?” she gasped. “I can’t go into any *pant* elfish village anyway. I don’t even *pant* go into villages unless *pant* necessary.” She took a deep breath and straightened up, “I said that I would pay any price to give you a long and painful death. If my life is what that price may be, I’ll accept it.”

She pulled out her dagger and admired the blade in the dim light. “But…before I send you to hell, I have a question for you.” She didn’t look back at him but her eyes hardened. “If you didn’t like half-breeds…then why did you choose my mother? She was human; you should have known that this,” she pointed the dagger at herself while looking back at Serian, “could have happened. You should have guessed it could happen?

“And don’t lie to me saying that she was meant to be a one time thing. You did love her. You kept me with you because of her and even after she died you let me live with you.” She snorted, “If you could call it living.” She continued to look at him while she fiddled with the dagger in her hands. Waiting for an answer.

Serian looked up at her, his eyes completely devoid of emotion. "You truly thought I loved ANYONE? My god, you've gone insane from being alone with that stupid chipmunk for so long! Love is a crutch, you stupid little half. Obviously you were only born with half a brain. Your mother was a means to an end. I married your mother...so she would have you."

He leaned forward as much as the seat would allow. "I WANTED to have half-breeds. My hate for halfs runs so very deep, that I wanted to prove even a child was not immune. You represented everything I stand against, and that was the way I wanted it. You were to be an example, filthy little halfbreed."

Rose stood, paralyzed as those words were spat from Serian's mouth. Time stopped for her. She didn't move. Her eyes drained of their hate and became filled with something else. It must have been sorrow because a single tear formed on her lower eyelid and slipped down her face. She let her arm drop to her side and looked up at the ceiling. She stayed like that for a minute, another tear slipping escaping from her eye.

She finally spoke as the second tear slipped off her cheek and onto her blouse. "Well, can't say I expected that answer." Her eyes flicked back at Serian for a second and returned to the ceiling. She stayed like that again for a while. Her sadness began to leave her eyes and was being replaced by a calm look.

She looked back at the ground the sighed before walking over to Serian. She pulled out her newest weapon: a stiletto. Never used before, not a scratch on it's shinning surface. She held it out for Serian to see. "I was saving it's first stain for something important. I think this qualifies." She darted forward and stabbed him in the heart.

"I'll see you in hell later, old man."

His eyes swam, and grew unfocused. His face took on a weak smile, and he muttered, "Purebloods don't go to hell. I'll enjoy watching you suffer for your folly." Yaksha himself stepped forward, and slapped him, causing his head to loll. "Have the decency to die, old man. Hell or not, I'll be there. And I'll be your personal judge, jury, and executioner." Serian let out a dry, raspy chuckle, and finally fell over, a thin rattling escaping his lips.

Rose pulled her stiletto out of Serian and stood over him. She was silent, unmoving. Just gazing at Serian's dying body; the hole she put in his heart spilled blood in a crimson waterfall. Her body began to suddenly shake, tremors running through her whole body. The stiletto fell from her hands and onto the floor. Rose's knees buckled and she followed her weapon onto the now blood-stained floor.

She breathed heavenly, taking in the taste of the fresh dead body in front of her. She did her best to pull herself up more. "Yaksha," she said, as she lifted a leg from the floor as though she was about to get up. "Thank you."