Nicole Harrington's Story

The government of Salus consisted of two parts. The executive leader, currently Mr.Kingsdale, was a vampire born sometime in the fourteenth century. The legislative group, or the Senate, consisted of thirty or so individuals, each one representing a different species.

Currently, the Senate was the group dealing with the matters of the captured Hunters. They'd deliberated for two days over the matter so far- during which time the Hunters had been in the prisons of the city. It had ended up a close vote on their decision to deal with them.

Half of the group had wanted to kill them outright, and the other half wanted to try to see if these Hunters could be taught to think differently. It had been a one vote difference that led to the Hunters staying alive.

Which was why, now, they'd summoned all the Hunters to their meeting hall. All the Supernaturals involved in their capture had also been summoned. The Hunters wouldn't be able to do much to try to escape- they'd been restrained with magic before being brought in, and had a protective barrier between them and everyone else- which was as much for their safety as for those gathered.

"Welcome my brothers and sisters-" the speaker for the Senate, the faerie representative, Caroline Bennett, addressed the Supernaturals in the room first, "First, myself and the other members of the Senate would like to congratulate on the first successful mission to capture a Hunter in over fifty years. Second, it pleases me to inform you that we have come to a general agreement on how we are to deal with them." Her gaze flicked to the Hunters, before she turned to address them.

"Hunters. You have violated the laws of every country, species, and indiviudal and in this room. You have killed in cold-blood, and while our traditional punishment for such actions would be immediate death, we have agreed to express leniency in this matter. You will be given six months to denounce your prior actions. Else, your execution sentence will be enacted, and you will die."

Ashling Jacynth, most commonly known as Ash, sighed in relief and looked towards the Hunters with a glad shine in her eye. The sentence they'd been so mercifully given was kinder than what had been entirely possible, and she was glad. She didn't want to have helped in the capture of these Hunters just to see them instantly killed despite what they'd probably done to other Supernaturals. But to gain their freedom and escape the death penalty... they'd have to denounce what they'd done, say all the crimes they'd commited were wrong. But to her, they didn't seem to be too remorseful and it made her feel sick, though she wouldn't admit it. The Hunters would never do something of their own accord as they seemed to be a prideful, stubborn kind of people that would need some nudging. With this realization, she gazed back to the current speaker with a curious gaze as she thought... 'Who will aid in this change? How will this happen?'

Ash had been summoned here for a reason and it probably wasn't for getting a metal for capturing Hunters... something was nagging at the back of her mind. Ash bit her lip and waited patiently, brushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear as she listened for the Representative's next words if there were any to be heard. Maybe it would be left open-ended and allow Supernaturals to volunteer, but she felt that might lead to more volunteers that would rather kill the Hunters than help them. So, Ash thought, there had to have been something else figured out. Closing her eyes, Ash thought silently to herself in worry and curiosity, asking herself all sorts of questions to distract herself a bit from the tension she could already feel building in the room.

Ash couldn't help as her eyes opened and she looked to the Hunters again. This time her mind wandered to how young they were, how young they must have been when they started training to be this good at their age. She thought either they were taught a very deep-rooted, unreasonable hatred towards Supernaturals or it was just the natural human fear of the unknown that caused them to kill her kind so easily. Then again, Ash wasn't a Hunter so she didn't know... she didn't know why her parents were killed when her mother had just defended her family. But she supposed there were things about all humans she would never understand.

Anthony was a bit anxious about the trial. What was going to happen to the hunters they had captured. He knew these humans hunted down people like him and killed them without mercy but he didn't want their people to do the same. If their court up and killed these hunters, would they really be the monsters the humans thought they were? It wouldn't change anything and life would continue to go on with the humans hating and hunting them. Besides, he didn't want to aid in their capture just to have them killed. It was more trouble to capture them than kill them after all. Maybe... maybe they could change the hunters and make them understand that being a vampire, a fox, a werewolf, faerie... anything 'supernatural' wasn't bad. Sure they had their bad apples to, but all in all, they were all just people trying to make a living and survive every day.

The young incubus leaned forward in his seat as he watched the hunters. Were they afraid? Maybe they did expect death. Many of them were looking at the counsel with hatred. He saw them fidgeting with their binds, testing how weak they were. He sighed softly and tapped his lips. How were they going to convince the hunters that they were good people? He smiled faintly when it was announced they wouldn't be killing the young hunters yet. They had to change an if they didn't, then then they would be executed. This was a much fairer trial in his opinion. It was his dream that humans and 'supernatural' beings could just come together and explain their differences so there wasn't any more fear.

Since the humans were allowed to live and change, who would be looking after them? Would one of the teachers take up the challenge? Would the humans go to school with them? He highly doubted any of that would happen. The hunters were going to have to be watched so they didn't escape. If they managed to get home, they would all be in trouble. He was sure they'd call on their hunting family and then their home would be covered with hunters searching every nook and cranny for them.

Bennett continued her speech, a captivating air about her as she spoke. "Now, we have chosen a few of our kin to represent our cause to the Hunters- to teach them that they are wrong, and that due to their actions, they are the real monsters. For this important task, we bequeath it to those who were able to catch them. The Hunters will live in the prisons, but will be allowed to exit if accompanied by one. In addition, these supernaturals will be the only among us who have the authority to visit the Hunters."

Ash released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding once the news was given, and with the quick exhale came a somewhat surprised look. Her and her team had been chosen for the deed. She wasn't disappointed, not in the least, and she was only slightly surprised. Her team had managed to capture the Hunters and hadn't ended up killing them, it hadn't even been on her mind, so she supposed she and her team mates would be obvious enough candidates. As Ash thought through this she looked to her friends and gave soft, relieved laughs that were barely above a whisper. When the initial, mild shock passed she sighed in happy contentment and leaned back in her seat, softly speaking to the Supernaturals in her team, "How do you think this'll all turn out? I'm hoping it'll be a success... it'd be nice for them to walk out untouched and with a true understanding of us." As Ash spoke, her eyes travelled to once again land of the Hunters, unable to keep herself from wondering what they might be thinking of the situation at hand.

Disgusting. All these creatures masquerading with human faces, human concern - it sickened him. Artemis couldn't stand it. Looking, listening, breathing in all of the lies were worse than the bonds that kept him still. He clenched his fists until the tendons creaked in his hands.

The fey was talking like letting them live was a mercy, as if they should be grateful - ha! Artemis knew the kind, saw faeries before, saw the tricks they'd play on human children, saw babies' blood on their hands - and that one dared to talk of leniency as if the hunters couldn't see what this 'trial' really was. Any hunter worth his salt could tell what this was. A mind-game. Maybe even a humiliation tactic.

Apologize to live another day. Sacrifice hunter's honor and human pride in order to walk away, knowing that you lost. It was just drawn out, six months of entertainment for the supernatural, all at the hunters' expense. 'And then they'll probably kill us anyway.'

"Goddammit," Artemis spat under his breath, straining against his invisible bonds. Nothing. He'd dislocate a shoulder before the magic gave away. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he could only slam his foot against the barrier he couldn't see. "If I had an amethyst charm I could break free of this magic… if I had a silver tipped arrow this wall would be gone!" he muttered furiously, eyes dark, expression contorted with rage. He glared at the ground, too angry with himself to look at his teammates, unable to look at the monsters that kept them prisoner.

Prisoner, ha. That was funny. Despite the sickening anger spiking under his skin, Artemis couldn't actually look any of the monsters in the eye. He couldn't let them see how much hostility there was - couldn't risk triggering one of them into attacking when he and his team were helpless. Lambs to slaughter, all of them. For the first time in a long time, Artemis was deathly afraid.

"Now, we have chosen a few of our kin to represent our cause to the hunters." Artemis seized up, rant falling short. "For this important task, we bequeath it to those who were able to catch them."

He knew those. Shapeshifters, two of them - humanlike, one likely a fox, the other possibly an alp or an incubus. Some other thing, unidentified. The hunter threw a glance towards the creatures before quickly turning away. "If it's them," he murmured towards his team, "what are our chances of getting away?"

"What do I think about us trying to babysit a couple of humans that, may I remind you, still want to kill us?" Alia asked, glancing over to the group of hunters. Her eyes narrowed on one that looked like he was plain mad, muttering and everything. "Why I think it's just a brilliant plan, I'm practically jumping with excitement." Alia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She looked back to her 'group', one of her tails twitching with annoyance.


"Truly, do you guys honestly think that this is going to turn out even remotely well? Surely you realize that all humans are capable of is lying, cheating and murder. We'll never be able to change their minds about us. We're the monsters to them, they are incapable of seeing it any other way, cause if they do, if they see that they are the monsters, they are the killers? Well, that would make them the bad guys, wouldn't it? And they will never accept that. This is just a waste of my time, you guys are in denial if you believe that you could ever make them change." Alia finished, sitting back, content now that they know they are fools, even if they don't recognize it. Humans could never change, it wasn't in their nature. Sure, they are useful for some things (feeding and replenishing powers come to mind), but in the end? They are nothing but beasts, too caught up trying to be the heroes to see that they are the true villains in the situation. No matter what they do, what anyone could do, it won't change that fact. She knows. She tried once, and trust her when she says, it did not end well. Actually, it was the farthest from 'well' that one could get, and she did not want to try again, but as she looks up to the Senate, she realized that she probably didn't have much choice in the matter. Well, at least it was a challenge. Who didn't love a good challenge?

Ash looked over to Alia, her expression not changed since she heard the news but her voice was calm as she spoke, "We don't really know, but we might as well hope. Always hold a bit of hope that something good just might occur... if you actually try. Nothing will change, nothing at all will be different if Hunters and Supernaturals just relentlessly kill eachother in a never-ending cycle..." She paused, moving her silver gaze to stare out at nothing, her eyes seeing things no one else would before she continued, "If that goes on, we might as well give up being us and fall into the categories the Hunters see us as... blood-crazed, flesh-eating, cold-blooded monsters that lurk through the night hunting their children for a snack. So, would you rather have us slowly sink to that because of our hate towards the hunters like those that already gave us our bad names," with the pause, Ash turned her sight again on Alia, "Or would you rather have a try at seeing if your thoughts on humans are really true. What you think of them is what they think of us, though they hunt us for what we need to do to feed. At the end of the day we're all, mostly, sentient beings just wanting to go to a warm bed and sleep safely with a full belly. I've seen their dreams and thoughts, Kitsune, and mentality-wise... they are no different from us. So before you go on saying they're truly unable to change, look at yourself and those around you. If the humans will do nothing, we must do something."

With her speech over, she closed her eyes and laid her head back to await the end of the meeting. Ash turned off her listening and attention to the world around her in case the Kitsune, the woman she knew too little of, decided to shoot back with more remarks. A childing way of dealing with it, yes, but better than risking a fight breaking out. Her words were not meant to be taken as offensive or rude, they were simply her thoughts collected over years of watching humans from not only the outside, but the inside of their heads. As for the meeting, she'd never liked government much, anyone that really knew her knew that she disliked being given orders and laws to follow though she had her own personal laws. But as far as this trial went, it got the speaker on her good side... only the speaker, for she delivered the news seemingly happy enough and she didn't know who all had voted on this outcome.

"Chances getting away now? None. There're too many, and they don't trust us, so they'll probably keep us in similar restraints to the one we're in now. Chances later? I'm not sure. It depends on how our captors handle 'teaching' us. If they let us out and about the city, then we might be able to escape more easily, and hell, we might be able to bring the others back here," Nicole murmured under her breath as she looked around, analyzing the room as she breathed out slowly. "I think we're fucked though, guys. Truly fucked for now..." Death was what awaited them if they couldn't escape. There was too much bad blood between them and the monsters. And the monsters were monsters above all else. There was no way they'd be allowed to live.

And to admit they were wrong? Renounce the Hunters and all their beliefs? It was ridiculous. The Monsters were monsters there was nothing else she could do really. All she'd ever been taught was that they were evil, horrible creatures. And that's what they. There was more blood on the hands of those monsters; those creatures, than could ever be cleaned up. So it was their job to deal with them by exterminating them. Their job was no more evil than a pest control officer's job.

Bennett continued the speech, "You among us who have been chosen have no option in this. We, the Senate, have conversed and come to this decision after much deliberating. You will, to the best of your ability, try to make these Hunters understand." The faerie shut her eyes half-way, then said, in a low but audible tone. "You are the emissaries of all our species. While some among us disagree with this, a large number have decided that we need to try to convert the Hunters. Not regress to their barbaric methods and simply kill them. So represent us well."

Anthony was a bit startled when he and his team were sentenced to represent all of the supernatural races and teach these humans their ways. It was a very daunting task. And they were only given 6 months! How was anyone supposed to do anything and change anyone's mind in just 6 months? The hunters had been hunters since the way they were born! They were raised with the mentality that the supernatural was evil and bad. He doubted that anything they could do in 6 months would really change that fact. Unfortunately, it looked like they were going to have to try the best they could with this situation. He only hoped that something changed or all of this was truly going to be a waste of time. He sighed softly to himself and ran a hand through his hair a he turned his attention to his team. They were already at a disagreement about the situation.

"I think I have to agree with Ash on this. What would have been the point of capturing them if we are just going to kill them without a second thought. I mean, that is what the hunters do to us. It would have been simpler to kill them when we first caught them. Though 6 months is kind of a short time to do all of this in, I think we owe it to all of the people we lost to try and change something for the future. And regardless, there is nothing we can do. The Senate decided our fate."

Anthony looked over at the angry humans and nibbled on his lip. "How do you guys want to go about and teach them? I don't think it would work well if we tried to teach them all at once. Maybe dealing with smaller groups or one on one or something? I think being in a large group would help them reaffirm their own bond as being prisoners and needing to strand strong in their convictions. What do you guys think?" he asked them then.

Alia looked around the group for the second time that night and sighed. If they were going to do it, and not heed her advice, it was in her best interest to help. If you can't beat them, join them, isn't that how the saying goes?

Going over what she knew about humans in her head, she realized that Antone, or whatever his name is (she figured that it wasn't worth her time to remember something as trivial as names), had a point. It's easy to defeat humans when they are all alone, with no one to watch their back, but near impossible to face in a group. They are strong together, she had to give them that, despite her hatred for the lot. With that in mind, the way to handle this situation was pretty clear, though she was loathe to admit it.

She sighed again, and cleared her throat. "Listen, while I'm the first to voice my opinion about my... distaste for humans, the succubus is right," Alia started, her voice strong and slow, as to command everyone's attention. "Don't get me wrong, I still think they should get it over with and kill them, but if we absolutely have to change their opinion, which I'm still sure is never going to happen, the best way is going the direct route. Though it pains me to say, I believe if we are to have any chance what so ever, we're probably going to have to go one on one. Each of us matches up with a hunter, and, for the most part, we live our everyday lives. We can't, however, let them have to much freedom, because if they manage to overpower us, they won't waste a second thinking before killing us and running away. I believe using a spell to bind them to us would probably be the best course of action.

"I'm almost positive this won't work, but if we are going to attempt this stupid, naive notion of changing a hunters mind, we might as well go about it in a smart way." She finished, her golden tails twitching subconsciously from her disgust and fear of the very idea of being alone in a room with a hunter. She knew she was likely going to regret telling them the idea in the weeks to follow, because, as hard as it can be dealing with hunters in a group, it's even harder while alone, and there was no way that these hunters were going to make their job easy.

She closed her eyes, trying to look uncaring and relaxed as she listened for the next person to either agree or disagree with her. In the end, it doesn't really matter what strategy they choose, or how they go about it, because, no matter what, she knew that the next 6 months were going to be the longest, and strangest, 6 months of her life.

Jared nodded, agreeing with the two others. Anthony made some good points, as did Ash. "Binding magic is pretty easy. I know I can do it, though I'm not sure if anyone else can. Worst case, I suppose I could come with whoever's going, bind the Hunter then leave. But I don't know how open they'd be to listening to us after that. It might merely make them want to kill us and escape more. And you're right. It would be stupid to capture them and then kill them. It would make us no better than them, and at least this way, we can say we tried to convert them. Even if they stick to their ideals, then we tried. We did the right thing as much as we could and then their deaths are on themselves."

He paused, then continued, "And if we manage to do it, then we know that Hunters aren't complete Monsters and it's their upbringing that made them this way. And even if we don't, we'll likely gain a ton of valuable information about the Hunters in the process."

Then the faerie glanced around, taking in the others' reactions. For the most part, it seemed they were in agreement on how it deal with it. He himself was rather surprised by the act of mercy by the Senate. He'd been expecting something much harsher. Not that he minded. Jared had always been of the mindset you could usually talk your way out of situations.

Ash shrugged, her silver eyes opening as she gave a smirk, "Sounds fine to me. One on one, with the occassional group date perhaps. You know, to let them know they're not completely isolated from eachother. I think I'd want to see a familiar face every now and then if I were in such a situation. It'd relieve the stress and allow them to see they're not being tortured or killed off one by one. If they think we're such monsters, we need to assure them they aren't in any real danger from our kind unless they don't change." She bit her lip, "We need to befriend them, as hard as it sounds. They see us as anything but human, not even as people." Her thoughts went further than what she spoke out loud, how she'd do this herself. Then, how it would also depend on the person they each took as their responsibility.

"Someone has to say it... who's taking who? Do we draw straws? Papers from a hat? Match the Hunter's stubborness to the Supernatural's drive to convince them? A Hunter with a deeply-rooted belief in whatever they believe in won't work too well with someone that's not too eager to go through with this." It held an obvious but subtle hint towards Alia, not meant to be rude at all, just cautionary. With another slight moment of forcing herself not to sleep she stretched and yawned before sitting up straight, "And we that feed off human-related things have to be careful when we feed if they're to follow us everywhere, show them we don't kill... and to be sure they don't kill us. I know I would be vulnerable to attack, I'm dead asleep when I feed." Another pause and Ash spoke again, "I might have to hold off feeding for a while then. No matter how hopeful I am of this working, I know it's foolish to trust a Hunter in such a situation, especially after they were just imprisoned."

A sigh escaped Ash's lips. This was becoming more difficult than she thought. If she could have a protection charm or someone to guard her for such times it would be great, but she didn't want to bother anyone and she was sure Hunters had a way of getting through every sort of charm or spell. "This will definitely be interesting," she mumbled to herself.

Nathaniel Holter, called Nathan or Nate by his friends, had simply listened and watched most of the event. His eyes scanned the many seated monsters within the room, following the gazes of seemingly shocked and disgusted monsters at once to the group that would supposedly to be watching them. He remembered their faces from when they were captured. Though it had happened fairly quickly, he remembered it easily, except he couldn't figure out if they had fallen into a trap or if their own trap had failed and ended in being captured themselves. Well, either way their trap had failed. And he felt a great shame for what he didn't know. He should have been able to fight better, take at least one down before he was captured, should have been able to escape and get help for the rest of his team. Or even better, he should have been able to help defend his team and not even have risked getting caught.

But here he was, chained like a dog in the yard for biting his owner's neighbors. Well, this would be embarrassing if any others witnessed it. But he was with his team, who failed as a team and would win as a team. And probably felt shame and fear as a team... it was corny but probably tru. He didn't know, it wasn't like he'd tried to talk to them about feelings the amount of time they'd been awake and dragged to this meeting of the outcome of their lives. This was probably the longest Nathan had actually stayed quiet. But now, he finally spoke, "Well... this is unfortunate." He made the corners of his lips turn upward into a small smile, one that was to hide how nervous he was, "They're trying to train us. I'll bet one of us gets a nickname like Biter or Mr. Stabs-a-Lot by the end of the month." And there he went, trying to put something amusing to the difficult situation ahead... the six month long situation if they didn't figure something out.

Bennett paused, letting them talk briefly before she finished up the meeting, "That is our verdict. The Hunters will now be returned to the prison. You can follow them and begin or remain here to discuss the matter further. It's entirely your choice." Which was perhaps the only choice they had in the matter. She was anxious though. Her fingers wouldn't stay still, and it did seem as though she had something she needed to tell them.

Though, on the other hand, it they started now, they'd have more time to wear the Hunters down, and try to change their minds about Monsters in general. And looking at those very much not remorseful faces, it would appear that they'd need every minute of it.

It was no time for jokes. Helpless in enemy hands with no clear way out, Artemis hated just how useless he felt. But he'd been with Nathan long enough to know the reason behind the man's humor, and he couldn't bring himself to be angry at his teammate. Not in this situation. Not right now.

Instead he let his shoulders go slack, tired of fighting the magic ties. They weren't going to give. "Dibs on Stabs-a-Lot," he tried to jest, taking a deep breath to calm himself. It didn't work. With knitted brow and a grimace that reached his eyes, Artemis couldn't stop the anger thrumming in his chest, the shame tightening his throat. His sigh hissed out through his teeth. "Goddammit."

Nicole was right. They were fucked. Their best bet really was to make a break for it once allowed outside, and who knew when that would be. No, he couldn't start thinking that way - their chance would come. They'd escape, make a report, and come back with reinforcements. Then they could burn this hellish city to the ground. Until then, to his endless agitation, Artemis was going to have to grit his teeth and wait.

He didn't struggle nearly as hard being taken back to the prison - only just enough to make it clear that he wasn't giving up. Now that the immediate fear of pending death had passed, he could think just a little more clearly. There was no point in fighting a fight they couldn't win. They would save up their energy for a real chance to escape.

Anthony nibbled on his lip as he glanced at his comrades and then the prisoners. They were allowed to stay and discuss what they should do but he wasn't sure how they were all going to decide who watched who. He would suggest picking hunters and supernatural based on who would probably get better with who, but there was a problem with that. He didn't know the personalities of the humans sine he hadn't really spoken to them and he hadn't fed off them to really know them and their thoughts. He would assume the others would have the same dilemma. He glanced at Calum and gave him a nod. That was a good plan at least. That way everyone had their backs covered when they were the most vulnerable and the hunters were never going to be alone. If a hunter tried to overwhelm Calum, the other person could easily wake up and provide aid.

"Well we have our backup thanks to Calum and it seems like none of us are really particular on who takes who. So how about we pick straws with the hunters' names?" he suggested. "We could easily ask them their names and once everyone has piked, we could go on our way trying to teach them. Other than that, I am not sure how to begin."

As Jayde was being escorted back to the 'prison' (she liked to view it as a guest room, instead of the cold floor and bars it was), she couldn't help but smirk. She was ecstatic, which was strange, as she had never felt happy on a mission before, and she knew exactly what was causing the giddy feeling; for the third time in her life, she was going to be able to interact with the supernatural without the stress of having to kill them. To be honest, though, even if the council (as that was the only word she could describe them as) of strange beings had decided to kill them, she still would be happy. As long as she doesn't have to kill again, she would die with a smile on her face, though she could never let the hunters that she was currently walking with know. The one time she tried to share these thoughts with another human, it did not end well.... Jayde shook her head, trying to get the dark thoughts of her past out of her mind before one of her fellow hunters figured out something was up, though they would probably think that she was just nervous from being around 'monsters', as they called them, instead of the actual truth of her just trying to protect them.

It wasn't until she heard one of the other hunters, Artemis she think his name is, finished talking with his friend, did she realize that she was lagging behind. She increased her step and caught up with the rest of the rag-tag group, full of people with various talents. She looked around the strange collection of hunters, trying to decide if it was smart and worth her while to speak up about their current situation. When she saw the grim looks on all of their faces, like they were lambs being sent of to slaughter (though, if they were, they would have deserved it, considering how many people they have killed, Jayde included), she figured she had to say something. They kept on walking for a few long, grueling minutes filled with silence until they got to the cell where they were being momentarily held. Jayde waited for a couple of seconds in the silence until she was sure that the guards were not close enough to hear.

Clearing her throat, she closed her eyes to get up the gumption to speak for the first, and likely last, time that night. "You know, we could have had a worst fate." She faltered when she felt all of their eyes on her, likely filled with surprise or malice. Opening up her eyes, she put on her usual hard-ass demeanor. "What I mean is, are you all really scared of a couple of monsters?" She spewed the word 'monsters' like it was venom, the group likely thinking it of hatred of the beings described, instead of her hatred for the word itself. "You really can't handle yourselves for six months? Wow. I knew I was dealing with a bunch of weaklings, but this is just sad." Now that she had established her persona, the tricky part came- trying to convince them to give the supernatural a chance without completely giving away she had a soft spot for them. Her smirk grew bigger when she realized the perfect way to do just that.

[#color=009AC5]"I for one, think we should wait a little bit before we try to escape. You know, gain their trust, learn a couple of secrets. Give it a few months, pretend to be... cooperative. Then, and only then, we can plan an escape."[/color] She let her words stir in the air, hopefully giving them ideas. Her plan meant that the non-human beings didn't have much time to try to convince them, but at least it was time. She only could hope they were smart enough to use it wisely, and prevent anyone- humans and supernatural beings alike- getting killed.

"Oh yes, we're all terrified which is why we've all just given up," Nicole rebutted, "Absolutely freaking terrified. Nah, it can't have had anything to do with the fact we screwed up that we're behaving this way. Honestly Jayde. We're going to have to wait to escape."

The female Hunter paused, lips pursed tightly together, as she reluctantly agreed with the other, "Though, you're right. What seems like the best way would be to make them think they're convincing us; to listen to them, play friendly, and everything else. Gain their trust, and then either wait for an opportunity to escape. We have to get the others information about this place. They let us in. Which means if we can get out, we can lead the others back here."

Nicole had no doubts about her job. She'd been raised to think of the supernaturals as monsters, and you didn't feel regret when you killed something like that. It was like feeling pity after squashing an ant. Most Hunters, Nic included, didn't think about it any differently. Mainly because she'd never spoken to or listened to rather, a supernatural long enough to know differently.

Anthony sighed when Gaia began to speak up. Really? She had to go on talking about the humans like they were pets? Had to insult her 'peers' at the same time when they tried to settle the matter civilly? He didn't much like the way she spoke to them but there was no use getting into a verbal debate over the terms and what not. It would get them no where and would lead to just aggravating everyone as if this situation wasn't stressful enough as it was. Well, it seemed like there was nothing to it but to do it. Oh man he hoped he picked a human that he could get along with. If he and his human couldn't get along... well the whole project would be fucked and they'd never get anywhere useful during their time together.

"I agree with Gaia and Alia then. Just picking our human partner seems like it would make things simple enough," he stated out loud.

Anthony followed Gaia and Alia down to where the humans were being kept and waited while Alia went second and picked her human. He didn't want to waste any time down here so he moved closer to the cell door and looked over the humans as he debated. He didn't want to grab one of the men. Men were far more stubborn in his opinion and harder to reach a tie with. Though it probably made him look weak, he had a much easier time getting to know women regardless of which gender he took on himself. He nibbled his lip and his eyes strayed to the pretty brunette.

"Well, I guess I'll go with her," he said and gave Nichole a nod, indicating to everyone else who he was choosing.