Leli Anibura's Story

Leli could do nothing but nod. An angel? Well, stranger things had happened. She closed her eyes and let the transformation run through her body quickly, wincing slightly as her bones crunched into new positions, her muscles tore and mended in new places. Soon, she stood merely as a large Bengal tiger, whiskers twitching at the irony smell as the blood steamed in the streets.

"Grab on, kid. We're going straight for him." She crouched down and nudged the boy, letting him drape across her back, and took off in a dead sprint, paws sending up sprays of blood with each step she took. As she neared the church, a growl tore through her throat; Vlad was really doing this. He kicked a man off the roof, who luckily was caught by another girl.

Leli came to a pause in a doorway and turned to look at the kid. He was definately worried about EVERYTHING. "Kid," she panted, forcing herself through another shift, human with large, leathery bat wings, "I need you to get into the church." She slowly worked him into her arms, and glanced up at the roof, and swallowed nervously, "Get somewhere we can heal for a little while if we're hurt, and gather some more fighters."

Putting the boy down, she pushed up and flapped to the rooftop, staring in horror at the vampiric man. She touched down, noticing for the first time her legs and hands were coated in blood. Feeling sick, she reeled slightly, but stayed standing, and gazed at the man before her, and his cloak that had started this darkness.

"Vlad," she whispered, "why are you DOING this?" Fighting tears, she scowled, and clenched her hands into fists. "Now I don't think I can forgive you."

"Death is a poor test!" she hollered, "Humans will fail, of course! They're weak, and easily slain. Your test is over, Vlad, now stop this!" She walked towards him slowly, and tears began to leak down her cheeks. "My father is human. And I cannot lose him. And I will die if I have to, to protect him, and to protect the people I care about." She stared at him, anger pouring out of her body.

"So if you want to kill them all...you'll have to kill me first." Leli vaulted at him, slamming into his body and pushing as hard as she could muster. She knew she was small, and weak, snd she couldn't do much, but she would do what she had to to protect her father.

So the girl was a shapeshifter? Apparently so, because Aaric wasn't sure there was another reason for her suddenly transforming into a large cat and whisking them away to a... church? The angel stared, wide-eyed, at the figure on the roof. A sort of hot anger rose from within. How dare he choose such a place to attack the town? The boy listened to his ally's instructions.

Aaric swallowed, and nodded. "Uhm... th-thank you so much for helping me!" The angel flashed the honey-eyed girl a smile. After the shapeshifter put him down, he stumbled into the church, searching for 'somewhere we can heal'. Aaric bit his lip nervously, and walked quietly through the aisle. Something... something about the church seemed to... welcome him? It might have been his imagination, but Aaric was certain that the church was trying to help. Trying to concentrate, the angel opened his mind to his surroundings. He knew, in a church, there was always a room behind the altar wall. Sometimes you just had to look more carefully.

After hauling himself onto the stage, the young boy stepped past the podium, and made his way to the altar. After taking in an eyeful, he brushed his hand against the wall. When his finger's touched a seam, Aaric ran his hand down the line before finding the catch and popping the door open. The boy smiled wearily. Normally churches aren't so secretive about their back rooms... He shrugged, and poked his head in. It was a simple storage area, with a table surrounded by shelves holding assorted boxes and random objects. Personally, Aaric thought that if they needed to find a place to heal, the best thing would be to run away as fast as possible. Oh well, he trusted his companion's plan. Now, to find some troops...

Aaric froze. He was staring at the window, and the entire pane of glass was drenched in blood. The angel sucked in a breath. The red seemed to be flowing up? What was happening on the roof!? The boy began moving before he was conscious of what was happening. He was outside the church in a flash, and was looking for a way to get to the roof. Clear blue eyes locked on a retaining wall for climbing vines, and the angel set to climbing it. "So if you want to kill them all...you'll have to kill me first." The nine year old body was just strong enough to haul itself onto the roof desperately. Aaric saw her ally slam herself into... a man? No. Not a man. The human-angel narrowed his eyes with recognition. Definitely not a man.

"What are you doing!?" the little boy raced over, and wedged himself between the two with surprising strength. His skin was crawling with the prospect of being so close to an evil being, but protecting the shapeshifter held the priority. With a burst of force, Aaric shoved the human away from the monster. He grabbed her hand. "Do you think any good is going to come from your death!? Don't offer your life on a silver platter!"

Aaric whirled around and locked his heavenly blue eyes on the vampire's glowing red orbs.

Leli sobbed and grabbed the boy, holding him tightly to her chest. "Knock it off, kid!" she shouted, "If you get hurt, bad things will go down!" She pushes him further away from Vlad and smiles weakly, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. A girl boosted up onto the roof, and she pressed the small child into her arms. "Please, please, take him away, somewhere safe!"