Snippet #2334395

Adam had left Lizzy to play with her new toy. Even though he was less than pleased with her for dragging the boy this far, he knew it would be completely pointless to try and argue about it. So he wandered around the ballroom by himself idly observing the dancing couples and chatting groups, registering some suspicious behavior here and there, but not really making much of it; unless he had direct orders, he couldn’t care less for what other did with their time. In the middle of his quiet observation, the man was beyond startled by a rather forceful hand firmly gripping his... Behind... and an unknown voice speaking out in amusement. “Hello there, pretty, wanna dance?”
Adam responded by immediately turning on this stranger and pinning him against the nearest wall, his eyes meeting a familiar blue gaze as the redhead teenager who had ‘assaulted’ him snickered. “I love it when you play rough, Addy.” The man didn’t need anything else to recognize the assailant and he released the boy, snorting angrily and turning as if to walk away. “Wait, wait, wait... Adam, wait uuuup.” The boy called with laughter in his tone, literally skipping after Adam as he tried to get away. “I have a message for you... Hey... Stop... Hey... Adam... She’s here.”
The words halted Adam immediately and he turned around frantically looking about as if he even knew who it was he was searching for.
“Heh, thought that’d get your attention. Now you know very well Lizzy shouldn’t be bringing souvenirs from Newhaven. I already passed that message on to her. So your orders are to lose the kid... And do it discreetly... Nod if you understand me hun.”
Adam nodded giving up the search for the unfamiliar face of his Mistress and turning to face the boy. “Fine.” He muttered, leading the way to where he had last seen his sister and her new acquaintance.

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“That’s not fair...”
“I’m just passing the message along, Lizzy, do you want to disobey? Be my guest.”
“Fine, I’ll keep tabs on the boy, you go find Addy for me, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan.”

Ali opened her eyes, blue specks of light still flickering along her irises as she let her gaze fall to the teenage boy in guard’s uniform. Sean didn’t know his brother was there, that much she knew, and for what the boy’s companions were whispering, it seemed like no one else would either if they went through with what they were planning. She hoped that kid knew how to fend for himself, because those people didn’t seem like they were kidding around. Almost as if on cue at that thought a familiar and unfriendly voice spoke beside her, sounding a bit tipsy. “Don’t think we finished our talk.”
“I don’t think we ever started talking, Ryan, and I also think you are a bit drunk, but hopefully not drunk enough to be stupid... As much as it would be entertaining to watch people’s faces if I pushed you down from this balcony... That would draw a bit of unwanted attention to us both.”
“You think you’re so great because Dani trusted you... Pfft...”
“Dani took a long time to trust me, I’ll have you know, and I earned whatever amount of trust it was...” Ali stated calmly, leaning against the edge of the balcony where she had settled to watch the people below, not turning to face the man. “Don’t try to repeat Sean’s bullshit as if you knew me or what I’ve been through to get here, Ryan... Actually the best part of being exiled is that I don’t have to give a shit about Sean’s opinions anymore... Or move a finger to help that idiot brother of his.” She stated pointing Donovan out on the crowd. “You, on the other hand, better move... I have a feeling the kid’s disappearance would make the Alpha rather pissy.”

Ali waited for the Wolf to rush down to the lower level before moving herself; sure she didn’t have to help, but she had nothing against Donovan and finding who were those people he was with could be a good idea. While Ryan was making his way to snatch Donovan away from the woman that seemed to be dragging him around somewhere more quiet, Ali found the blond man that had been keeping them company just moments ago. She noticed that both of them, as well as the redhead boy that had later joined them, were wearing fully black clothing and it gave the impression they were on uniform; even though the clothes themselves were not the same, and she remembered AJ wearing similarly black clothes. Maybe it was unrelated; a lot of people wore black clothing, but something just didn’t seem right with those people, and Ali felt that regardless of whether they had anything to do with her former friend, it was important to know a bit more. Slowly she made her way after the two men, more trying to see how long it would take for them to notice the fact she was stalking them and not simply trying to cross the crowded ballroom.

The redhead boy didn’t seem to notice her, or maybe he didn’t care, but the blond man tensed slightly as he walked, and she was absolutely sure he was keeping track of her movements as well. She acted as though she didn’t notice the change however and keep following; the distance between them getting shorter every couple of steps until she reached them and grabbed the blond by his wrist, calling out to him as if he were a friend. “Hey, stranger!”
The man reacted extremely fast to the contact spinning around to push Ali away, lunging at her as if he wanted to rip her head right off. It took Ali all of her restraint to not react the way she was trained to and shrink down as if trying to take cover from a blow that never came; presumably because the redhead boy quickly stepped in between the two. “Easy now, Adam... That’s no way to treat a lady.” The kid half-scolded slowly pushing the taller man back a step. “I think he likes you, you two know each other?” he asked, making sure his friend was calm and turning to face Ali with a childish curiosity in his eyes.
Ali shook her head, a very convincing freaked out look in her eyes. “No, I... Mistook your friend for somebody else... I apologize.” She explained, raising her eyes to the man who was openly glaring at her over the boy’s head and directing her apology at him before turning back to his friend. “And I surely don’t want to find out how your friend acts with people he doesn’t like then.”
“I’m sorry if Adam startled you miss... He’s a little bit jumpy right now, that’s all.” He smiled a bit reassuringly. “It’s my fault, I like to play tricks on him and I might have overdone it.” Taking a polite bow the young man extended his hand in greeting. “I’m Wyatt, by the way.”
Ali was listening to the younger man, but her attention was mostly on his companion as the man had not stopped staring at her in annoyance as if she had spat in his face instead of simply trying to draw his attention and she was rather amused by the overreaction. “Wyatt... What a lovely name. I’m Allison.”
“Allison, that... Is a pretty pendant you have...” Wyatt asked, reaching for the wooden bird hanging from a string necklace over the woman’s chest, his index finger lightly grazing her skin in the process. “Did you make this?”
Ali wasn’t unaware of this boy was doing, and in other circumstances some fingers would be broken at this point, but she only reacted by quietly retreating a step and smiling politely. “Yes, I made it myself. It is quite simple, but I think it serves its purpose. Do you... Like birds?”

As she spoke those words a small commotion took place as a chandelier dropped down, Ali could see that the object had fallen, ironically, under the weight of a bird that had perched itself on it. Ali followed with the corner of her eyes as man rescued the animal, and she continued to observe long enough to watch the bird change into a wolf and the man walk away. Ali smirked at the scene and wondered if the Alpha knew what his new pups were off doing. Donovan, she was sure, was not meant to be here, what about the girl? Sean was biting off more than he could chew with that one.

Wyatt’s answer came as soon as Ali’s attention was back on him, which made it very clear he had been watching to see what she was so interested in. “I like many things... Maybe one day we’ll discuss them in detail somewhere more private.”
“You... Are very forward, sir.” Ali stated, her tone lingering somewhere between annoyance and amusement.
“I’ve been told.” Wyatt chuckled. “Is that a bad thing? Would it be preferable to hide my intentions, whatever they may be, behind mindless chatter? I feel that’s a bit dishonest.”
“You can learn quite a bit from mindless chatter, perhaps that intimidates you in some way?” Ali asked curiously. “Honesty now seems like a very subjective term. Personally I think that if attempt to control how people perceive you, you are not truly being honest, but that’s just my opinion.”
The boy snickered, amused by her words. “And now who is being forward, huh?”
“Perhaps I’m only being honest, Wyatt... It’s a bad habit of mine.”
“Perhaps, but then... I don’t know what your intentions are yet... Miss Blake.”
Ali’s eyes narrowed slightly although she made sure to keep a curious demeanor as she noted. “I don’t recall mentioning my family name... So perhaps you are less honest about your intentions that you say you are.”
“Perhaps we’re both being dishonest in some ways, or maybe... I’m just trying to keep you interested. Mystery is always a good thing.” Wyatt replied with a playful smirk. “It’s been nice, but we should be moving along before my friend here gets too antsy... We’ll meet again, I bet.”
“Oh, I look forward to it, sir... And your friend too.” She extended her gaze to Adam and gave the man a friendly nod, holding back amusement as he simply snorted in response and started to walk away. Ali wasn’t as good at reading people as some were, not like Bastian once was or like Jake could be at times, but... She could just tell... Something about her had bothered this Adam guy; bothered him in some deeper level for some reason. She wondered what it could be, and she wondered who they were. The younger boy had a slightly psychotic note to his speech, he hid it fairly well, but it was still there, and how did he know her last name? No one, aside from people she considered friends, was ever given her family name. She was curious, confused, and very suspicious of these people, but there was little time to dwell on it however... Bigger things were being set motion as she distracted herself with her new acquaintances and it all became very clear when a man shouted launching a strike against the king.

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“Hey, Buddie, this really isn’t any of your busin-”

“For Blackpond!”

Jake stood with arms crossed, unfazed by the commotion started by Alexander and his little group and just as unmoved by Darren’s attack on the other mercenary, the man standing right before him turned his attention momentarily to his colleague, and Jake could have taken him out there, but he’d rather not injure a man for simply doing his job. “Look... Buddie...” Jake started, acting as though there wasn’t a fight happening between the other two men. “You got a job to do, I get it, you’re being paid and all, but I doubt you’re being paid enough for what I’ll do to you. So maybe this here is the best time to back off.”
The man turned his attention back to Jake at his words, a look of amusement and disbelief plastered on his face as if he didn’t think Jake could possibly be serious. “Is this the part where I thank you for sparing me, boy?”
“That would be the polite thing to do, but as I feel you won’t be doing the polite thing, this is probably the part where you fail to hit me and ends up seriously injured. Too bad, pal... You seem like a decent guy, probably just trying to support your family, and I’d rather not leave you incapacitated and unable to provide for several weeks, but hey... suit yourself.” Jake spoke in a calm, matter-of-factly, almost bored, tone that made him sound like an arrogant prick, but he was being truthful; he didn’t see a point or purpose in hurting this guy, but he knew that he was going to, because guys like this didn’t back away from confrontation. It was a pride thing, Jake knew it well. He saw it coming as the man started to laugh, shaking his head in amusement, his laughter cut short as he sung his fist at Jake in one swift and forceful blow; it was a good effort, but it just wasn’t fast enough, not to mention ridiculously predictable. Jake ducked under the man’s fist and blocked another incoming blow with his open palm as he straightened himself up, pushing the man’s fist away from his face and hitting him back with an open palm almost in a mocking fashion. At this point he wasn’t bothering with trying to dissuade the man, but actually outright taunting him. “Last chance to walk away, mate... Take it while I’m feeling generous.”

The mercenary didn’t laugh this time, the man was angered by the provocation, the mockery was enough to make this personal for him, his fighting showed in its recklessness and fury, while Jake’s movements were calculated and nearly mechanical, quickly he avoided the man’s advances and breached the man’s defenses landing two precise blows to the man’s face; the first to the nose, the second to the jaw, which were followed by a forceful kick to the stomach which left him on his knees on the ground gasping for air. Jake kneeled as if he was going to check if the man was alright, but that wasn’t his intention in the slightest, and the moment he touched the mercenary the man fell unconscious, face down, to the floor, a glimpse of a dark needle disappearing underneath Jake’s sleeve as he stood up straight, pulling on the dark grey cuff of his jacket.

Darren had knocked out the other mercenary just as Jake looked up from the knocked out man at his feet; a look of utter annoyance slowly melting from his expression. Catching the boy’s complaint about his ruined shirt was enough to put a look of amusement back to Jake’s blue eyes and he laughed lightly. “Better it’d be the shirt than you, huh?” He teased, poking Darren where the sword would have slashed him. “What is the deal with these guys anyway?” He asked, his eyes absently looking around to the confusion Alexander had started, but not much caring to get involved. Not yet at least. As Irvin approached them looking a little bit disappointed to see that the mercenaries were taken care of, Jake gave the boy a nod. “Kid... Go check the ice on the doors... See if there’s something you can do about it.”
“Alright, but... I’m not sure if it’ll work.” Irvin replied, eyes scanning the frozen doors of the room one by one.
“Just go check it out and come right back, try to keep as far from this mess as possible, alright?”
“Okay, sounds easy enough.” Irvin stated, making off and half disappearing into the crowd as he made a way to one of the doors.

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Dastan was having fun at this party, surprisingly so. The music was fancier than he was used to and so were most of the guests, but the booze was of great quality and here and there he’d find something pretty to look at, and here and there... He’d get rewarded for his glances. After getting a few dances with some considerably attractive ladies and starting to get a little too tipsy to be charming in any respectable way, he approached one of the tables to get some food and maybe water for a change... Or maybe just the food... He wasn’t drunk to a point where he couldn’t afford to get any drunker quite yet. Just as he had finished pouring himself another drink he felt something collide into him, a hand grasping his arm for support. The man turned to see himself face to face with a little blond girl as she whispered an apology. Dastan snickered softly, his eyes scanning the girl from head to toe. He didn’t know her, or at least he didn’t think they’d met before but he thought he caught something in her eyes that told him otherwise... She seemed to know who he was. Either that or she was mistaking him for someone else. “No need to be apologizing now, miss... Takes a lot more than a little bump to knock me down.” He stated playfully, still looking over this girl as if searching for something he’d missed. “Do we know each other somehow? Or are you always this nervous-looking when you randomly grab strange men?” He asked with a curious look in his eyes. Just as he finished that sentence his attention was momentarily snatched by someone passing by and grabbing the drink out of his hand. By the time he managed to register what was happening he was being handed back his empty glass. "...Don't look at me like that...I'll owe you something vintage and worth the impolite intrusion.." Dastan scratched the back of his head in confusion as he watched Essence walk away, amusement slowly sinking in as he shook his head at the woman. “Great, that's the second redhead who owes me a drink." He whispered under his breath with a chuckle.

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Sean couldn’t help his complete amusement as Essence dropped a pouch of coin onto his hand as compensation for the table. He had been playing, obviously, and didn’t actually expect the woman to pay him for such a small thing; the one thing the Pack was not lacking was resources, but still he accepted the pay without as much as a hint of hesitation, weighing the pouch in his hand quietly and thinking that this was a bit more than enough for one little table. As he opened his mouth to speak however, his attention was caught by something soft hitting his shoulder, the man snatching a soft handkerchief before it had a chance to hit the ground. Unfolding the cloth Sean eyes narrowed as he read for only a second before he lifted his head to look around. As he turned his attention to his company once again, Essence was walking away, he thought he heard the woman say something about being right back, but he could barely catch her words. He kept one eyes on the woman curiously as he saw her approach a dark haired lady in a dark green dress. They both seemed way too polite with each other to be friendly, and it was an interesting interaction to watch, even if he couldn’t hear what was being said between them. Once again Sean turned his attention to the handkerchief and reread its message: ‘If you dare touch Ella or Jen today, I’ll be sure that today will also be the last day the Wolfpack ever threatens anyone’s lives in Valcrest.’

Sean knew very well who that message had come from and after reading it a couple of times more he couldn’t help a small fit of laughter. “Alright, Evin, I won’t touch them.” He mumbled under his breath, moving away from where he’d been waiting it didn’t take him too long to find Ryan. It wasn’t surprising that the man was hanging around him, what was surprising however was who was standing next to him. Sean frowned at the sight of Donovan, in guards uniform, in Blackpond, what the hell was that kid thinking? As he approached the two, Doni opened his mouth to speak, but Sean silenced him with a gesture. “I don’t want to hear it, Doni. You blew your cover completely by coming here tonight, do you know how many people in this room know your face? When the party ends, no matter how it ends, I want you to go straight back to camp.”
“What about Ari? You can’t leave her without backup.”
“Oh, I’ll take care of that kid, don’t you worry.” Sean muttered out, an annoyed snort escaping him as he handed Ryan the handkerchief. “This woman, Jen, I want you to care of it tonight, do you understand me? No bargaining, no taking prisoners, no nothing; Bana is not the target here and I don’t care about him right now, I just want this over and done with by morning.”

“I understand.” Ryan stated, taking the handkerchief into his pocket and bowing his head slightly. “Consider it done.” The man replied before wandering off into the crowd to tend to his task.
“Sean...” Donovan mumbled.
“Not here, we’ve already talked way too much. Just stay out of trouble and we’ll talk at home.” Sean replied turning away from the boy and looking around to see that Ess was still busy with the black haired woman.

Sean hung around the place where he was previously standing and watched with a hint of amusement in his eyes as the two women parted ways; that was not a friendly conversation, he could feel the tension as far as he was standing, and he was curious as to what could be the issue between his new acquaintance and that stranger. The man was soon distracted from that thought however as he spotted a silver wolf trotting after Essence on her way back to where he was standing. The young Alpha honestly seemed amazed by the sight as if he was a child; he had never even heard of a wolf following a human this way before. The forest wolves usually stayed away from people as much as possible, it was rare to even see one from afar. “Remarkable.” The man mumbled to himself as Ess reached him and the wolf started to sniff the hem of his pants curiously. His eyes only leaving the animal as the wolf tensed and emitted a low growl the somehow didn’t seem directed at him. It was clear that it was not the moment he spotted the woman approaching because his reaction was almost exactly the same; he tensed, and growled under his breath wondering what hell that bitch could possibly want this time.

"Now I think I understand....Looks like you are still very good at what you do, Pigeon."

Sean arched an eyebrow at the woman as she was addressing Essence. He wasn’t surprised that they knew one another; the old hag did try to order a hit on the woman, and it had become apparent to him by some people missing from her little guard detail that the woman had been involved in at least one more confrontation since the moment Sean last spotted her.

"All dressed up, still trying to be something you're not. No matter. You can try to scrub shit clean but it's still...shit. Once a whore...always a whore.."

Sean sighed softly, his clenched fist shivering slightly making it somewhat clear that he was really forcing himself to stand still and not immediately pull out a dagger and stab the woman’s face until it turned into something easier on the eyes. The only thing keeping him from doing so, in fact, was the realization that if he was... displeased... by this woman’s presence, it was nothing compared to his companion. “Well... Miss Talon... You were wondering how I knew your name... There you have it.” Sean spoke softly, his eyes glaring at the old had with nothing but pure contempt.

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Luckas felt the visions of Rick and his filth fade from his mind slowly, and he was glad. The man’s sickness would have revolted him much more if he hadn’t seen worse when he went after Jasper. It was not doubt Rick was equally sick, but Luke wasn’t fully in Rick’s mind, so if he had ever involved children in his depravities, it wasn’t clear, unlike Jasper... And that was the reason that guy was still number one; Luckas would never consider all the punishment he gave that son of a bitch to be enough. His black eyes immediately sought out the King amongst the crowd to see him be dragged away from the center of a huge commotion. It seemed their little playtime had caused Luke and Simon both to miss a bit of the action. From the corner where he had posted himself to watch Rick, Luckas’ eyes took in the sight of men moving on a half-organized attack against the Blackpond people, his mind slowly starting to register the situation. A fight had broken out, all exits were sealed, it wouldn’t be long until that turned into something incredibly ugly. Luke pushed himself away from the wall that had been supporting him through his conversation with Simon, looking around he felt a mix of relief and disappointment as he realized Tala was no longer following his footsteps; the wolf was a distraction, and in many ways an annoyance, but now Luckas felt somewhat alone without her. His eyes quickly scanned the ballroom again, spotting familiar faces one by one until they spotted the redhead woman from Jake’s memories... Crys. Luke’s eyes narrowed slightly and he started to pace towards the woman, but was halted by a familiar voice in his ear. “Another redhead, love? I’m starting to think you’ve got a fixation.”
Luckas snickered at the comment, but he couldn’t help but notice Sam’s tone was again that dangerously sweet one from before. “No, no fixation... Least not this time.” He replied turning to face the woman, his eyes searching her expression for any signs of aggravation, but finding none. Was he that bad at reading emotions was she that good at hiding them? “Are you upset?” He asked, his tone genuinely confused.
“Do I seem upset, Lukey?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly at him. The woman didn’t seem to mind all the ruckus of fighting and shouting going in the background, nor did she seem concerned with being trapped in that room. In fact, Sam couldn’t possibly seem more calm and serene amongst all the chaos.
“I’m not sure, Sammy. If I knew, I wouldn’t need to ask.” Luckas replied, giving her a look of clear annoyance.
Sam smiled softly, reaching out and ruffling his hair playfully as if he were a little boy. “I know... And if you knew I was mocking you, you wouldn’t feel the need to explain that. I guess that’s just part of your charm though, hm?”
“I wouldn’t know about that. I don’t consider myself charming... Why would I?”
Sam snickered, shaking her head in silent disbelief. “Why would you, indeed.”
“Are you mocking me now?” He asked, sounding a bit confused by the whole conversation. Gladly he didn’t have to think about it for much longer as the loud redhead boy version of Amber appeared, bouncing towards them. “Heeeelllooooo!” The boy giggled. “Ain’t this a fun party!?”
Sam turned to redhead boys with pleased smile. “Ah, Mr. Wyatt... Is Lizzy’s little issue taken care of?”
“No, not exactly... Seems the boy wasn’t just a silly little Newhaven guard, we had to let him go, but... I don’t think he even remembers how he got here... You know Lizzy; she likes her men young and confused.”
Sam sighed softly and shook her head in disapproval. “Remind Adam of the conditions I’ve imposed on him and what happens if he can’t keep her in check.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Wyatt’s reply was short and respectful, and very uncharacteristic in its seriousness. Something in Sam’s words or tone had caused that reaction, and Luckas wasn’t exactly sure of what it was.
“Tell Adam to try and unlock the doors somehow, tell Lizzy to provide cover; she’ll know what to do.”
Wyatt bowed at the order and made off quickly to pass the orders along. Luckas had previously questioned the reason why Sammy kept Amber so close amongst all the others when she was so erratic, but Sam’s presence alone seemed to make the little psycho into an obedient and adoring puppy. It was really something interesting and frightening to see.
“Lukey... Are you still afraid of the dark?” Sam asked softly, her hand reaching for his in a firm grip.
“Uncomfortable maybe, but not afraid.” Luckas replied, unsure of what the woman was intending with the questioning and the hand holding. It all become very clear, metaphorically speaking at least, when a gust of wind crossed the ballroom, extinguishing every single flame in its path and engulfing the party and its guest in absolute darkness. As soon as everything went dark, Luckas felt himself being led by the hand, firmly, by Sam as if the woman knew exactly where to go, ignoring all the sounds of the disoriented party guests. “Don’t worry, Lukey.” She stated calmly.