"Have you heard sister, someone has bought Blackmoor Manor?"
Natalia rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Laura, I have heard many times that someone has bought Blackmoor Manor however due to the rather wide range of occupants I can hardly believe it to be true."
"I must agree sister, no one is entirely sure who is the true buyer. Some claim that it's a young widow and his daughter trying to escape the city, others say that a moonwalker general plans to train his troops there and Miss Chatwick is almost certain that it's going to be converted into a school for the practising of witchcraft."
"And with so many possible occupants, is it not altogether more likely that no one has actually bought the manor and this is merely a rumour."
"Oh but it must be true, everyone has been getting ready for their arrival. And you know that mama will be anxious to invite them for dinner as soon as possible."
"Yes dearest sister, I know."
Natalia's attention was drawn away from her sister's conversation by the sound of laughter. She looked over to where the sound was coming from. Further up the road she could see old Mr Smithurst, an unmentionable who worked in the fields around their little village. He was wheeling his cart along the road, clearly on his way home after a hard day's work, and a group of local boys were throwing stones and twigs at him. As she watched in horror, one of them ran forward and tripped him up.
"You go ahead Laura, tell mama I will be home soon."
Laura saw where she was looking and shook her head.
"Don't be too long, mama will not be happy if you are not here tonight." She said before continuing to walk down the road.
Natalia watched her sister a moment before stalking off towards the group.
"Hey! Why don't you go home? Go on get off!" She called out, watching the boys run away. Then she rushed over to Mr Smithurst, helping him up. "Dear Mr Smithurst, I hope you are not hurt."
"Brains..."
Mr Smithurst looked at her a moment. It was clear he acknowledged her help, as he jerkily tipped his hat to her in response.
"Braiiins..."
Then he took hold of his cart and walked off, like nothing had happened.
Natalia smiled as she watched him leave. No one else understood that if you treated them with respect the unmentionables would not attack you. Everyone else thought that they were just a load of brain consuming monsters.
How predjudiced people were.

Tristan sat across from his daughter as the small buggy moved down the wobbly streets. "It's nothing at all like London, is it Father?" Clarissa asked looking out the window.
"It may be Clarissa but I'm certain that this move will provide us with a new start." he looked at his daughter as she stared out the window. "Clarissa?"
"Look at that woman" she said pointing to a woman helping an unmentionable.
"She's a zombie lover" Tristan muttered. "Promise me Clarissa if you see her again you will stay away."
"I will father" Clarissa nodded as they moved past the woman. He looked at her with a face of disgust as they moved past, but deep in his eyes he sow something warm about her. Something only to be described as true beauty.

Natalia smiled to herself before making her way back along the path.
Mama would certainly be angry at her for being late but it was worth it to help Mr Smithurst. After all, doing a good deed was what young ladies were expected to do. Why should it be different if you help an unmentionable?
She smiled even more, sending up a few bright sparks of magic into the air as she walked along. It wasn't far to her home, their small manor stood between the little village and Blackmoor Manor itself. She rarely used the carriage, prefering to walk as much as possible.
Natalia stopped suddenly, turning to look behind her as she heard the sound of a carriage. She watched it a moment, wondering if it held the mysterious occupants of Blackmoor Manor. Probably not, she hardly believed that anyone would really buy it.
"Out again Natalia?"
She turned back, seeing a group of gypsy's walking towards her.
"Just on my way home Jack, my mother is expecting me." She said, making her way past him.
"You mother or your corpse?" He said, grabbing hold of her arm roughly. "Perhaps you should think better before letting those things go free among my people, just because you're immune to the unmentionables that doesn't mean everyone else is."
"Let go of me Jack." She said, trying to pull away.

It seemed the walkways were empty this late at night but two characters walking along slowly would prove otherwise. An odd pair they were, an unmentionable and a moonwalker, a seemingly fairly well off moonwalker at that. The unmentionable had his arm crooked so the moonwalker's arm could loop through his as he escorted her home.

Ben sighed, obviously flustered with their conversation although it wasn't hard to get him huffy. "I just think this entire thing about the social classes is a load of horse shit! I'm smarter than a good half of the nobles I've interacted with. Of course I'm not as educated but that does not mean I'm unintelligent!" He growled, once again it seemed he was getting steamed about the unchangeable, the social classes, politics, this and that. "Don't you think that-" Cutting his sentence short, he focused his eyes to a spot not too far away where it seemed commotion was going on. A young human it would appear, along with a group of other humans that were harassing her it seemed. Now, he wasn't one to rush to a humans aid but this was a young woman and a man was handling her roughly, that just wouldn't do. "Wait here." He said shortly, making his way over towards the group thinking through how he was going to handle this. Maybe he could get through this entire interaction without speaking a word but then again if more humans showed and he was chased where could he run. Hm, well he'd figure it out when that moment came because now he was upon the group. He took on the awkward walk of the normal unmentionables and grabbed the man named Jack's wrist roughly, locking eyes with him, hoping the fire in his eyes would deter the man a bit. Could he really take on all of these people? Peh, he'd find out he supposed and if not then Arabelle had plenty of cloth bandages at home.

Arabella walked with her arm casually looped through her friend Ben’s arm as he escorted her home; knowing full well her mother would have a fit if she was seen being so close to an unmentionable, even if it was no better for her to walk home alone at this time of day.

Smiling slyly at her friend, she continued to prod him on with politics; enjoying being able to let him vent all he wanted with her around. “I honestly do not understand it either; the same way I do not understand my mother’s insistence of me behaving more like a mortal woman than showing any traits of a moonwalker in me.” Listening to Ben continue his rant, she took notice of him suddenly cutting off and the direction of his gaze; only to be riled at the scene of the men with the young woman. “Very well.” She mumbled to Ben as he walked towards the group, adapting his posture and stance to hide his true self; Arabella watched as he grabbed the one man’s wrist and paused for a bit. “Oh dear he isn’t…He is.” Already knowing he was planning to take on the whole lot of them, Arabella shook her head and started forward. That fool was going to get himself killed one of these…wait…nevermind, he was just a plain fool either way.

“Do you not know it is rude to handle a lady so roughly? Or to prevent her from being on her way?” Smiling at the group, she noticed that they looked as if they were gypsys; and probably were for that matter. Noticing one man approaching Ben from behind, she didn’t want her friend to give to much of himself away in a fight, or get into trouble. Now she on the other hand, could happily show her true self and just suffer the wrath of her mother. Quickly darting forward, Arabella grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him into a tree to the side; fully appreciating the moonwalker blood at the moment. Staring into his eyes, she waited for realization to set in for him; and as if on cue, the man’s eyes widened in realization. With a level gaze, she nodded her head to him. Yes, she was a moonwalker. And yes, the unmentionable was her friend... and her mother would probably kill her for this later...

Natalia tried to pull herself away.
It was times like this when she wished women were taught how to fight. She had her magic but she couldn't use it in an offensive manner, that was against the vow all ladies took when they first began to learn magic. Stupid rules, it was times like this when she was seriously tempted to break them.
"Let me go Jack, please!"
Then she saw a hand on Jack's wrist.
She turned at the same time as Jack, staring at the unmentionable stood before them. He walked like a normal one but his eyes... they were different... HE WAS AN INTELLIGENT! Just like her dearest friend Frederick! She was quite astonished, Frederick was the only intelligent unmentionable she had met and certainly the only one who would willingly help her. Thank goodness, she knew they were better than what people said.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw a woman behind him, even more so when she slammed one of the other gypsy's into the tree. That was no ordinary strength and she wasn't wearing a ring of protection so she must be a moonwalker.
Jack watched out of the corner of his eyes as the man was beaten whilst trying to avoid tearing his gaze away fromt he unmentionable. Then he smirked, letting go of Natalia's wrist.
"Well well, keeping the corpses as bodyguards now are we Natalia? And a moonwalker! I didn't think even you could sink that low. Fine, we'll just be going now." He pulled his wrist away, nodding at the rest of his group before looking at Natalia. "Just watch yourself in future zombie lover, or you might turn your own kind against you."
With that he walked away. Natalia watched him angrily, how ignorant. She would never subject any unmentionable or any species to servitude. Just because she treated them with respect didn't mean she controlled them.
"You shouldn't have got involved but I am eternally greatful for what you have done." She said, turning to look at the man directly, knowing that he would be able to understand her.

Arabella jumped into the fray, slamming a man into a tree and Ben huffed. He told her to stay put! That girl couldn't take a command even if her life depended on it! Turning his attention back to the man, he growled at him as he jerked away with a comment about how this woman was keeping so called corpses as body guards. Oh if he wasn't surrounded by his friends Ben would tear him to bits and force him to watch while he devoured his flesh! Ugh, that was disgusting, he needed to calm down the threat was over now and the woman even thanked him. He looked down at her, locking eyes with her for a moment as he spoke without thinking. "Don't think anything of it, uh, I mean..braaaains?" Ah crap! Fantastic! Give yourself away so easily!

Natalia stared deeply into his eyes, wondering why she felt so flustered.
She smiled at his attempt to disguise himself, shaking her head slightly.
"Do not concern yourself, I already know what you are." She said to him, smiling gently. "Believe me, you are not the first intelligent I have met and I pray that you are not the last."
She smiled again, pulling a blonde curl away from her bright emerald eyes.
He did not seem much different to Frederick at all, he still seemed very well mannered and well spoken. Although she had been teaching Frederick what had been taught to her about living in society, this man seemed not to need any lessons. Then again, he probably did not wish to go into the Clergy as Frederick did.
"My name is Natalia Snowdrift, may I know who I'm addressing?" She said politely, giving a slight curtsey as she introduced herself.

Ben raised his brows as the woman said she already knew what he was and that she knew more intelligents. Well, they'd all have to get together for a play date sometime, he thought sarcastically as she introduced herself. Hm, she even curtsied to him, this had to be some sort of prank or a trap or...something! Craning his neck, he seemed to be looking around for someone to be watching them but it was just empty streets. Giving Natalia an odd look he decided that she must be eccentric and the least he could do was humor her by introducing himself. "I'm Benjamin Mason and you shouldn't be out so late by yourself. I mean after all there are monsters prowling the streets." It was a sort of bitter joke aimed at his kind and all the other so called creatures out there. Come to think of it, he couldn't just let her travel alone after that scene...damn him having a conscience! "Do you...need an escort home? My friend and I have time to spare." He looked back at Arabella with a sort of smirk, her mother would be furious if she returned home late but that gave him an opportunity to prod at her mother more so than usual.

Arabella released the man from her grip against the tree and watched as the group left. Huffing at their remarks, she pulled her shawl back around her forearms loosely and looked at Ben and the young woman; only to have to cover her mouth to hold in her laugh at Ben’s slip and pitiful recovery. As the young woman introduced herself and curtseyed, Arabella just leaned against the tree and enjoyed the show as Ben started looking around and seemed completely caught off guard by the action. Though when Ben offered they walk Natalia home, she could had strangled him herself for the smirk he gave. Her mother would be furious is she was late, and he knew it! Walking over towards the two, she smiled and gave Ben a glare. “Yes, it is a bit dangerous to be out this time by yourself. I’m Arabella Tillington, it’s a pleasure to meet you Natalia. It really would be no problem for us to walk with you.”

Natalia raised her eyebrow as he looked around him.
It was like he was expecting an ambush or something, why was that? Furthermore, Benjamin seemed suspicious of her introduction. It was possible he had not met any humans who treated him with respect.
She smiled at his concern.
"With respect sir, I think you have scared away all the monsters that would have bothered me tonight." She said, blushing as he spoke of an escort. "Oh really, it is not necessary. I would not wish to detain you."
Natalia turned towards Arabella, smiling politely in greeting.
"A pleasure to meet you Arabella. I am honoured by the kindness you have both shown me but I will be perfectly fine." She said. "Besides, I would not want you to get caught in the crossfire which will occur when I get there." She muttered to herself, thinking with dread about returning home. Her mother was going to kick up the biggest storm in the history of England when she returned in the state she was in and if the guests had already arrived... Let's just say she'd probably be joining the unmentionables in living death for that.
"I thank you again for your protection and I will seek you out to repay you properly but I will tresspass upon your kindness no longer." She said, giving them a polite curtsey before starting to turn away. She got the impression Benjamin did not really like her, perhaps he thought she was teasing him.

Ben cocked his head at Natalia as she began walking away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're getting an escort home whether you like it or not! We didn't waste our time saving you to have you be snatched right back up into foul hands. So, Arabella come we're going to escort her." He looked back at Bella and snatched her hand dragging her with him, knowing she didn't want to waste anymore time. "So, where is it you live Ms..uh...Snowdrift was it?" It wasn't as if he was trying to make small talk with her but he wanted to know exactly what area he was heading into.