((OOC: Okay, this RP is now officialy open. The characters needed hopefully will trickle in as the RP progresses. Everyone, feel free to post! Thanks!))

Rain stared at the ceiling in the "living room" , and then at the numbers 0-1-5-2-4 tattooed on her left wrist, then back at the ceiling. Today had been a very bad day. Chris Demptri, one of her "followers", lay dead in a pool of blood in front of her bedroom door. The rules were clear: Don't kill people and stay out of Rain's room. Chris hadn't listened, and had tried to force Rain's door open. And he'd paid the consequences: Death by the animal trapped within Rain. The Wolf, NyghtFang, was not a creature to be triffeled with. He was dangerous and deadly, and she had no control over him whatsoever, making him that much more deadly. On top of Chris' death, the raid on the Noble Demitra's train had been a bust as well, which had put Rain, whose temper was short as it was normaly, in an extreamly bad mood.

Zethya shudered at the sight of the boy who lay dead in front of Rain's bedroom door.

Serves the punk right, the idiot. Everyone knows not to go into Rain's room. She thought as she slowly cleaned and polished her handgun. So much for good eating tonight too. The recon mission had been a complete failure, which really set Rain off.

I just hope the other newcomers have enough sense to stay away from her.

When he had caught scent of the blood wafting so heavily in the air around him, Nyx had honestly expected an ambush. He'd anticipated rushing back to the group he had only two weeks prior joined to find heavy casualties on both sides. He’d prepared to have to run straight into combat! And, yet there he was, awkwardly standing in the middle of the utterly unchanged house, save for a corpse he'd spotted in front of Rain's room, contemplating the situation. It seemed that the only casualty, and by the looks of it only victim, had been that of Chris...But how was it that just one corpse could wreak so heavily of an unnatural air?

Shaking the worry away, Nyx slowly raked his memories for answers. There had to be some explanation for this. A few seconds of thought and Nyx began to vaguely recall being warned of what would happen if anyone broke one of Rain's cardinal rules, trifling with her room being one. Yet one girl, even someone as infamous as Rain, couldn't possibly be that...powerful.

Innless of course the tales of her wolf side hadn't been only bravado...

"What an interesting thing that would be~" the boy mused quietly, the tiniest hints of a grin breaking out across his face. It seemed things would be so much more exciting than he had hoped....and that he was incredibly hungry if the slight murmur of his stomach was any indicator.

"He tried to get into Rain's room. The idiot." Zethya put in as Nyx stared at the corpse. "And food, what we have anyway, is in there." She jerked her thumb to the door behind her, leading the way into a kind of makeshift kitchen. "I wouldn't bother Rain if I were you. She's pretty pissed about the day's events." Zethya added with a grim smile.

"What exactly would be interesting, hmm?" Rain stood barely half a foot from behind Nyx, breathing down his neck, persay. She had a cold, edgy tone to her voice that sent chills down the spines of the two others in the room besides the corpse. Her eyes still had a redish tint to them, making her look quite insane. She seemed to be in some kind of internal battle, like she was trying to hold something back, but wasn't doing that good of a job.

Zethya shivered. Rain's eyes were so...demonic. Yet, there was something about her...like, she was trying to not do what she was doing. As if she wasn't being so scary of her own free will. Honestly, that made her just that much more scary. Zethya tried to move. She felt as if she should try to intervene, just to make sure that Nyx didn't get hurt. But she couldn't. Rain's eyes weren't on her, but just the mere sight of those cold, red tinged grey eyes was enough to paralyze her.

Where there had been nothing only an instant before, Nyx recognized the twisted presence that had lingered earlier right behind him. Except now it was a hell of a lot more concentrated in its intensity, and it seemed to be radiating its turmoil straight at him. The part that worried him though, was that, despite not seeming intent on suppressing itself at all, it had come fast enough to throw him completely off guard. Just great. That's not to say that the not so friendly tone to what, he assumed to be, Rain's voice when she spoke was helping his increasing anxiety though.

Doing his best to remain calm, Nyx quickly pulled together a hopefully reasonable explanation, "Just contemplating an atrophic muscle serum I've been trying to figure out~ Our...corpse here just gave me a bit of inspiration." The words, and the slightly jesting tone they carried, that came out only managed to send his confidence in avoiding a confrontation crashing down. Just for once, he'd enjoy not having to end his day tending to new wounds...

Rain's eyes narrowed to slits as the boy in front of her answered in a, what Nyghtfang preceived to be, rather smug, haughty tone.
"Just contemplating an atrophic muscle serum I've been trying to figure out~ Our...corpse here just gave me a bit of inspiration."A growl eminated from the base of her throat...or...it's throat, rather. Down along her arms, legs, and on her face, Rain's skin began to turn and ashen grey, with red, glowing, spiral-like shapes overtop. The canines became more pronounced as the growl grew in volume. On top of that, the thing's finger nails became enlongated and sharpened, like claws.

No, no...NO!! The thoght ponded through what was left of Rain's mind. Nyghtfang was quickly gaining dominance, and if something wasn't done fast, two more corpses would be joining Chris' place on the floor.

Rain's left hand slowly went toward one of her Magnums. She pulled it up, and pushed the muzzle against the back of Nyx's head.

"Heh heh, too bad, so sad...for now you'll be joining that kid." Nyghtfang laughed in a scratchy, maniac voice.

Click

The gun was cocked, and the next thing that was heard was a gunshot.

BLAM

And then...

"GRAAH!" A drawn out howl tore through the base, and a loud thump was heard as Rain fell backwards, slaming into the wall, her left leg bleeding badly from the back of her shin. Slowly, the red faded from her eyes, as well as the ashen grey color and the red marks. She lay in a crumpled heap, bleeding and panting. But anyone could see that she was still alive, and concious.

"That was too close...too god damned close..." She mutered to herself, gripping her leg tightly. In order to stop herself from killing Nyx and Zethya, Rain had shot herself in the leg. The bullet wound combined with the pain had allowed Rain enough mental focus to force Nyghtfang into the receses of her mind...for now, at least.

"Heh heh, too bad, so sad...for now you'll be joining that kid."
Click
BLAM
"GRAAH!"

Everything seemed to be in slow motion as Zethya watched Rain bring the gun up to Nyx's head, and then quickly pull it down as she fired, tearing through her leg instead of through Nyx's brains. She acctually screamed as Rain did, and her eyes were open wide with horror.

"Rain!!" She finally forced her frozen legs to move, and dashed over to the older girls' side. "Ohmigod, Rain! Are you all right?" she said rapidly, wishing with all of her heart that Gale was there. He was the one who knew what to do in these "situations" involving Nyghtfang. Although, this had been the first time Zethya had seen Rain take back control without Gale's help. Perhaps she was getting more dominant?

I'm...alive?

It was a strange thought to consider for Nyx. How could he have possiblly been so close to death, and still be standing? It had to be a lie. Everything he had ever been taught told him it was a lie.

Yet there he was, perfectly fine save for his racing heart, while Rain lie injured in a bloodied, crumpled heap. Her partially exposed leg was drenched in blood, flesh and muscle torn down her shin. From the look of the wound, it had been the result of a bullet shot at close ranger burrowing into it. A suprisingly small bullet wound considering the gun, but a bullet wound all the same. As though she'd...shot herself. Shot herself to stop whatever it was that was coming out...

Rain's pained gasps resonated through his ears at the thought, sending a twinge of regret throughout his body with every breath. Guilt wasn't something he felt often, but to have a woman suffer so much for his own idiotic mistake was more than the boy's conscience could take. And that wasn't even considering the added pain of Zethya's pleading words working on him. He had to do something.

Cautiously, as still fear did course through his veins, Nyx moved a hand to grab at the bandages he'd kept in his back pocket from the earlier raid. The pocket was cramped and difficult to shove his hand into, but thankfully carried what he desired. With a flick of his wrist he dragged the fabric out of the confining area, heart falling slightly at what came out. A pile of linen bandages riddled with tears and worn along the edges from age, nowhere near the quality he had thought. But they would probably do...

"They're not much, and I know this is my damn fault to begin with, but um-" Nyx held the bandages out gently towards Zethya, "-here.”

Rain sat up, shaking her head as Zethya grabbed the bandages and tried to help her. "No need, girl. Look, the hole is closed now." She gestured towards her leg, and truth be told, the bullet wound was gone. All that remained was blood. She holstered her gun, and said to Nyx, "I'm sorry. You intriuge Nyghtfang. He would love to see you lying in a pool of your own blood and brains. I'm just glad I was able to stop him this time. Chris wasn't so lucky. Just...be careful around me in the future, all right, kid?"

Blinking away his initial surprise, Nyx slowly nodded his head in understanding. He still honestly had no idea what the hell had just happened, but by this point he firgured it might be better for him to just not worry about it. He'd much rather remain ignorant than be a carcass somewhere, after all. All he needed to know had probably been spelled out quite clearly in the moments that had passed anyways. A.) Rain was a lot stronger, and by association, dangerous than he had given her credit for, B.) He really needed to work on his people skills, and C.) The world was a strange, strange place.

But ignoring all that, there was still something he had to do. Rain had saved him, for whatever reason, and she deserved something for it. But thinking about it, there wasn't really much he could give, besides perhaps the pack up cigarette's he'd found earlier that day...but somehow he doubted Rain to be a smoker. So he'd just have to go with the next best thing until he could make it up to her at a later time. Maybe with cake. Or not.

Sucking up his pride, Nyx issued his best try at a thank you he could muster, "I...I'm not sure why you did it, or even how fully, and I swear I'll find a way to make it up to you,but until then...", a light blush worked itself onto his cheeks as he paused, "Thank you."

Rain half smiled at the kid in front of her. "You know, you ever wonder why my number 1 rule is no killing?"bShe asked. Seeing a slight look of confusion pass through Nyx's eyes she continued, "It's because of this, right here." She showed him her left wrist, where the numbers 0-1-5-2-4 had been tattooed. "Someone screwed with me, and now I've got no home, no past, nothing but this damned god forsaken demon inside of me. After a year of just thinking about killing whoever did this to me, I finaly realized something." Her eyes seemed to glaze over slightly.

"If I kill whoever did this to me, I'd be no better than them. Tell me, who has the right to say what's right and what's wrong with what we do with other people's lives? No one has that right. No one. That's why no killing is the first rule. You wanna pay me back for saving your life? Next time around, 'cuz I'm pretty sure this won't be Nyghtfang's last attempt, make sure I don't kill you. In other words, don't let your gaurd down, and more importantly, fight back, ya got me? I don't care if you kill me. It may seem contradictory to what I just said about killing, but this is it: Nyghtfang is not human. He's a demon. So if you have to, just to stay alive, kill him. Whether or not I die will be irrelevant."

((OOC: I just realized, Rain is even more blunt and morbid than I originaly planned for her to be. Heh, oh well, it works well!))

Nyx, perhaps rather foolishly, was quick to disagree with Rain's comment, "I have no problem fighting back and if that’s what you want, I'll gladly do it. But if I see your death as the only way for my survival, I think it better I die." His eyes peered intensely down at Rain, for once in his life completely serious of what he spoke. He'd killed more people in his fifteen years of life than he could even remember, or cared too. Yet he felt no remorse, no pity, for those he had killed. There was no part of him worth saving over Rain. "Even if I die with you hating me."

(OOC: Well, however you're playing her, Rain's a fun little loose canon~ Sorry for playing Nyx so bipolar though, his lines always seem so contradictory when I reread them...hehe)

Zethya's head was swiviling back and forth, each of the two people before her giving off intense waves of...trust? No that wasn't it...respect, maybe? She didn't know. All she knew was that they were giving her a headache.

Rain smirked once, letting the boy's words sink in. "Perhaps you feel that way now. However, if you ever come face to face with Nyghtfang and see him head on, I think that you will change your mind." She stood up and sghed. "All right, if anybody goes anywhere, they are to ask my permission before leaving, understood? I'll be in the "library" if you need me."

The library was othing more than an office of sorts with a bunch of old city records of buildings, people, the city's history, among other things. She shuffeled through her pile of the Nobles and began reading.

As soon as Rain had left, Nyx wandered absentmindedly into the "kitchen". More of an ice cooler on top of a microwave with a few knifes thrown in, really. He'd been starving throughout the entire earlier incident though, and now that it had passed, he damn well intended to eat. He would just need to find something...edible first. Hopefully there were still some vegetables left...Nyx could really go for a carrot right about then~

Several hours later, Rain finaly re-emerged from the "library". She didn't seem the least bit tired, although it was well into two in the morning. She streched, and cracked her neck once, and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler. Then she headed toward her police scanner. After flipping through the channels for a while and not finding anything, she gave up with a sigh. She was restless, and she need to get out. However, Gale had not yet returned, which was making her worry.

((OOC: Okay, since I haven't heard back from the guy who said he would play Gale, I really need someone to play him. I'd rather not, because if all goes well, him and Rain will end up together, and i don't want to be the only one in the relationship, ya know? =P So if any of you guys could help me, I'd appreciate it.))

One hand clasped tightly round his left hip, Gale limped his way warily down the impoverished district of New York. His golden eyes were strained in pain, and his lips tightly held together to keep from crying out. Every part of his body ached as he forced himself onward, resentful of the cuts and scrapes he had let them retain. Blood had soaked through his thin semi-casual formal wear, dying small splotches, and the entirety of his left side, a ghastly crimson. It was difficult to make out, but beneath the torn and bloodied fabric was a number of small blade slices, amassing into a large gash through his left torso. The small cuts were insignificant in the long run, barely bleeding and sending out only little indications of pain. The gash, however, was constantly secreting blood, as well as radiating his mind with an ever constant sharp pain.

He'd gone earlier that day to contact one of his "suppliers" on the new information he had gathered on the shadowed nobles, hence the suit. Only to, as he really should have expected, be ambushed by at least twenty of a noble's trained men. Under normal circumstances, he probably could have widdled the number down to at the most, five, but as he soon learned, he'd been slipped a paralysis pill in the tea he'd been drinking. Luckily for him, they weren't trained well enough to make sure he died, and he managed to crawl his way out of the garbage incinerator they had left his body to burn in.

Now the only problem was whether or not he could make it back "home" before he fell unconscious. By that point in time, he was amazed he could even still walk, his bodies beaten state not mixing well with the still present paralyzing effect. He chuckled a bit at the thought, grimacing as more pain tore through his side. There was only a block or two left between him and safety, and taking the last of his willpower, Gale managed to make it to just before the steel factories entrance before his body, and consciousness, slipped out before him. With a sullen thud, he hit the pavement floor below.

A loud thum reverberated through Rain's sensitive eardrums. Then the smell hit her. Blood. And lot's of it. Mixed in with Gale's scent. "Oh no..." She whispered and bolted to the bottom level, finding a scene which had haunted her nightmares for a while now. Gale was bleeding badly from his left side, and was not conciuos.
"Gale!!" Rain cried out as she picked him up. Nyghtfang may be evil, but he had his usefulness. With his strength it was nothing to get Gale back up to the living quarters by herself. Once there, she banged on Nyx's door with her foot before laying Gale on one of the cots.
"Nyx!! I need th emedical supplies, now!!"

Rain's beatings on his door stirred the slumbering Nyx, by instinct his body rolling lazily off of the not so comfortable cot beneath him. When his face smacked onto the cool floor beneath, he snapped awake in an instant. He was about to ask what she needed, when her voice hurriedly cut in, "Nyx! I need the medical supplies, now!" It was then that he realized what the strange smell was that he had been dreaming of. Blood. With one fluid movement, he had swept the oversized medical kit he stored beside the bet matting and dashed for the door. He threw the door open before him, searching the area hurriedly for who was injured.

When he spotted the bloodied form of Gale not too far away, he made a mad dash for the cot, practically sliding to his knees beside him. Without thinking, he flipped the kit open between him and Rain, unsure of what else to do in the face of the situation.

Rain cleaned and treated most of gale's minor wounds before even trying to attempt work on the gash in his left side. The smell of blood was slightly unsettling, as it drew out Nyghtfang's bloodlust. She worked as quickly and as efficiently as she could, and after about twenty minuets Gale was patched up rather nicely.

He could feel the blood caked heavily on his hands and sleeves, but he couldn't help wiping his face in exhaustion when he'd finished. Twenty good minutes it had taken to just stop the bleeding and disinfect every laceration, another ten for the wounds that required stitches. Nyx was beat beyond tired. For all he could tell, Gale was going to make it, it was at least three in the morning all ready, and he'd slept for no more than two hours. If no one needed him, he was going to bed. Lethargically he moved his way back to his cot, handing Rain a weak muscle relaxant and two pain killers to give to Gale when he woke up before he left. He was fine as far as his life hanging in the balance went, but he'd probably wish he was dead when the pain hit. He vanished behind the darkened door of his room a few seconds later.

Gale had, at some point between Nyx doping him up with an anesthetic and sticking what could quite seriously have been a seven inch needle into his skin for a blood sample, entered a state of sleep. He'd occasionally move to murmur something in a darkened hushed voice, or, as he did soon after Nyx left, unconsciously move his body closer to Rain. Even when he had no idea what was happening, Rain was the one thing that seemed to calm him, and a serene smile was placed on his face as long as he felt her beside him.

Rain sat on the floor next to Gale's head, softly stroking his forehead. He would live, of that much she was certian. Her eyelids drooped slightly, she was exaughsted. Finaly, her head resting next to Gale's, she fell asleep.