Marie Dibson's Story

Pan stared blankly into the glowing portal. His hands were clasped together in front of him. His posture was stiff and still. He watched as his sister, Lissa, bravely went through first. As she vanished into the blinding light, there was cheering all around. Pan looked around him. It looked like every fairy in the kingdom had gathered to send them off. This didn't exactly brighten his mood though. It was Pan's turn to step through, but he was not looking forward to this trip at all. As the crowd watched in silence, anxious to see what the prince would do, he just stood there, staring into the light. Every one knew about Pan's rebellious nature, and they knew he opposed this whole idea. There were bets going around that he'd find a way out of this. Naturally, they were all sitting on pins and needles, looking to see if he'd step through, or turn and take flight.

Pan contemplated his next move. The portal was right in front of him, nearly blinding him with it's light. His sister had already stepped through, and he needed to make a decision. But what was he going to do? Run? Hide? Cry and complain until he got his way? None of those choices seemed very dignified. It appeared that he had no choice. He had to go through, though he was in no hurry. And besides, Lissa was already through. And who's going to protect her if he isn't there. He knew things were going to get ugly, and things may even get violent. She couldn't protect herself, not like he could. He had to go through, not for the sake of the kingdom, not for the sake of peace, and not even for the sake of saving face. He had to go through for her.

He could hear his sister call to him. "c’mon, Panny! It’s beautiful out here!" He knew he couldn't keep her waiting much longer.

At last, he made his first step, with the whole kingdom watching. He made another step, closer and closer towards the portal. It was slow and agonizing, but finally, he made it through the portal. The kingdom cheered.

On the other side, the first thing Pan noticed was the sun. Then he could make out the figure of his sister, and then he saw her face looking back at him. That was the only sight he knew that could fill him with joy, true joy. He smiled back at her. "So we're here. No turning back now." He turned to face the portal, but it was already fading away. There really was no turning back. They were stuck there until they could reach some sort of resolution, and he knew it.


Marie crawled onto the shore from the ocean. She was the first of her family to reach it. As she crawled, she could feel her mermaid tail splitting apart into two human-like legs. She's never done this often, but she was excited about it. She began to kick her legs to get the feel for them. It was very different than controlling a tail, and walking on dry land was very different than swimming. She almost felt like an infant as she stood and tried to stand herself up straight, but she eventually got the feel of it. The island they were now on was a small island with no life and only a couple of trees. In the middle of it was a big glowing portal. She knew she was in the right place. It was smart to place the portal on this nearby island than to have it appear in their home at the bottom of the sea so that they can get accustomed to their legs and get a fresh change of clothes before arriving on the island.

Speaking of which, on the island, Marie found two bags, one with her name, and one with her brother's. She opened up hers and found a set of dry clothes. She was so excited. She'd never had to put on clothes before. The most she'd ever worn was a bra fashioned from seashells and kelp. She immediately put on the clothes, pants and shirt, and then ran through the portal without waiting for the others. They had already said their good byes earlier, and Marie was looking forward to seeing her new temporary home.

When she stepped through, she landed on the beach. She looked around her. It was beautiful. The sun, the beach, and of course, the mansion itself. "This is wonderful!" She shouted. "We get to live here?" She asked, unsure if her brother was right behind her. She knew Vincent was a bit apprehensive about this whole thing, but she had hoped he would change his mind after seeing the place. As for herself, she couldn't be more excited. This whole island was full of new things and new people. It was her greatest fantasy come true. She looked up ahead, and could already see several people arriving through portals and heading towards the house. She wanted to rush over and introduce herself to all of them at once, but decided she needed to wait for her brother.

Evangeline Marie Almora

Eva stared at the gaping portal. It was so bright it hurt her eyes, but she found she could not look away. The Princess was hypnotized by the light and that fact that it would be the thing to take her away from her... Home? That did not feel like the right word. This place, the castle, was not really a home to her. It was a residence, the place she had lived in for twenty-one years, but not a home. To Eva the word home evoked warm feelings of acceptance and love. Here the only love she had ever received was from her brother and still the entire place had been cold and empty. Her only happy memories were with Fisher as the two played, or she watched him train. Eva's parents had mostly ignored her for her entire life, and as such she had no feelings about missing this place.

Speaking of Fisher, Eva turned her head to see her brother. He was, at the moment, speaking with their parents. He looked quite serious, but then again Fisher usually looked serious. After all, he would be the King of the Nymphs someday and as such had been trained for the position in every way possible. A tiny smile spread across Eva's face at the thought of Fisher in charge. He would be a good King and he would keep peace with the races. That's what he wanted now, anyway, an end to the war and with him in charge the peace they would hopefully achieve now would continue. Well, that's what Eva predicted for him anyway. Suddenly she felt a pincer like hand grasp her shoulder.

"Off into the portal with you," the woman snapped. Eva turned her head to see it was the cook that held her shoulder tight enough to bruise. The way she spoke epitomized how Eva was viewed in this place. Everyone knew that her parents weren't considering her for Queen, and that she was ignored by them most of the time. Plus there was the fact that Eva never complained to anyone. She would simply accept the disrespect of the slaves and keep quiet, not wishing to cause trouble. So they'd all learned that they didn't have to do as Eva asked, and they could simply skip over her room when they were cleaning.

Eva hesitated, glancing at Fisher and their parents once more. She wanted... Eva didn't know what she wanted. Perhaps for them to glance at her? Maybe wave? But she knew that was silly. What Eva didn't want was to go through the portal alone, without her brother next to her. Eva always felt stronger when Fisher was by her side. Still, she knew it was not right of her to wait for him. It would be best if a representative for the Nymphs reached the mansion as soon as possible and Fisher might be busy talking with the King and Queen for a while. Besides, even now the cook was steering her towards the portal with a steel grip. Eva didn't resist, allowing herself to be guided in front of the light. If it hadn't been for the slight push by the cook, Eva might've frozen right then and there. As it was, however, the girl stumbled through the portal to the other side. She felt the ground give way slightly and looked down to see sand beneath her feet. She glanced around and felt fear thud through her veins at the amount of people on the beach. There were so many... Too many. Eva had the sudden urge to dive back through the portal, but she was frozen where she stood.

Vincent Dibson

Vincent came just in time to see his overexcited sister dash into the glowing blue portal in front of them. Now, it was only him, his parents and three guards, standing in the soft sands of a beach near the Dibson Manor. The prince fidgeted nervously, staring at the lazily glowing portal in front of him. Vince swallowed, turning to look at his mother and father, standing hand in hand. Their grins were untroubled, and his mother gave him a small wave.

“God, it’s as if I’m going on vacation,” Vince muttered, staring at his parents. But... maybe it was going to be this easy, signing the peace treaty. Everyone in the kingdom seemed to think so, especially his sister. Marie couldn’t stop talking about meeting all the other creatures when they heard the news a week before. Marie. He loved his twin dearly, and if anything happened to her at the Hollow House, Vince would never forgive himself for letting it happen.

Turning back to the portal, he made up his mind. No matter what happens, he’s going to keep Marie safe. Letting out a calming sigh, he gave his parents a small wave, and walked (limped more like; the new heaviness from the gravity and a pair of legs he was unfamiliar with made him look like was loping) into the portal. Faster than he could blink, his parents and the guards vanished from sight, being replaced by the huge walls of the Hollow House, and the vast greenery that surrounded it. He himself stood on a beach, looking out over what looked like an endless sea or ocean. Vince frowned, surely getting out of here couldn’t be this easy...

He turned to where Marie stood, gaping at her surroundings. Vince grinned at her expression, but quickly sobered when he saw what she was cheering about. Several others had already arrived, and he knew his sister wanted nothing more than to go up and say hello. He walked over to her, and stared at the other figures in the distance. They were too far for Vince to make out anything.

“It seems so,” Vince replied to Marie’s previous question. “But, let’s take it one step at a time, right?” he asked her, knowing she’d feel his apprehension through their link.

Pan hugged his sister as she hugged him. He enjoyed her affectionate nature, and her hug really did help him feel better about his current situation. He knew, however, that there was no hope that they were going to get off that island any time soon. It's going to take much more than a few days to undo years and eons of bad history between all of the races. But for her sake, he was going to play along.

She asked him if he thought the place looked gorgeous. He actually had to think about it. He didn't really get a good chance to look around him, and he didn't really care to. He honestly didn't want to get attached to the place, or to think of the place as anything other than a prison. But at last, he managed to take one quick glance at the place. "Yeah, I guess." He answered. "If you're into this sort of thing."

When she released and suggested spying on the other races, Pan smiled, but not for the reason she might think. Pan loved seeing Lissa embrace her more mischievous side, though what she called mischief, he called 'psuedo-mischief'. The kind of things you want to do to say you've gotten into trouble without actually getting into trouble. Sure, listening in on other's private conversations may be considered rude and inconsiderate, but what's the point if you're not willing to take the information you have learned to humiliate or even harm the other person. Pan knew that Lissa would never stoop to doing anything like that, which he was just fine with. He didn't want his sister to be just like him, and in fact, he would hate it if that day ever came. He enjoyed Lissa just the way she was, and would never want her to lose that sense of innocence.

"Okay, sounds like fun." He told her as she began walking away, returning a smile back at her. He had no idea how much good quality time he's going to have left with his sister on this island, before everyone settles in and gets into 'business mode' trying to find peace, and then eventually into 'down right war' mode, which he knew was coming. And by the time that mode comes on, he'd be less concerned about causing mischief and more concerned about keeping her sister from getting hurt in the crossfire.

He ran in the direction of his sister, towards the house, towards the mass congregation of races heading inside. His body growing smaller and smaller and wings emerging from his back. His clothes slipped off his body, but he didn't mind it. He flew towards the others, unsure of which ones his sister had planned to spy on, but was sure that any pair would've sufficed.



Marie began to feel overwhelmed as more and more pairs of twins arrived on the island. They all appeared so very far away, but appeared to all be converging towards the house. She couldn't wait to get inside and make friends with every single one of them.

She turned to see her brother coming through the portal behind him. And already, she could since a deep sadness inside him. This, in turn, made her sad. She approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder to console him. "Don't be sad." She told him. "This is going to be fun. Just look at this place. Everything here is so beautiful, and so different. And if you get home sick, there's an ocean right here. I know it's not home, and you won't be able to get home from here, but it's still just as good. But look at this house. How could you not fall in love with this house?" She turned and looked at the manor. It still impressed her. "And I bet it's even better on the inside. As for the other races," She said, knowing that that's the one thing her brother feared most, "They're just like us. Sent away from their own homes to live with us. But they're not going to hurt us. We're here to make friends, remember? Just go in there, don't be shy, and be yourself, and everything will turn out fine."

She turned back to face the house. "Everybody's heading inside. We better hurry, or else they'll all go through their introductions without us." Leaving her brother behind, Marie rushed towards the house. Marie knew there wasn't much else she could do for her brother if her speech hadn't had helped enough, and she was just too excited to meet everybody. She knew that Vincent would be fine, and once he met the other people, they'd be so nice and friendly, that even Vincent will begin to feel comfortable there. They were going to have a grand time!

Vincent Dibson

Vince stared at the new pairs of twins appearing ahead of them. He swallowed nervously, the realization of what’s going on hitting him with a full force. They would have to make friends with them. All those foreign creatures with different traditions and backgrounds... and morals. And how long would that take to happen? He and Marie might have to stay here for years before they get anything done, never getting off this island, completely cut off from their family and home... Vince looked down, clenching his fists in agitation.

When he felt Marie’s hand on his shoulder, he turned to her. He knew Marie felt what he felt through their link, and in the back of his mind Vince felt bad for lowering Marie’s good mood. Looking into his sister’s eyes, he listened to what she had to say. Typical Marie, giving her little speeches. He though over what Marie had to say. The mansion was pretty impressive and the beach was huge. Vince suddenly remembered what his father once told him when he was younger. Never to judge a book by its cover. Whatever he might have heard about werewolves, and vampires, and demons Vince decided to expel from his mind. He couldn’t base his judgement on the scary stories he was told when he was young. This was something new. All of them were something new, and all it takes was to get used to it.

Giving Marie a smile of gratitude, he said to her, “Thank you, Marie. I think I needed that.” And he meant it. Jogging behind his sister, they made it to the huge doors of the mansion. Giving a slow whistle at its size, Vince turned to Marie. “Let’s see what happens from here on out, shall we?” he said jokingly with a small smile, pushing open the doors into the greeting hall. Vince couldn’t believe his eyes at first, gaping at the giant chandelier and ornate walls. “Wow,” he could only breathe out. He was sure Marie felt the same way. “Isn’t this something?”

Pan didn't exactly know how, but he somehow let his sister get ahead of him. He sped up his pace, finishing up his transformation. His body had shrunken to an incredibly small size, and he began to flap his wings, lifting his feet off the ground. He literally flew out the collar of his shirt. In it's place, his fairy form outfit had appeared around his body. His outfit were made of dark brown leaves in pretty much the same design as his sisters, because, let's face it, faeries were not that good at creating clothes to look mainly. So to compensate, he tricked out his outfit with thorny vines, wrapped almost entirely around his body. Just because he was a tiny little fairy doesn't mean he couldn't look tough, does it?

He followed his sister as they flew towards the house and through the key hole. Inside, he noticed several people. Lissa appeared to have taken interest in one particular couple staring at a wall. He could hear his sister make her guess as to what they were, and he agreed, which he signified by nodding his head as she said so.

He then noticed that his sister's attention turned towards the very wall the two phoenixes were staring at. There was a sheet of paper there with their room assignments. He found his and his sisters name and made a note of the room numbers. He was glad they didn't decide to split them up, and have boys on one floor and girls on another. This way he could make sure nothing happened to his sister, plus she was the only one he trusted to keep him company. He wasn't sure if he was going to like any of these other guys.

As he continued reading, he made note of the others they'd be sharing a floor with. Vampires and mermaids apparently. He rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand mermaids. Or, at least, the idea of mermaids. He knew there was no way a race could spend their whole lives living in the water without suffering from some sort of brain damage. He also knew they couldn't last very long on dry land without water, and wondered how long it would take before they decided to flood the whole floor so that they can be comfy. Vampires he had no problem with. If he hadn't had been born a fairy, Pan figured he would've ended up as a vampire. There was something about their dark nature that he found attractive. But he knew his sister couldn't stand them.

He flew closer to her to console her. "Don't worry about it." He told her in his fairy voice. "I heard vampires are like bears. If you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Just don't invite them into your room, or go into one of their rooms if they invite you." He knew this advice was probably scaring his sister even more, but he felt it was practical advice that she needed to hear. "And if you're ever in doubt, just find me." He told her.

He then turned his attention back to the phoenixes, who appeared to be having a very similar dilemma to their own, and the male phoenix was even consoloing the female. It bothered Pan somewhat, like having a mirror version of himself only as a phoenix. 'All brothers want to protect their sisters' He figured. 'I'd really only have to worry if he turns out to be a rebel and a trouble maker'.


As the two twins headed into the house, Marie was awed at the sight of it. It was a grand place, much like her own home, but very different. Here, there were shapes and colors she'd never seen, structures made of materials she had never known. She had lived a very secluded life, as royalty tend to do, especially when you're so dependent on water to live. She looked over at her brother, and could tell, even without having to sense it, that he was just as awe-inspired as she was.

“Isn’t this something?” Her brother asked.

"Sure is." Marie answered. "A lot of some things."

But one other thing that also caught Marie's attention, was nearby, gathered around a wall next to the door, were a whole bunch of new people. 'At last!' She internally exclaimed. 'It's the people!' They all appeared to be reading some sort of list that had been posted there. Many looked distraught at what they had read. Many were running off up the stairs as soon as they had finished. Marie just had to silently stare for a little while and take it all in. These people didn't have tails or fins. Many probably couldn't even swim. And she knew that none of them were what they appeared. Some could change shape, and some could cast spells, and some could do things that she was sure she could never even imagine. But they were all here, and they were all together, and she figured this was her chance.

"Hello everyone!" She spoke to them all, in a very jovial and upbeat manner as she gave them all an incredibly wide grin. "My name's Marie Dibson. I represent the merpeople at this meeting. And this is my brother, Vincent." She said, stretching out her arm in his direction, to make sure everyone can see him. "He's a merperson too. We look forward to getting to know you all. Do you have anything to add, Vincent?" She turned and asked her brother.

Lissa almost smiled at Pan’s attempt of calming her. He was just so bad at it, it was nearly funny. He was trying though, and she loved him for it, so though his words were in no way comforting, she still shot him a little smile. Part of her was still focused on the phonix-couple, listening in on their conversation. The male seemed like he didn’t really ever console anyone. Much like her Panny. Sure, he was always there for her, but uh… that was pretty much it. No one else got that amount of consideration. Everyone else merely existed for his amusement. Lissa decided to get her own safety blanket and took her brother’s hand, her tiny hand slipping into his bigger one, which immediately caused her to relax, features growing soft once more instead of strained with fear and worry.

Pan’s hand was all she needed. To hell with words; actions spoke so much more, and he’d always taken care of her, mostly because Melissa knew she couldn’t do that herself. Frankly, she sucked at it. She was guessing most of the girls would be much more confident and self-sufficient than her, but then again, that didn’t really take much. It wasn’t that Lissa though less of herself than many others, she merely valued other things and had always thought violence unnecessary. All it did was destroy, kill and main – who could honestly say they wanted that? She didn’t, that was certain. She smiled softly at Panny. At least they’d be next to each other, which meant she’d probably spend the first couple of nights in his room. No way was she staying by herself in this spooky house. She didn’t care how her room looked, or how Pan’s looked. If he had a double bed she’d sleep right beside him.

Hey, wouldn’t be the first time. Lissa had often had nightmares as a child, and she’d always crept into Pan’s bed, curling up under his covers and then the bad dreams would disappear. In her mind she had made up this theory that her brother scared the monsters away, because he was much tougher – even back when they were kids. The thought made her smile at Pan, warmed. She didn’t need words of comfort from him, not really, which was good, because he was truly terrible at it. He was more practical. He offered advise, not comfort, and that was nice – except it didn’t help her right now. The feel of his hand covering hers did, however. Man, she was never going to let it go. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to. It resembles asking a 2 year old to give away her favorite teddy. Lissa had had a monkey-teddy she’d brought with her everywhere, she remembered. She was pretty sure she still had it somewhere, actually.

“It’s alright Panny,” Venus whispered at her brother, eyes still a little wary, but getting softer and happier by the minute. She never really did hold onto bad emotions for long. “You don’t have to say anything, but…” she was just about to ask him whether he’d be okay with her staying in his room, when someone burst through the door. Another pair of twins. Lissa quickly turned her head, her curiosity conquering her fear. Venus knew the talking female could not see her, so she felt safe, still holding on to her brother. Mermaid princess, then… huh, she didn’t look fishy at all, but maybe she smelled like it if you got close enough? The guy next to her hadn’t spoken yet, though, but the girl said he was the mermaid prince, and he looked more sane than his sister, that was certain. The girl seemed… eager. What kind of idiot would be eager to be in this place? It was pretty much a jail filled with scary inmates, and they'd been thrown to the sharks. Surely a lovely prospect.

Melissa knew she wasn’t the brightest, she tended to be a bit naïve herself, and sure, the place was beautiful, but was this girl completely oblivious? Lissa cast a glance her brother’s way, gauging his reaction to the newcomers and the princess’ intro-speech.

Vince was only pulled away from the grandeurs when he felt a jump of fluttery excitement come from Marie. Frowning, he turned to her with a questioning expression. She was staring, a huge grin spreading on her face. Oh no... Vince noticed the two figures standing near a corridor entrance. Panic flashed. Who are they? Marie always loved to meet new people, which was fine to Vince, as long as he wasn’t dragged into it himself. Back at the manor, where everyone who entered the vicinity was either royalty or rich, he and Marie were never near anyone who was anywhere near dangerous. Here, in the “real world” as his parents described it, first meeting could mean anything could happen. Absolutely anything. Vince’s eyes glanced over the pair. It was a man and woman, obviously twins. They had the same facial features, the same eyes. No obvious signs of what creatures they might be. Well, they weren’t elves, Vincent could see from where he was standing the couple didn’t have an elf’s signature pointed ears. But other than that, they could be anyone. This is where it really begins, doesn’t it? This meeting will decide how long their residence here will have to go on.

In a second, Vince felt Marie leave his side and go skipping off towards the strangers. Here it goes. Vince already predicted what Marie was going to say before she said it. She had always loved assaulting newcomers with an onslaught of overbubbly spirit. Vince had given up long ago trying to repress her vehement crusades.

“Hello everyone!” she began. Everyone? Vince thought, staring at the only two other people in the room. What?-- Only then did he notice the two small beings fluttering above them. Faeries! He stared at them in astonishment. Wings, on insects, birds, or any other creature, he had only seen in books. And even of those there were very few. Merfolk tended to stay away from anything to do outside of water. He grinned. Wings were like tails for the air, weren’t they? But that smile lasted only until he heard his name being called. “Do you have anything to add, Vincent?”

This hit him as a surprise. Vince didn’t expect Marie to actually pull him into the introductions. She usually had the sense to leave him out of it, once he had made it clear from a young age that talking to strangers wasn’t really his area of expertise. He acted on instinct, speaking what was on his mind.

“What are you?” Vince blurted out. And then slapped himself internally. What a graceful introduction, Mr. Impetuos. But he knew it was the leading thought in both his and his sister’s minds. He was never good at small talk anyways. Vince could only hope Marie would forgive him afterwards.

Aileen Enora Vesta- Phoenix Princess

“Yeah, I know,”
Brent's voice came from behind her, and Aila turned somewhat surprised at his gentle approach. He wasn't normally so gentle, though he was more so to herself, and never to others. She felt his arms around her, firm and unmoving and she automatically relaxed. She hadn't realised how tense she'd been, the whole situation had really started to unnerve her. The fear of living with so many enemy species was enough to make everyone nervous, however the feeling you also had to live up to their expectations of the third race was simply terrifying...and then living with the demons?
“Relax, sis. No one’s going to hurt you. I won’t let them, filthy demons or not.”
Aila gave him a gentle smile, looking up into his serious eyes. He certainly wasn't kidding, and although she supposed she should be against it, she couldn't help feel more secure. She'd forgotten; there'd be no way Brent would let anything happen to her.
Brent gave her a gentle squeeze before she wrapped her own arms around his, and leaned slightly against him.
"Thanks" she whispered "I needed that"
She gave him a warm smile, before the sound of two others entered, she immediately tensed up, and de-tangled herself from Brent's arms, to get a glimpse of the two in front of her.
The female was pretty, with straight brown hair and an over the top bubbly smile. A more tentative male stood behind her, dusty blonde hair and a strong, tanned face.
Aila eyed them warily. They talked amongst themselves, seemingly commenting on the interior of the house before the female suddenly saw them.
"Hello everyone!"
Aileen almost stepped back in surprise at the overly up beat and informal greeting.
"My name's Marie Dibson. I represent the merpeople at this meeting. And this is my brother, Vincent. He's a merperson too. We look forward to getting to know you all. Do you have anything to add, Vincent?"
At the mention of "merpeople" Aileen automatically tensed up, and her face hardened. No doubt her eyes showed her fear, and wouldn't fool anyone.
"Vincent" didn't look too impressed by his sister asking him about his opinion. He didn't seem like the confrontational sort.
"What are you?"
Aileen stared at him in shock before controlling herself, and forcing her expression to return to neutral. No matter how...rudimentary they seemed, they were still royalty, and as much as the idea of water concerned her, actually, terrified her, she had to control herself.
"We are the Phoenix representatives." Aileen managed to say stiffly "My name is Aileen Enora Vesta, and this is my brother, Brenton Aedus Vesta"
Even if the merfolk were not going to keep to formalities, Aileen certainly was. It was expected. Perhaps the lower races had not been taught correctly.
Aileen glanced uneasily at Brent. He would not take kindly to these people interrupting. She gave them a slight nod of acknowledgment before starting to walk off, giving Brent a pleading look not to say anything.

Brent was beginning to feel Aila relaxing in his arms, which in turn calmed the protective instinct in him. He could feel that more than just he and his sister were present, but paid it no mind. Who they were, and more importantly, what they were, would be revealed soon enough. As his sister thanked him, twisting her head slightly to present him with a smile, Brenton returned it with a little one of his own. “You’re welcome,” he whispered back but soon felt her tense all over again as his ears caught the sound of the door being opened. He sighed, a bit irritated at the interruption, but let go of his sister the second she started moving to turn. He, however, merely turned his head slightly, not really caring for the extra company. He had a feeling his sister was going to regret keeping him cooped up in this place – he was only going to screw things up, and the worst part was that he didn’t even give a rat’s ass.

The second Aila left his arms entirely, he moved to casually cross them over his chest, watching her reaction to the newcomers. She seemed careful, which was good – he had always appreciated his sister’s sense of caution. Something he realized the newcomer girl didn’t have as she saw them and started babbling. Brent raised an eyebrow and took a step to bring him in position next to his sister from whom he could sense not only prudence, but fear at the mention of blasted half-fish. Great, first people they meet, and then they were merfolk. Could life get any better? He did not touch Aila, knowing she didn’t want to seem weak in front of the others, so instead he merely gave the two an indifferent, cold stare, letting them know he was not a fan. The prince had remained quiet, seemingly a little awkward at the situation, which Bren thought slightly humorous, considering his sister’s ignorant, foolish approach.

He personally felt like ripping out her throat this immediate second, just to keep more words from spilling. Even her voice was a cause of aggravation. But he refrained, mostly because he didn’t feel like washing blood out of his clothes. When the guy finally spoke, Brent smiled wryly, amused at his floundered words. Well, at least he now knew why the guy hadn’t spoken so far. He was even worse than his sister, not that he didn’t expect such ways from merfolk. Water-loving imbeciles. “Real smooth,” he muttered and glanced at his sister. She looked pensive though she bravely attempted to hide the fear with a hard mask. It didn’t really work for her, but it sure was a little comical. She also appeared a bit perplexed at the words from the water-twins, a feeling he could understand.

His lips curled into a slight smirk, noting the polite, formal nature of his sister’s words, made even more so by the fear still obvious in her eyes. He didn’t understand her fear entirely. Okay, so water sucked, but the two were pretty much at the bottom of the hierarchy, and honestly they appeared much less than menacing. Brent, despite their affinity with water, felt no fear. No, Brent did just fine with disdain towards the two. The fact that she introduced him as well as herself informed him that she wanted to get away from these idiots as much as he. Finally, something the two could agree upon. As she glanced at him, he knew she wanted him to keep quiet, but this time he wasn’t going to listen. A little warning for the two creatures would do good. So his vividly blue eyes landed upon the girl, Marie, as his lips curved just enough to form a cold smile. He could feel his sister starting to move away from him, and would follow her soon, but for now, he didn’t even look.

“So here are a bit of groundrules, if you guys would like to stay alive for more than a day in this place,” he started. “It’s simple really. You don’t look at us, you don’t speak to us, and should you find yourselves in the same room as myself or my sister, I would have you leave. I have no patience for water loving half-fish who only posses the wits of a stone and I would not have you near my sister either. Got it?” He said, his eyes growing cruel as he turned gaze towards the male, Vincent and let a slight current of fire exit his mouth, a little bit of warning supporting his words. Then he closed his mouth, face suddenly without expression, turned and walked with his sister. “C’mon, Aila, let’s check out those rooms,” were his final words as he walked up the stairs, soon bypassing his sister in moving away from the merfolk, again, not because he was scared, but their presence alone bothered him. Infuriating little creatures.

As the couple reached their rooms, Brent pulled to a stop before hers and opened the door for her, acting the gentleman, even though he obviously wasn’t one. “You gonna be alright?” He asked, a little bit softer than his usually so indifferent tone. He knew she was probably annoyed with him about the stunt he’d pulled downstairs, but he held no warm feelings towards them, he didn’t give a shit as long as they stayed away, and honestly… she should be happy, as Brent was pretty certain the two had gotten the message, and he knew she feared them for their nature. He didn’t – he just didn’t like them. Again, he did not hate the two. Hate was too strong a feeling for the phoenix male to experience, but he cared not for their company, that was certain.

Pan stayed close to his sister. His words may not have been enough to soothe her, but hopefully his presence was enough. As Venus grabbed his hand, he could feel the tension from it slipping away. Soon after, she began to ask him something, but she never got the chance to finish. Whatever it was, he knew that she'd bring it up again if it was really important.

At that moment, another pair of twins had entered. It was impossible to identify them simply by their looks, but fortunately, he didn't have to rely on that for so long. Almost immediately, the girl began speaking. He was able to learn so much about the two from so little. Their names were Marie and Vincent, and they were merpeople. One was obviously a 'people person', maybe a little too perky for her own good, and they other was a bit timid and socially awkward. Even though the two of them appeared to be as different as could possibly be, they both appeared to be fish out of literal water with no idea what they were doing.

But what really interested Pan the most was the phoenixes adverse reaction. It was almost immediate. The female reacted as if in fear. The male reacted with a lot of hostility. It was a strange reaction, especially from a greeting so kind and cordial. Even Pan hardly ever responded to friendly greetings with death threats. Of course, he figured it was because of their races. Water and fire just don't mix.

Pan grinned as he witnessed the situation unfold, and not a pleasant grin. The poor mermaids, ignorant of the position they are now in, becoming instant enemies without ever having to do a single thing wrong, and the hot-tempered phoenixes, ready to blow up at just the slightest provocation. And these were only two of the hostile chemicals present in this chemistry lab. If Pan moved all the pieces together in just the right way in just the right timing, he could create an explosive reaction that would surely liven up this prison sentence. He frowned again as he turned towards his sister. Did he really want to cause trouble and risk getting Venus caught in the blast? This he had to think about.

In the meantime, he noticed the phoenixes walking away. He turned towards his sister. "What do you want to do next? Follow the phoenixes? Stay with the mermaids? Find someone else to spy on? Or go check out our rooms? You've got lots of options here. Take your pick. It's all up to you." He offered.



Marie waited in anticipation after finishing her speech, waiting for the other couple to make their response. Vincent threw in a question of his own. Marie shot him a very encouraging nod, as if saying 'good question. You're doing great.'

The female spoke first. She gave their names and revealed that they were phoenixes. Marie's smiled widened even further, if that's even possible, at this revelation. She was very fascinated about the phoenixes based on the very little she knew about them. They were fire birds. That was about it. But that was enough for Marie. She'd never actually seen a fire before, or birds other than the occasional seagull. So this was an amazing opportunity.

Next, the male spoke up, and there was something in his tone and words that didn't please Marie. She couldn't really process hostility, so the best she could describe the attitude of the phoenix was 'grumpy', as if he had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed and needed some time to cool off. Then the two stormed off, leaving the merfolk without a rebuttal. It was an odd way to end a conversation, Marie thought, without even saying good bye or have a nice day. But if this was the way they do things on land, she wasn't going to fight it. But she wasn't going to compromise her own ideals either.

"It was nice meeting you!" She shouted as they both walked off. She turned and smiled at his brother. "You did great." She encouraged. She knew it was tough for Vincent. She could sense it. But it wouldn't have done any favors if he just remained quiet and refused to talk to anyone. Especially if he was going to become the next king, he had to learn to come out of his comfort zone and make relations with others. Not that Marie cared about the political stuff. She just thought it was nice to be able to talk to people. She didn't quite understand her brother, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. It seemed unusual to get nervous around strangers, because you're just as much a stranger as they are to you. And once you get to know them, you're no longer strangers, and both your worlds just got a little bit bigger.

"They were nice." Marie added. "I could tell. It's not necessarily there on the surface, but underneath, they're very kind people. I'm sure they're just a little tired from their trip. I'm sure they have nothing against us personally. It might take a while, but eventually, they'll warm up to us." After a silent beat, Marie started to chuckle. "Get it? Warm up? Because they're fire birds. I'm so funny. I should tell them that one the next time I see them. That'll get them to like us."

As she rambled, and her eyes wandered around the room, they finally landed on the sheet of paper hanging on the wall by the door. "Oh look, Vincent! Our names are here!" She went over to the wall and read it. "Looks like we're on the ground floor along with the faeries and the vampires. Don't they sound delightful? The adorable faeries and the...something...vampires. I don't know what vampires are, exactly, but I'm sure they're very friendly. What do you say, Vincent? Want to go meet them?"

Venus couldn’t help a sweet smile when the merperson prince asked “what are you?”, however she didn’t miss the fact that he’d been looking directly at her. This worried her. People were not supposed to notice her and Pan – not while they were still so little. It was a discomforting thought, and it made her clench onto her brother even more, her hand squeezing his slightly. Her brother didn’t seem too impressed with the bubbly and slightly awkward introductions, but she knew he was soaking up every bit of information freely given, just like she was. As the scene unfolded before her, the phoenixes reacting with respectively fear and hostility, she could practically feel the webs being spun in her brother’s mind, causing her to shoot him a look. He was smiling the exact smile she’d suspected he would. This meant he was going to cause some trouble among the other, however, the smile faded when he looked at her soft features and frowned instead.

He was probably worrying about her again, but she didn’t quite know why. She’d have to ask him what was going on. At the fire-display of the Phoenix Prince, Venus flew closer to her brother, half-way hiding behind him, shaking a little out of shock. Venus wasn’t afraid of fire itself, but wielded by the right person, it was no pleasant thing, and this prince did not seem very agreeable. He scared her a little, honestly, even with Pan’s hand in hers. She soaked up the myriad of impressions and information flooding her, but stayed safely behind her brother, peeking over his shoulder at the merfolk after the Phoenixes left, laughing softly at the mermaid yelling that it was nice meeting the duo. Her gaze, however, soon got redirected towards her brother as he turned and spoke directly to her. She smiled at him, loving that he’d just go along with whatever she wanted to do. She supposed he could feel her need of him, something she greatly appreciated.

At the same time, she detected talking among the mermaid, however and put a single finger in front of her mouth, motioning for her twin to keep quiet. She was curious as to the mermaid princess. No one could possibly be that clueless. There was just no way. She once more peeked over Pan’s shoulder, squinting slightly as if that would help her hear the couple. As she listened in on the conversation between the two, she laughed at Marie, puzzled at their resemblances, albeit the mermaid was a bit more naïve than herself, Venus always did believe in the best in people too. Even though her joke was absolutely terrible, Venus found herself warming towards the creature. With the prince of the Phoenixes she had found that his good side was shown in the protectiveness he took on with his sister. He reminded her of Pan in that fashion. The thought made her shoot her twin a warm smile, even as she still listened to the couple.

When they moved towards the fairies, Melissa was just about to tell her brother that they should go, but kept quiet for some reason. She wanted to know their reaction to their floor-mates, maybe, or perhaps she just liked the company of the others, and well, okay, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do yet, so hovering around the entrance hall seemed like a pretty good idea at the moment. She found herself smiling widely at the notion that fairies were ‘adorable’. Words from the mermaid obviously and glanced at Pan, who would probably find the word pretty degrading. She was going to try and keep this mermaid princess safe from her brother, though. Pan could be so terribly mean sometimes, and she already knew he was planning something. However, for the time being, her curiosity towards the merfolk had been sated. She was glad, and found herself appreciating the fact that the two were going to be sharing floor with her and her brother. It didn’t make her feel safe, but it did make her feel welcome.

She looked from the merfolk to the stairs and then moved her gave to look Pan, smiling warmly at him, her blue-green eyes sparkly and beautiful, blonde hair moving with her head. They probably should introduce themselves to all the others, which meant they had to change shape, and then put on some clothes, as the latter had been shed on the beach and forgotten. Lissa wasn’t going to get it. It was just a simple, white dress, nothing all that special. She had about a million dresses, and was pretty used to throwing them away whenever she randomly felt like changing. There would be plenty of time for spying on everyone later too, though they’d have to be more careful with their clothes; people would be more prone to be on the look-out if clothes were lying about randomly. It was a tad suspicious.

She shook her head a little, sending a smile in the direction of the merpeople. “I like them,” she said, glancing back at her brother, still smiling. “And I think we should probably make formal introductions… or at least introductions,” she added, laughing softly. “I don’t want to be last to meet everyone… that would suck. How about we go to our rooms, change and then meet everyone? Then we can spy some more on everyone afterwards.” Her smile widened at her last words, loving the fact that they were able to become tiny enough to enter any room and listen in on every conversation. Lissa loved being a fairy. Why would anyone ever want to be anything else?

Just after the words left her mouth, Lissa was flying once more, dragging Pan along with her till they reached their rooms. Then she stopped, wings fluttering to keep her in the air. “Here we are,” she noted, voice chipper. “Me first, then you.” Then she flew into her room, her brother still attached to her by hand. She had no qualms changing in front of him. They were fairies, being naked for a little while until you got to put on clothes, was natural. No one frowned on that, ever. She was guessing the shapeshifters were like that as well. She couldn’t imagine what a bother it would be if she had to hide every time she changed into her bigger form. It would take forever, is what it would. It was a nice arrangement, because it meant that he could be in her room as she changed back, staying near her. She didn’t want him leaving her side even for a second.

As soon as Venus found herself in the middle of her room, she took time enough to look around, squealing joyfully as she instigated her change. “Look at it, Panny! It’s gorgeous!” The silvery tones of her room were beautiful, and the big bed looked soft and fluffy. She loved the amount of mirrors, reflecting the shining quality of the furniture. Her smile was still big as her transformation ended, leaf-dress gone, leaving her completely naked. She looked around her, eyes brightening when she caught sight of a closet and moved to find herself some change of clothes. It didn’t take her long to dress herself in this before she turned to her brother, doing her hair all the while.

Diana Beaumont | thɛ vɑmpiʀɛ pʀincɛss

After the Vampire twins went their different ways in order to explore their new abode, Diana entered her own quarters. She was surprised to find that it wasn’t as bad as she had thought. Of course, after seeing the house in the first place it had been a little obvious to her that her bedroom wouldn’t be that bad. However, her previous thoughts on the matter—when she was at home—her mind had wandered into a dungeon-looking place. She exaggerated.

“Not bad,” she murmured after making a full twirl in the middle of the room. She noticed every detail, and although she much preferred classic elegance compared to modern, she had no complaints. In fact, it was nice to have a change of scenery considering that circumstances. And with that little thought, Diana made her way to the bathroom. It was big and bright, but it didn’t bother her a tad. And that was why she found that to be a rather odd. She put down the heels she had finished cleaning and curiously made her way towards the large window that gave way for the light of day.

Diana looked at her feet and studied the little distance there was between them and the light illuminating the bathroom floor. Then, she lifted her eyes to the window and suddenly stuck out her foot. When pain wasn’t felt, she smiled in delight and stood completely out into the light.

“Yes, it’s pretty nice,” Diana stepped out of the bathroom with a bright smile on her face. It was almost mischievous in a way, but not entirely. More like she had a big secret she could not wait to share. And so she did. “I don’t mind the lights here, actually,” she mused whilst positioning herself before one of the opened windows of her room. “I believe that He was thinking of us, too.”

Asher Chamberlain | thɛ wɛʀɛwolf pʀincɛ

Asher was aware of how Desiree walked towards the mansion, as he shot glances at her every so often, but his eyes were mostly focused on the place they were to live for some time. It seemed a lot bigger than he’d expected, but he wasn’t all too surprised. This was probably because, aside from counting just how many rooms they would need for everyone to fit in there, he hadn’t given it any more thought.

“Agreed,” the werewolf prince murmured in reply to his sister’s words as they made their way inside. There, he noticed that most of the other beings that were to join them were already moving about and exploring their temporary home. He noticed that some of them looked anxious while others looked unmoved, but no big fight had risen yet. However, he could sense sad emotion in the air—which startled him somewhat as it awoke his brotherly ways.

He cleared his throat.

“Ok then… Where do you suppose are our rooms?” Asher asked his sister as he clasped both hands together and rubbed them in a ‘let’s get this thing rolling’ sort of manner. Just then, however, an attractive young woman spoke for all to hear. He looked at her and grinned as he waved a hello in her direction as well as her brother’s. “Hey. Uh, we’re… werewolves. My name’s Asher Chamberlain and this is my lovely sister, Desiree,” he responded and averted his eyes towards his sister before returning to the merpeople.

Aileen Enora Vesta- Phoenix Princess

Aila stiffened slightly as she walked off and felt Brent's presence stay exactly where it was. Her whole body tensed, before she turned back to him, a new kind of fear lighting up her eyes. She twisted around, her face going pale and was about ask him to come before he cut her off, spewing words forth like there was no tomorrow.
The next minute he let flame out of his mouth. Aila's face showed her shock. Sure she was expecting him to explode, but the fire? That was not done, not even to people who you had great disdain for, which was evidently the case.
She found herself frozen in a mixture of horror and embarrassment as Brent walked past her casually suggesting they check out their rooms.
Her mouth was still open slightly from when she was about to rebuke Brent, so she quickly shut it, glancing in the direction of Marie's face to see her reaction. Surprisingly, the girl didn't seem to have much of a reaction...but Vincent. Aila felt the colour rising to her cheeks. As much as she both feared and didn't like the merpeople, Brent's little showcase was unacceptable. Her cheeks were an aflamed red colour, her eyes giving off an apologetic look. She half opened her mouth to utter an apology, when she remembered Brent was halfway up the stairs. She couldn't have him in this state meeting anyone else. She gave one apologetic glance behind her before hurrying after him.
"It was nice meeting you!"
Aila found herself jerking to a stop, pausing in shock, her hand just raised above the banister, before continuing to follow Brent up the stairs. She felt awful about the whole thing. She still didn't like the two of them, but at the moment Brent's behaviour was more of a concern. In that moment she had almost found herself grateful to Marie for overlooking Brent's tirade.
When they finally made it to the first floor, Brent pulled open the door for her almost as thought that would make up for his behaviour upstairs.
She stiffly walked past him, with a rigid back, flinching at his question. Was she going to be alright? In her current emotional state she didn't even notice the gentle tone.
"What do you think Brent?" She couldn't keep the hint of anger out of her voice. She rarely got to the stage of yelling, but she was close at the moment. Oh so close. "In the first fifteen minutes I now have enemy's to contend with"
Now the anger was starting to die down, the fear was starting to come out. She didn't want to talk to him at the moment. She desperately tried to hold herself together as she turned to him.
"Would be a good time to have a fly" she managed to say, her voice low, barely keeping her emotions in check. He'd better take the hint and go off to his own room and leave her for a bit. And he'd better not change in the middle of the hall or she'd lose it.
With that she shut the door. Yes, he'd be mad probably, but at the moment Aileen was too, so he would have to handle it. She leaned her back against the door, taking in a deep breath, trying to quell the feeling of losing it. She hadn't come into this place dumb. She'd known sooner or later Brent would have an argument, but she'd at least hoped that she'd be able to meet the people first and give them a cordial first impression.
She leaned her head against the door before finally taking in her room. Truly it was nice. The colour scheme suited her, and nothing seemed overly flammable…
She felt herself start to lose it as a single tear trickled down her face. She couldn't help it. The whole thing was messed up. She was supposed to be giving the Phoenix's a good name, not messing up in the fist day. She already missed home. There Brent could be himself and she could feel like she belonged and was worth something. She quickly brushed away the tears and tried to quell her feelings, taking in a shuddering breath. Now was not the time to panic or go into hysteria.
She carefully looked in the room. Taking it all in. She was used to nice living areas being third rank, however she was still quite impressed with the tastefully decorated living quarters. She slowly made her way into the bathroom, looking over white dress, and then down at her shoes. She frowned slightly. She needed to get changed and organise herself better.
She quickly went over to the wardrobe. Pulling out another simple white dress. It had a tightly fitted, boned corset from which a simple skirt fell down to the ankles. The lacing at the back was done with a dark red ribbon, again matching with her hair. She carefully put it on enjoying the lack of sleeves, giving her a sense of freedom. It went well with her fair skin. Finding her hair annoying, Aileen went over to the bathroom. She carefully pinned it on top of her head. Each pin finished with a simple diamond. Her hair was carefully arranged, everynow and then light hitting the diamonds sending out a small ray of light. She left her fringe out and removed her shoes. She wasn't one for shoes, and preferred bare feet. She was sure a few other races would agree, so it shouldn't be an issue.
After finally sorting herself out, she went over to the window gazing over the new landscape.

Delroy Figaro Quirin- Genie Prince

Del finally snapped out of his reverie when he remembered Em's begging. Vampires. He'd forgotten they could retract their teeth. He shook his head slightly as though shaking off the dreary thoughts, when Em interupted him.
"So, Mr Genie. Shall we adopt our new persona?"
He gave her a cheeky smile.
"What are you talking about you crazy child? I think before we explore the rest of the house we should find some nice, fat necks to suck on"
He gave her what was supposed to be an evil glare, but what actually turned out as a rather strange mix between a frown and a smile. He immediately wiped the look from his face.
"Well that sure didn't work" he said comically, before grabbing Em's hand to lead her out of the room. "Vampire's shall be fun…"
He was cut off as a fiery haired woman along with a strong looking male walked past. Something was evidently upsetting the female, as the male gentlemanly let her into her room. She exchanged a few words before the door was shut.
It was hard to gage what the males response was, but Del didn't particularly feel like talking to them any way. They were evidently not the best people to talk with at the moment…
Del turned to Em raising his eyebrows slightly, shaking his head slightly implying they weren't the right people show their charade yet. They evidently had things to sort out first.
He started to walk down the hall towards the stairs. When he looked down there were two couples below. An overly happy, bubbly girl, a awkward and shy male, another couple also standing with them. The female was rather pretty and the male rather handsome as well, though quite frankly Del couldn’t care less. What made them perfect to talk to was the way they were open. He and Em could have quite a ball lieing to them.
That was one advantage of a genie. No one would be able to look past their lie for a while, until it was proved wrong. He would have quite a lot of fun pulling them along with his charade. Automatically he adopted a vain and pompous look about him. Giving Em a brooding look. He carefully raised his chin and tried to look as stuck up as possible. After all, that's was what vampires were for. He gave Em a slight indication of the head to the group, before his mask broke into a cheeky smile. He immediately fixed his pompous mask before continuing down the stairs. Drama was a lot of fun, and he enjoyed getting into the skin of another character. At the moment he was second in rank, and from the group below Del could tell none were elves.
Brilliant. They'd be top of the chain for now.
"Greetings all" He said with a rather icy stare towards the group below him. He was careful to keep his chin lifted and his eyes rather haughty and proud.

Vincent Dibson

Vince, still annoyed with his own introduction, could only be surprised to the way the girl reacted to him and his sister. She seemed terrified of them. What for? Vincent didn’t consider himself particularly intimidating, and Marie was anything but that. But, then again, what did these creatures hear of the merfolk back home? When the girl said her name and race, it made sense. Although Vince never witnessed it with his own eyes, he knew the fundamentals that fire and water don’t mix. Is that why she was afraid of them? Because they live in water? Vince thought this to be completely irrational. Aileen seemed nice enough though, even if she was tensed up.

When her brother spoke up, however, Vince knew in an instant he’s going to be trouble. As Brent sent a cold smile at Marie, Vince stepped in front of her, a sense of protection and tension building up inside of him. He didn’t like this phoenix. He was a threat. When he started talking, Vince’s eyes narrowed, in anger and confusion. Is this a rank thing? Vince never really cared about the merfolk’s status in the ranks. If no one bothered them, why should he? But Brent was crossing the line. Who the hell did he think he was?

When he blew fire, Vince nearly stumbled back in shock. The feeling of intense heat and dryness startled him. Now Vince was confused. What’s this guy’s problem? Aileen sent across an apologetic look before following her brother up the stairs. Vince felt a strange connection to her. He and Aileen shared one important thing in common. They both seemed to be chasing their out of control siblings, trying to keep them from embarrassing themselves and the people around them. He gave a small shrug to her unspoken apology, which meant, It doesn’t really matter. He was about to answer to Brent’s receding form, when Marie beat him to it. “It was nice meeting you!”

Vince’s stomach dropped. “Marie, what am I going to do with you?” He said to himself, looking sadly at his sister. He tried to protect her as best he can, but he knew she’d always go slipping out of his grasp like the little fish she was. He zoned out as Marie started rambling, glancing absentmindedly at the sheet that hung on the wall. Vince decided he’d try to talk to his sister, to open her eyes to the situation. Before he could say anything though, new voices broke in.

Turning, he noticed two other pairs coming towards them, one from the staircase and one from the entrance. He guessed the conversation would have to wait then... He glanced up at the two pairs. The first, who already introduced themselves as werewolves Desiree and Asher, surprised him greatly. These were werewolves? Vince had always pictured werewolves as intimidating, unstable and sullen, not as friendly and welcoming as these two appeared to be. Thankfully not everyone in this mansion was a replica of Brent.

The others, coming down from the stairwell, seemed strange. The way they held themselves reminded Vince of some of the Lords and Ladies he’d seen at royal balls back in the sea, with superior looks on their faces and the flaunting steps. These were the kind of people that made Vince feel incredibly uneasy.

Hearing Desiree’s question, he answered with a bit more thought than the first introduction they made. “I’m Vincent Dibson, and this is my sister, Marie. We’re the merfolk.”

He looked at his sister, letting her once again take the reins over the conversation. Vince was never one for small talk.

He glanced at the werewolf princess. She seemed just as at ease and happy about this predicament as Marie. Vince could see the two becoming close friends, and smiled. It wasn’t like Marie couldn’t make friends in an instant, but it made Vince happy to know that there were other people in this mansion with just as much enthusiasm as she has. Asher seemed nice enough as well, Vince thought with a bit of relief. Not as alarming as he thought the creatures of the night would be.

Before Venus can give Pan an answer, the mermaids began talking again, and Venus had signaled for him to stay quiet. He did. He was only partially interested in what the mermaids had to say to one another. But he listened all the same. The way the female shouted out after the phoenixes once they left was a bit quaint, and a tad dim witted. His sister seemed amused by it, so that made her happy. The rest of it was rather dull. Some naive ranting about there being good in people. Reminded him a bit of Lissa. It was one of the traits he liked about her. Something he'd lost a long time ago. It was something he wouldn't want anyone to lose, especially his sister.

After some time, Venus expressed wanting to make introductions. He smiled at the notion, all the while, secretly hating it. He didn't look forward to meeting any of these people face to face. He was just fine being a fly on the wall, but to actually interact with these people was nothing less than torture. But he knew it had to happen eventually.

Before he knew it, he was being whisked away down the hall and carried into his sister's room through the key hole. Inside he was assaulted by all things white and silver. It was almost painful. It all just seemed too clean and too pure. It was a harsh reminder of what he wasn't. Although his sister seemed to enjoy it. He was glad. "It's beautiful." He told her. "For you. I just hope my room doesn't look anything like this."

Pan didn't mind being taken into this room as she changed, except for the whole pureness and light thing. Being faeries, he wasn't bothered by the naked body. As she changed, Pan looked on and watched her put on her new dress. He smiled at it. "It's very flowery." He commented. "It looks great on you. I think it's a bit formal, though. We're just going to be meeting all of the other races. It's hardly worth looking nice for." He said rather coldly. "Never mind. You look great. Now it's my turn." He turned and flew the same way he came in. "Hurry before the vampires get you." He teased as he flew across the hallway. Fortunately, his room was just across the hall from his sister's. Only a few measly feet of danger zone. But Pan didn't see any vampires out in the hall, and actually believed that the vampires hadn't have arrived at all. He flew into his own room and looked around.

"This is more like it." The place was dark. Black floors, black walls, black furniture, black everything. There was also plenty of white, but it contrasted nicely with the blackness. It reminded him of his own heart. He felt like he would be sleeping inside his own soul tonight, as odd as that sounds. He didn't wait for his sister to walk in, knowing she was right behind him and would be coming in at any moment. He flew into his closet and started looking through his options. He didn't spend long. He found a plain black t-shirt, and a dark green jacket. He also found a pair of black jeans. He laid the outfit out on his bed and began his transformation back into his larger size. He changed quickly, not wanting to keep his sister waiting to begin the meet and greets. Once the last article of clothing was one, he walked to the door, grimacing at his sister on his way out.

"So where are we off to now?" He asked her as he stepped into the hall. "Walk around until we find somebody? Or is there some place specific you'd like to go?"



Marie took her eyes off from the paper hanging on the wall to look at her brother, who felt like he had something to see. She could feel that he wasn't exactly happy with the way the previous conversation went, but hadn't had the chance to say anything about before the hall was filled with even more people. Marie nearly squealed, but held it in.

The first pair, that entered through the door, introduced themselves as werewolves, which piqued the mermaid's interest. She imagined their transformations as something cute and adorable, like puppies. She didn't know what puppies are, but thought they would be adorable, like starfish. She had to resist the urge to pet them both on the heads right then and there. But they were people first, and she was aware of it. After all, they did look and act like people. And these ones appeared a lot more friendlier and open than the phoenixes.

The other pair hadn't made any introductions such yet, but carried a very sophisticated aura about them. They appeared to think themselves above all the rest, and not just because they were on the stairs. She had no idea who they were, but they too seemed less grumpy than the phoenixes.

Before she could get over her excitement to say anything, Vincent made the first move and introduced themselves to the strangers. A sense of pride welled up in the sister, proud of her brother for taking such a daring move. She put her arm on his shoulder and shot him a smile. "That was really good." But then could sense his bravery fading away, and decided to take the reins.

She turned to the werewolves and gave them both a warm smile. "It's very good to meet both of you." Then turned to the strangers on the stairs. "You too. Like my brother said, we're merfolks. We come from the water, and it isn't often we get to meet members of the other races. It's kind of like having a party, isn't it?" She turned towards the female werewolf, Desiree, whom Marie felt a special bond with for some reason, like she reminded her of somebody back home.

"Yes, this is a big house, isn't it?" She responded to Desiree's inquiry. "We haven't had the chance to go past this room, and I'm still not quite sure how we're going to get up to the higher floors, since our bodies seem to want to stick to the floor for some reason. I'm still not quite used to getting around on these legs. Do you guys have to jump to get to high places? Is that what you call it? Jumping?" She thought about it for a little while, and then realized that she just got off on a tangent and had to try to return back to the conversation at hand. "As for the number of people here, I think it's 20. It is still a lot though. But you can check out this list to be sure." She said, pointing to the list by the door. "We're all on it!" She says, almost exploding with excitement. "It even tells us what rooms we're sleeping in."

She turned back to the strangers on the stairs. "Oh, I almost forgot. You never told us who you were. Oh, wait, I want to guess. Nymphs? No, faeries! No. Okay, I give up."

Leo Reyes

Leo could see by the expression on his sister's face that she was worried about something. Or nervous. It was rare that he saw her like this, but he could understand why at this moment in time, she might be feeling slightly anxious. They had never interacted with any other species other than Elves -they had been kept in the safety of the Elvish realm for their entire lives, and they had believed that to be a good thing. However, now, it seemed as if it was backfiring on them. The other races had to have met before, as most of them were free spirits, compared to the two members of the Elven royalty. He gave his sister a quick, reassuring smile as she stood there, giving herself the once over in the mirror. Then, she had turned around to face him, and was straightening out his tie - she knew how irritated he got by the smallest little details being out of place - his parents had even joked in the past that he might have some symptoms of OCD. However, everyone knew that Elves didn't get any human diseases, and this was probably impossible, but it was still an eyeopener for him.

His mouth twitched slightly at the though of reminding Jules like their father. His father was his role model, for all sense and purposes. He was supposed to be, in theory, because he was their King, but he was such a kind and caring man that how anyone could hate him was beyond the young Elven prince's mind. "Like Dad, eh? I'm not going grey, am I?" He joked with her, his mouth however void of a smile as he did so. Soon, he was following his sister down the hallway towards the stairs, and descended them the same way that he had ascended - with a regal sense that could only have come from the Elves. He had to walk around another two people standing on the stairs, with their heads held high, the male staring cruel down at the rest of them, greeting them. However, the walked around with a false pretense, he could already sense that. They had a faint scent of dust, as bad as that sounded, which probably meant they came from one of the lower down races, like werewolves or genies. So why were they acting... oh they were Genies. Understandable then. He didn't say anything about their falseness as he passed them, and walked down to stand next to his twin.

"Hello," He repeated, giving a curt nod of his head to those that were there, hoping that the genie had stopped talking, and he wasn't interrupting, "My name is Leonardo Reyes, more commonly known as Leo, and this is my dear sister, Juliet. We are here to represent the Elven community. Who might you be, if you do not mind me asking?"

---

Emmy Quirin

Emmy was too busy laughing at her brother's failed vampire glare to notice the stroppy red-head walking past in much detail, she just saw a flick of red passing past the door. Her mind however was more focused on the scheme that they had come up with, and that they were going to be settling into their roles very soon. She shrugged back to her brother when he looked at her in confusion for a moment, and she had the same little epiphany that he did - the red head and the boy that had followed her definitely weren't the right people to be showing their facade to right now, so she went back to ignoring them again, and focusing instead on becoming a vampire. They had never pulled a prank as drastic as this before, so she was going to have to put all of her emotions into it. "Right, let's do it." She grinned mischievously to her brother as he stood at the door, gesturing for her to get up and leave with him.

She noticed the same two people that her brother did as she descended the stairs, and stood behind him. She looked at him for a moment, her expression one of disgust. She hated people that were really that chirpy; but she could see it in the girl's eyes that she was one of those really happy people. Lovely. she was going to be so fun to be around. As quickly as Del had done, Emmy's eyes turned to stone, and her mouth closed, holding in that trademark smile that was usually on her face, and replacing it with a hard smirk, her lips pressed together tightly. This was going to be so much fun. She was a fantastic liar, it came with her genetics, but putting it into action with people that she had never been around before? Oh god yes. Only for a moment were they the highest ranking species in the room, until the Elves descended. For a moment a surge of panic ran through her - their plan was going to be destroyed already. She saw the male elf look at her in confusion, before he continued on and introduced himself. Phew, they had gotten through that one!

"Hello." She spoke after her brother, nodding regally in the direction of those beneath her.

Delroy Figaro....Beaumont??? - Genie...Vampire?? Prince

Del watched in hidden amusement as Em's face hardened and a haughty and proud look dominated her usually cheeky and fun-loving smile. He glanced back down at the growing number of people. Two new twins came in introducing themselves as were-wolves in a rather childish manner. If Del hadn't been pretending to be a stuck-up vampire he probably would have joined in the joking, as it was her retained a cold stare and allowed a mocking smile to change his features.
That was when the elves appeared. Damn! They always had to appear when they weren't wanted, stuck up creatures. It would have been nice to be top of the ladder for a while. Ah well, second certainly beat last...that was when the elf prince gave himself and Em a hard look. Del kept his mask of pretence arrogance in place perfectly, but inwardly he cowered. Surely they wouldn't ruin their fun so early? He hadn't even started yet! Evidently the elf knew something was amiss, but he didn't question it further, continuing down the staircase to who was obviously his sister.
Del inwardly let out a sigh of relief, before being distracted by a very ditsy comment by the mermaid princess. Ugh! How dumb could you get? Nymphs and faeries??? Ew. Was he and his sister really that bad at acting? Then again she'd already proved herself ditsy earlier, so it was more likely her. Besides it would be rather fun to rebuke her.
He let out a sniff of disapproval at the mermaids comment, putting on an affended look.
"Do we look like fairies and elves to you?" he said in an affected show of hurt pride. "I am the Vampire Prince, Delroy Figaro-"
He was about to finish his name, when he realised they would probably know the genie last name. It was lucky he was good at lieing.
"Beaumont" He finished smoothly "And my sister, Emmaline Mercy Beaumont"
That was when the elves introduced themselves. Secretly this annoyed Del. He'd just done such a good performance, and here the elves were taking away the lime light. Outwardly he regally turned his head to observe them in obvious scrutiny as the male introduced themselves.

In a pretence of being slightly bored, Del glanced around the room. Perhaps he was pushing his luck by being borderline rude, but he couldn't help but playing the role for all it was worth.

Lissa's face lit up at Pan giving her 'permission' to stay with him. Her smile only widened at him deducting that she would be able to sleep in his bed without any problems. She loved her bother more than anything, especially in this instant. She knew he was sacrificing privacy for her, which was why she'd asked him instead of just assuming, even if she was aware he'd do pretty much everything for her. She felt a little bit like she was using him, but she couldn't stop. If she did let go, she thought she might break. She was only able to be herself because of having him as a safety-net, and nothing else. She hoped she'd be able to let go a little at some point, because she knew Pan needed solitude sometimes. She didn't understand that he did, as she was completely opposite, but she did accept it. Pan had often just... disappeared for periods of time back home, and she'd always known he did it to be alone; think, wonder, plot. It was, after all, what Pan did best.

Then her brother turned to look directly at her once more and spoke. His words made her laugh softly, shaking her head at him. "Always so negative, Panny." She said playfully, "you might not like to be here; I don't really either, but you can't say it's a dump. That would be lying, and mother always said not to lie." She added the lying bit with fake innocence, bashing her eyelashes at him before laughing. Their mother had tried to lecture Pan about not lying in like... forever. She'd never succeeded; probably because Pan just sort of... ignored her, like he always did when she bothered to chastise him. "But, that was it for now," she finished, smiling up at him before pulling at his green jacket to make it sit perfectly on his figure. "You look just dashing," she noted, meaning it; the look worked for Pan, and green was totally his colour, which she'd often told him. "C'mon then, let's go hunt down some people," she added, taking his hand before she opened the door and brought him along.

As the fairy twins made their way through the house, Lissa detected chatter by the entrance hall. Her lips curving into a happy smile, she sped up, dragging her brother along. "I think there are a lot of them down there now, Panny!" She couldn't help a bit of excitement. She'd already decided she'd have everyone sign that treaty ASAP, so getting to know people was the first step to achieving her goal. The second they entered, stepping into the room for everyone to see, she waved with her free. "Hi there," she said, suddenly slightly nervous at the amount of people in the room. She cleared a throat, smile slightly less excited. "I'm Venus Melissa... or Lissa, or Mel. Really, I have a lot of names," she stated, almost kicking herself for her less than smooth way of handling things. Damned nervousness getting the best of her. She took a little step closer to Pan, searching strength in his presence before she felt able to continue, "My brother, Pan," she said, gesturing towards him, "and I are representing the Faeries."

She smiled, her anxiety so very obvious on her face. She looked around the room, her eyes darting slightly in fear as she caught sight of a couple looking less than nice. By their posture they couldn't possible be anything good. However, when she saw a couple with pointy ears, her mood turned slightly less dark, brightening. Elves! She'd always wanted to meet elves, and now they were standing right there. She also saw the mermaid twins, so she sent them a smile of recognition, even if this feeling was one-sided.