Jesse pulled a face as one of his father’s servants, Roland, backed out of the room. Sitting on his bed he picked at some stray fluff stuck to his black tracksuit bottoms. He’d been told to change; they had some unexpected company arriving for dinner. He hated that his attire was always dictated by their ‘company’.

He kicked off his bottoms and found a pair of expensive trousers in his wardrobe, black and sharply pressed they clung to his narrow hips, a little too low for his fathers taste. He buttoned on a crisp dark green shirt. Checking himself in the mirror he knew he was hardly presentable, well if you were looking for smart with a sprig of mess he was your guy. Pushing both hands into his hair he pushed it back from his face. He knew he should really gel it but felt that when you still looked like a mess when you’d actually tried you just weren’t worth it. And that was what he’d look like.

So bare foot, with his sleeves rolled up, Jesse left his room and padded towards the main living room where their guests would be taken. As he reached the top of the stairs, leading down to the entrance hall, he paused, having heard a pleasant sound bouncing down the corridor behind him. He turned just in time to catch the girl as she flung herself at him. Wrapping his arms around her he let himself overbalance and fall to the floor. Dana sat high on his chest, her own loose trousers racked up to her knees where she’d landed. Her hands on her shoulders she smiled down at him, her long blonde hair tickling his cheek.

“Silverstone, tuck in that shirt!” she ordered; her smile infectious.

Jesse grinned as he sat up, knocking her off of him he grabbed her around the waist and wrestled her to the floor, baring his teeth he snapped them at her. “What do you think I am? Some kind of a man?”

She giggled as he lightly dug his fingers into her sides. She growled at him and grabbed to restrain his hands. “Yes!” He pulled his hands free and tickled her, growling back. “No!” she screamed, “No you’re a scary animal!”

He dug at her, “How scary?”

She shrieked.

“How…” he was cut off by the sound of expensive shoes tapping on a wooden floor. He rolled to his feet in one smooth motion, grabbing Dana roughly by the shoulder he pulled her up with him and quickly straightened his shirt. He leant against the banister at the top of the stairs and looked to her, as if they were conversing. He quickly tucked a few strands of rouge hair behind Dana’s ear as his father entered the entrance hall. Dressed in a sleek Italian suit the man paused at the bottom of the stairs, his silver hair almost glittering in the light from the chandelier. His sharp glacier gaze hit Jesse like a rock to the chest.

“What was all that noise about?” his voice cut the smooth texture of the air, turning it immediately to ice.

Jesse smiled, but said nothing.

A corner of his fathers mouth twitched up, “Dana pull your left trouser leg down,” he snapped, “Both of you, into the main living room will you? I’ll have Roland find you a tie, Jesse. The Walker’s wont be long.” The man turned as if stuck on a pivot and then practically marched towards the living room. Jesse and Dana exchanged a glance. The Walker’s? Recently Lady Walker had been dragging her daughter over with some frequency and it was beginning to get on his nerves, she was attractive and was some what interesting, unlike most Lion’s he knew, but everything about their meetings was awkward, mostly because of the close scrutiny of her mother, and his.

“Sorry.” She licked her lips as she shook her leg so that her trouser leg fell back down. “Careless.” She shook her hair out, hating it behind her ears.

“Not your fault.” Jesse sighed as he raked his hand through his hair, “It isn’t for you to worry about.” He touched her cheek, nodded a smile then started down the stairs, she hurried to keep up with him. He knew he’d get it later; his father remembered ever detail and always pulled them up on it. No matter how small. As they turned into a second entrance hall, that had doors leading to the living room and into a larger hall used for parties, Roland caught up to them and handed a black tie to Jesse.

He was doing it up as he entered the living room to find his father sitting on one well cushioned sofa with his mother. Her hair was curled, matching the colour of Dana’s she had it pinned up. Her makeup exquisite she wore a simple summer dress that fell to her knee and showed none of her chest. White heels were probably hurting her feet. Jesse nodded to her as he lounged across another sofa, his sister taking her favourite high backed chair in the corner.

“Jesse.” His fathers tone told him that he was doing something he shouldn’t be, there was never a need for his father to explain what, or give another order. Jesse immediately straightened and rested his hands on his knees.

Two minutes later the door bell chimed.

---

Amy sat in a small room, wearing her usual tight black jeans with a purple strap top she had her phone out and was tapping the keys almost violently. She paused for a few seconds and then the text message came.

‘Gather them, tell them, report back. Love you x’

She smiled, sent a quick ‘I love you too’ then hopped off of her bed to find a jacket. She pulled a thick black hoodie out and shrugged it on. Then swiped her matches off of the side and headed down to the kitchen. Her house was a small two up two down. Paid for by her mother it was one of many secret locations. She found a firework, rocket, from a cupboard in her kitchen then, barefoot, she headed outside.

She stuck the rocket into the soft ground and struck the match, carefully she lit the fuse then backed away from the firework. It sizzled before sparks rushed from it and shot into the sky. It flew high and exploded, it’s colour a unique turquoise sizzled with red stars. Every rebel in the small town had just been alerted and would meet in another location, just as secret as the one she lived in.

Amy dashed back into the house and threw the matches onto the side. She hurried upstairs to pull on socks and converse. She tucked her phone and two sets of keys into her small shoulder bag then hurried outside. It took her fifteen minutes to get to the location.

Those who had been close were already there, looking over each shoulder she unlocked the front door for them. They followed her into the house where she went to the kitchen and pulled up and trap door, she stood by it so the rebels could go down one by one. Over the next hour more would arrive, she had to allow an hour as a whole stream of people would be too conspicuous, most waited in the shadows and went in one by one. She smiled to her guests.

"Mom!" Michaline growled somewhat as her mother once again fussed about her outfit. "Everytime we go over there, you have me in a god-awful dress and high heels. That just isn't me. You really want a guy to marry me because he thinks I'm someone else?" She gestured towards what she was wearing. A strapless red and black stripped shirt which exposed her her rather well-toned stomach, jean shorts which just came down to middle of her thighs, exposing her black tattoo of a flower on her right thigh, and black All Star high tops, which came all the way up to her knees. She had a red fishnet arm warmer on one arm, and a black fingerless glove on the other, a spiked black choker on her neck. Her hair was bleached white on top, the bottom layer being pure black, and was straight. She had put all of her piercings back in, five in her left ear, two inher right, her eyebrow piercing, and her lip ring. She had her sliver whip coiled around her waist as usual.

"But, Michaline, you're not presentable!" Her mother cried in distaste.

"Yes I am, because this is how I want to be seen!" Michaline scowled at her mother. "Now, come on, let's get over there before that woman sends a search party."

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Michaline stood with her arms crossed as her mother rang the doorbell, worry etched across the older woman's face. How would the Lady of the house take her daughter's appearance? Michaline had surely ruined any chance she had with this boy, with the shamless act she was putting on.

It wasn't as if mickey didn't like Jesse. He was interesting enough, and his little sister Dana was a doll. But Michaline didn't want Jesse to like her for any reason other than because she was who she was. Him seeing her in those expensive dresses and shoes that absolutely killed her feet? It wasn't who she was! She was putting on a show, and the boy didn't know who she was! How could he like her if he didn't know her? That was why she had put a stop to it. If Jesse was going to like her, it was because he knew her, not her mother.

A small crack emits from deep within the forest. The small deer's head snaps up to look at where the sound came from. Silence. The deer slowy lowers it's head with suscpicon in its eyes. It resumes eating the leaves off a small bush. A few minutes pass and another cracking is heard. Closer in proximity. The deer is not stupid, it quickly sprints off in the oppositte direction.The deer seems pleased with itself, it has avoided any possible danger by fleeing the strange noises. Suddenly, in mid stride, The young deer is startled when a part of the forest floor jumps up in front of it and grabs it's throat. The forest floor jerks the deer's head back, still holding onto it's throat, the deer flips backwards and lands hard against it's back. Suddenly the deer feels the sharp pain of a blade through it's neck and it screams in silent terror and pain. As it's vision fades it looks at the piece of forest that has caught it,a pair of black eyes stares back at it. They resemble the deer's own dying eyes, without light, and cold. That is the last thing the deer sees, black, cold, dying eyes.

Ethan pulls the knife out of the deer's throat as it goes limp. He flings loose blood off and wipes the blade on the dead deer's chest. He pulls down the hood of his hunting camoflauge suit and replaces the knife to the black sheath on his leg. He takes a moment to breathe through the mask covering his face before removing that too.He takes a moment to applaud himself at this catch, how he'd predicted the way the deer would most likely run after he triggered a few small noise traps. He walked to a tree and bent over, he picked up his cross bow, colored to look just like the forest around him. He slung his weapon over his shoulder and went back to the carcass of meat. With a small grunt he threw the small dead deer over his shoulder and began his hike back to the city.

Mason stalked around the lower class of the city. He was surrounded by those lower then him, which disgusted him. He walked, collar of his black jacket popped, hood Over his head, and hands in pockets through the filthy streets. Eyes only turning to look up, so they cold stare down someone walking past. He bumped into a stranger succesfully taking whatever was in his pocket, it felt like some coins and a watch. But he wasn't here to loot, if he really wanted to steal he would do it from rich, not this scum. No, he was here on a mission, a target. One of the local gangs was having some trouble with a certain dog, giving away there hide out locations. The mission would be simple and easy.
He slid into a corner and shifted into a long black snake with peircing white eyes. He slid up a pipe onto a roof, he deaftly slivered across the roof and into an open window. He shifted back and looked around. He was in a dimly lit attic. The sounds of music played underneath him. He blinked his eyes and whn they opened everything was a sickly green color except for a red pulsing dot underneath him. A heart. Not just any heart, his targets heart. He placed a clay bomb on the floor below him, backed up and blew the charge. The explosion blinded and deafened him for a second or two, but it also blew a hole to the room below. He dropped through the hole to see his target on the floor holding his arm, the force of the charge must have done most of the dirty work. Mason walked ovr to the rithing body, and without a pause, or a word, or anywarning, stabbed the target in the neck with his two poison tipped daggers.
He heard screaming outside, as expected. He quickly pulled out a small camrea and snapped a shot of th dead victim. Then He shifted and sliitherd out through a window and into the night.

"Who the hell was that?!" The man said as he removed his hood and panted heavily, his long black hair going wild in his haste. The other man had short red hair and leaned against the wall, whipping sweat off his face. "I don't know. I've never seen a human move that fast. We can't stay here long, he wasn't far behind." The red haired man motioned for them to continue running down the alley, not wanting to give the one chasing them anytime to catch up. "I knew we shouldn't have come to the city. He took out Grant like he was nothing. Do you think he knows?" The red haired man looked back at his friend as he ran, trying to get a sense of where they were running. "I doubt it. He might just be trying to mug us. Regardless, we have to get someplace dark so we can shift. We won't have to worry about anything then." They were hard pressed to accomplish this however, the streets of West London not known for providing privacy. "Oi, where you two think you're runnin'?" The two looked back to see a reasonably tall, brown haired man running them down with a wide smirk on his face.

They reached a dead end, looking back to see Rain perfectly fine, while they were out of breath and exhausted. "A little birdie told me that you two might have the answers I am looking for. Now, personally I would rather you just tell me. But, a fight every now and then makes life a lil' more interesting. Don't ya think?" The two looked at each other, nodding silently in agreement. The red haired man smiled, looking at their chaser with assured eyes. "I think its you who should be the one running." They both came at him, timing their attacks with each other. Rain met the punch of the black haired man with his own, shattering the man's right hand. He kicked in the kneecap of the other one and sent him falling to the ground, screaming out in pain. The black haired man backed up in disbelief that a human could do this. "Now, are you going to start answering my questions?" Unable to think of any other option the black haired man disappeared into the darkness of the alley. "Sorry Drew, but I can't stay." Rain ran into the darkness only to find clothes on the ground. What appeared to be a crow was sitting on top of the wall, flying into the nights sky after a few seconds.

"Isaac, that bastard!" Drew called out in pain. "Abandoning me and breaking the agreement." Rain looked back at him, scratching his head at the whole situation. He walked over to Drew and lifted him up by the collar, "Where did your friend go, bud?" Drew looked away as if to say he wasn't going to tell him anything. "What's this about an agreement? And why the hell is your friend running around naked?!" Drew chuckled and looked at Rain, a wide smirk on his face. "There is a certain thing we agreed we wouldn't do in front of others." Rain looked at him with a confused expression. "Okay? Was that thing not to streak?" Drew chuckled once again, "Are you an idiot?!" Rain looked at him with a malicious aura almost visibly radiating off him. "You realize you have two kneecaps, right?" Drew grew wide-eyed and bit the inside of his lip. He couldn't shift in his current state, and knwoing they weren't supposed to venture into the city made relying on Isaac to send someone a bad choice. "I'm not telling you anything, pretty boy." Rain lifted the man up and pushed him against the wall. "Okay, that's fine."

Rain smiled as he pulled his left hand back and punched Drew directly on the left eye, knocking him unconscious. "And I really hate fighting too." He dug through the pocket of Drew, taking out his wallet and shuffling through it. In the end all he got was a credit card and a driver's license. He reached into the other pocket and found his cell phone. Only a few numbers were in it, but they all had the same area code, a region just outside of London. He wrote down the numbers and stood up. "I guess this will do for now. I was lucky that guy came forward about seeing one of the missing persons with that blondie back there. He should be waking up around the time this one does." Rain dialed a number on Drew's phone holding it up while walking out of the alley. "Yes, an ambulance is needed on Kennith and Shire. Thank you." He hung up the phone and wiped his finger prints off it, tossing it in a trash can not to far away from the dead end.

"Marie you really should put your coat on." Lee said smiling, holding out the large coat to the 15 year old a few steps in front of him. "If you catch a cold on this outing of ours your father will have me sacked".

Lee turned to look back the way they had come. They had traveled from London that morning slipping out of the city without drawing too much attention. The White Lexus could still be seen from where they had walked from. Lee frowned as he saw rain clouds over them, and as he pulled out the small umbrella from his large Gray overcoat it started to rain lightly on them. Walking quickly over to where Marie was he thrust the umbrella over her.

"What a shame, shall we go home?"

Marie skipped along the walkway that ran next to the canal to the left, and to the right a series of gardens and fig trees. Marie spotted a group of ducks swimming along and ran over to the side of the canal to watch them. Marie knew that three body guards were hidden around the area but she tried to keep that thought out of her mind.
"Marie you really should put your coat on.". Marie turned her head to look at Lee Wilter, her tutor, guardian, and only close friend. Lee was like an older brother to Marie. She gave lee one of her 'i'm an independent person' looks and returned her focus to the ducks swimming below her feet.

"If you catch a cold on this outing of ours your father will have me sacked". Marie groaned and caught the coat as Lee threw it at her, Slowly slipping the coat on but refusing to do up the buttons.

A moment later an Umbrella was thrust over her head and she looked up to see Lee smiling at her.

"What a shame, shall we go home?"

Marie sighed and got to her feet. "Geeze Lee we only arrived an hour ago, but i guess this is no weather to be out in" she said as the rain got harder and started walking to the car quickly. Laughing as Lee kept up with her making sure not a drop of rain touched her head.

"Where to my lady?" the driver asked her as she and lee entered the car.

Something that sounded like a firework echoed . Marie jumped up and turned to where the noise had come from, even in this weather Marie could see the Turquoise colour in the sky with red stars.

"Oh can we go there please, Lee please!" Marie said excitedly.

"Oh can we go there please, Lee please!"

Lee could only smile at her excitement. "Ok Marie. However i warn you now it will not be a festival or carnival as you may hope, most likely just some locals playing with fireworks, nonetheless very well, Donald take us there please."

The driver nodded at lee, but something in his face had changed when he had seen the firework. Lee gave the driver a hard look, a warning perhaps.

The drive to the town wasn't as long as Lee had thought it would be, only 2 miles from the canal where they were previously. The White Lexus pulled into the village, standing out incredibly, contrasting against the gloomy gray and browns of the village. Lee just hoped they wouldn't draw too much attention.

After a drive around the town, what Lee had said earlier was confirmed. There was no carnival or festival of any sort to be seen, a local must have just set the firework off. Knowing that Marie would be surely disappointed. Lee knowing the town quickly thought up something new for them to do.

"There isn't a carnival Marie, but there is an amazing Sweet shop just 200 meters around the corner from where we are now".

The Lexus was now parked in what seemed to be a small parking area. It was mostly empty save for the Lexus and two other cars that must be locals.

Donald murmured something quickly about having a break and would meet them back in half an hour and then left the vehicle heading off into the town.

Jesse looked up as the Walker's were led into the main living room by Roland. His family got to their feet and slowly he followed suit, a look of insolence plastered on his face. His lips set he prepared to give the appropriate greeting. His father, Garrett, stepped forward first, flourishing his hand he welcomed Lady Walker. His mother, Charlotte, bobbed her head and Dana bounced forward to give her own greeting. It was only when Lady Walker stepped aside that her daughter was presented to them. The corner of Jesse's mouth quirked up as he took her in, adventurous, but not clever. He didn't think she'd be invited round in the future. He seemed to be the first to recover and moved forward to take Michaline's hand, kissing the back of her hand as only protocol would allow, he looked her up and down, openly taking her in. He said nothing of course, just smiled wryly as he fell back onto the sofa.

"What a pleasant surprise," Garrett nodded to Michaline, "I trust your journey was," he looked the girl over and returned his icy gaze to her mother, "Eventful." He gestured to the end of the three seat sofa he had been seated on before, "Please have a seat, I trust dinner wont be long." he sat back down, Dana curled back onto her chair and Charlotte sat herself the other side of his father. Jesse moved over a little so that Michaline could sit down, although it was the main living room it had just two sofas and the chair that Dana was curled in. He wondered is Michaline would ignore his gesture and just stand, wouldn't that be rude? He slit his gaze to his father, who was looking intently at Lady Walker, no doubt hardly able to hold himself back from asking what the meaning of this unexpected visit was.

"I can go and ask Roland how long dinner will be." Jesse offered, turning his hand to examine his perfect nails. "Or I could ask him to find Miss Walker some clothes to go with her underwear." he looked to Michaline, smirking. "She can't be warm in that."

Garrett stiffened a little as his son spoke, “Just ask Roland about dinner, I’m sure the clothes won’t be necessary.” So his father acted disgusted by her appearance but was not against a bit of perversion. Getting to his feet in one fluid motion he headed for the door, slanting his body so that he could get around Michaline, “I’ll be back.” He slipped out of the living room and closed the door behind him. He heard his father ask Lady Walker why she had decided to visit so suddenly as he walked away. No doubt it was something to do with the rebels, there had been a few worryingly close attacks. There were guards in place to stop them getting near the lions but a few panther families had been attacked. With no idea of who was carrying out the attacks no real battles had come, but civil war wasn’t far away, not if they carried on, not if they were found.

He reached the kitchen and found Roland just inside the door, no doubt bitching to the cook about something. He turned and bowed his head as soon as Jesse appeared. “Father was wondering how long dinner would be?”

“Nice escape.” Roland smiled a little.

“Yes well, nothing good can come from me being there, not in this mood.”

“It will be ten minutes, I’ll fetch you.” He promised. Jesse nodded and turned to go but was called back, “Master Jesse, what is wrong with your mood?”

He pushed his hands through his hair, “Well I was looking forward to a quiet night in.” Roland chuckled, knowing who he was referring to, Michaline didn’t look in a quiet mood, and no doubt any frustration she created for Garrett would be taken out on him when they left.

He headed back to the main living room, returning he interrupted whatever they were talking about to tell them that dinner would be ten minutes.

The street were lined with crammed together apartment buildings, same where slanted and many needed repairs. In the apartment at the end of the block a little boy sat with his ear against the wall listening closely to the faint scurrying noises coming from the other side. “What are you doing Michael?” Michael looked up at his mother. “There are noises coming from the wall.” She told her.”
“Noises?”
“Yeah, scratching noises.”
Her mother scrunched up her nose. “God don’t tell me we have rats again.” She said with disgust, I’ll to let the landlord know.” She turned to leave. Michael smiled a little.
“And don’t forget to clean your room.”
“But mom.”
“No buts.”
~
On the other side of the wall a small ferret made it’s way along a pipe, looking very out of place, only pausing when catching the word rats. If a ferret could scowl ,this one would have been. So it mearly bared ti's teeth. It kept going heading towards where it thought florr four , room 405 was.

'Sarah sat at the coffee shop, eating her way though cheesecake very slowly trying savour very bite. She was waiting for someone a investor or police men or something. She sometimes worked small jobs or him mostly info gathering, in exchange for same under the table cash; she’d rather not but not having money nowadays your pretty much scerwed.She liked the job because he nevr asked questions about how got her info, and things always got complecated when humans started asking questions. A man walked into the café taking a sit across form Sarah, she didn’t bother to look up.
“How are today Miss. Allen.”
“Fine.” She answered shortly finishing her cake.”You have a job for me.”
“Right the job.” The man said.Passing a folder to her. “Just basic surveillance, watch him for a couple of days write everything down.”
“That’s it.”
“That’s it.” He smiled at her .”I’ll pay you two hundred cash as usual. All the details are in the folder.” Sarah nodded already scanning the contents. Silence took over the table. She got up. “I guess i'll do it.” She said without saying another word she got up to leave. She never asked question she never wanted to be even a little involved.
“We’ll meet back here in three days.” The man yelled after her.
As she was closing the door she heard. "Excuse me sir will you be paying for your dates food as well." Sarah smirked chuclking a little as she made her way down the street. She always enjoyed a meal sameone else payed for

Sarah stopped taking a short rest in between the next floor and the pervious. This was the last time she took a job for a while. ‘God a wish I could take a nap.’ She thought getting up she continued toward the forth floor where the target was supposed to live.

Michaline snickered at Jesse's comment on her "underwear". She was positively bored out of her mind as she came in. She knew that Jesse's parents were appalled at her dress, and she didn't care. She was impressed that Jesse recoverd first. As he came back, she perked up slightly, she was sitting in the spot he had pointed out to her, her legs and arms crossed. Truth be told, she wasn't cold. The corner of her mouth twitched up as he came back, wondering if there was anyway to get him alone. She knew neither of them would really open up to each other in any way if their mother's were hovering around them all night.

Michaline's mother was sitting nervously as Jesse left. She was still nervously looking around as she stopped talking as he came back.

Within a few hours Ethan arrived at his humble vehicle. A black pick up with a silver grill and big black wheels. He threw the dead deer and his crossbow in the trucks bed and walked to the drivers side and opened the door. Before getting in he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tilted his head up and felt the rain on his face. After a moment he opened his eyes to look at the gray clouds. He turned his head to look through the forest. He wondered how his parents were doing. He took his seat behind the steering wheel of his truck and closed the door. When everything was over he'd find them. He went into his glove compartment and pulled aout a small piece of crumpled paper. He unfurled the paper and looked it over. There were only fives names written on it. Two of the names had a line running through them. He eyed the third name, Adney Locke. He glared at the name for a moment and returned the paper to its crumbled state and replaced it in the glove compartment. When he withdrew his hand it came out holding a small stack of papers. He flipped through this. They were newspaper clippings and guest lists. Some of the papers had his hand writng, his personal observations. This papers were his intelligence. everything he ahd gathered over the course of a month and a half. And all of it was related to one man, Adney Locke. From what he ahd gathered, the man was about twenty three, had a craving for fresh fruits and had the phase of a Jaguar. These were the most important facts he concluded, they all would have an effect on habits and routines. He was armed with all the necessary info. He would strike soon. But not now, for now he had to sell this deer. He placed the papers back in his glove compartment and started his pick up.

After collecting his reward Mason walked down the dirty streets, the air heavy with dust. Part of him felt bad for the lower classes, having to live in these conditions. Do the White Lions even know what dirt is? he doubted. Shut up in their spotless mansions, protected by money, servants , and a reputation. He pushed his kind thoughts aside and looked up. It was raining, something common. He liked the rain, it was calming. A couple years ago, at this time after a job, he would be wondering about his targets family and friends but not anymore, he was going to die anyway. He reached a gate that separated the lower class from the upper class of the hierarchy. He looked back to see a very faint smoke trail streaked across the sky, the after math a rocket...or flare. A flare? why would someone shoot off a flare. He stopped and took 2 steps back into the city , towards the trail. He stared intently at the, now barely visible trail, mind racing for the reason. The flare must have been set off during his little attack, and thats why he didn't hear it. But still why would a lower class citizen have a flare, much less set it off for no reason. He sat there for about a minute more before shaking his head, and crossing into the higher class part of the city.

Quite an evening, surely. With wide, emerald eyes, Mei decided quickly she was going to let her curiosity get the better of her. Letting her long skeletal fingers reach up to undo the braid her curving black hair was in, the unnaturally slender woman fluffed it out and pulled the strap of her satchel up a little higher. Her clothes looked well enough after a long day working at the hotel. Cleaning those rooms was one of the most disgusting jobs she'd inherited since working became legal for her. (When she realized she could tell the managers she was eighteen and forge a certificate of birth, a lot more opportunities showed themselves.) Moving her thick bangs from her eyes, Mei began walking with her worn out boots down the alley as if she'd gone that way all her life.

"Oh my god!" She gasped, lifting a hand to her mouth and widening her eyes. The dark haired man had just thrown the cellphone back on the unconscious one and she pretended not to see.

"Oh no!" Stuttering like a sheltered college student she fumbled through her satchel as if to search for her own cellphone, something she had never had the privilege to own. "Somebody needs to call! I need to c-call someone! Are you alright?" Her accent was thick as her fear filled her up, so to speak, and she looked straight at the only man standing.

"Are you hurt anywhere? Can I help?" Walking right up to him, Mei started to grab at his arms and face, looking for cuts, bruises or any broken bones. It was funny because Mei was actually concerned for his physical well being. She'd watched him knock the man unconscious, but as far as before then, Mei wasn't sure if he'd been attacked first. The young woman may have been a little manipulative, but she was not without a heart.

Still, where did his friend disappear to? This is getting more and more complicated the more I search. The girl, who was killed, friends gave a description of that guy back when I first started chasing them. Apparently he was following them for some reason, maybe it has something to do with stalking? They, along with the girls parents, also said that she had been talking about strange stuff the day before it happened. Oh well, its clear these guys aren't the brains behind whatever is going on. Rain scratched his head, realizing he hit another dead end. This is the fourth time the trail went cold in five months. Rain was always one to see connections where other people couldn't, but this is a little too much even for him. The only thing that revitalizes the trail is that people keep dying under strange circumstances. The only connection he has made between the victims is that all were very active in some aspect or another. They all were constantly out and about, going and seeing what trouble they could get into. The problem with that is, sometimes it will cause you to venture into things you weren't suppose to see, but Rain hasn't made this realization yet. As he was about to leave, a girl appeared from the end of the alley.

Rain pulled away from the girl slowly. "N-no, I'm fine. I guess the streets of London are as dangerous as people say." He chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. He wasn't being very secretive about chasing the two down, something he realized he really needed to start working on. At least the girl thought he was the one who was attacked, at least it appeared that way. "Anyway, I already called an ambulance. They should be here soon, so he should be alright. Actually, now that I think about it, what's wrong with you? Going up to some random stranger in an alley. Not only that, but how do you know I wasn't the bad guy? Didn't your parents teach you better? I swear, kids today." He sighed and realized he was talking too much, and that he was sounding like an old man. "Sorry, but I need to go. With sirens, comes questions."

Fior took cautious steps as she reached the drive to the Silverstone household. In her hands she held a hard leather briefcase, with simple silver latches keeping it shut tight. The last thing she wanted to do was drop the case, even though it was heavy enough to make her scrawny arms ache. As she stood at the bottom of the path, she gently set the briefcase on the ground for a moment, shaking off her arms and tucking a few rogue strands of scarlet hair behind her ears. Fior always got a little nervous when approaching the house of anyone of a higher class than her own, one slip up in front of these people and she could've disgraced her whole family. That was certainly something that she couldn't afford to do, not when they were already disgusted with her having such a high interest in the humans.

"You can do this..." She sighed to herself, psyching herself up for a few moments before reaching down and grasping the briefcase in both hands and lifting it again with a small groan. t
The Tamesis family were part of the Silverstone's business, and often the families would have important documents sent back and forth by messengers - usually in the form of Tamesis children and Silverstone servants. The white lions made her weary though, even though her own phase was not far behind the white lions, they still managed to send chills up her spine with a single icy glare.

She tottered up the steps as carefully as she could, in the dark it was harder to keep track of where she was going and so it almost took her twice as long. Fior really didn't want to fall over now, as she was already donning plasters on her left knee and chin form her last tumble. She often looked like a rugged mess, what with her plasters, old aviator goggles and roughly cut hair.
With another sigh she set the briefcase down in front of her as she reached the grand front door, glad to be rid of that weight. She took a moment to adjust her striped scarf and pull down her long sleeved shirt over the hem of her denim skirt.

With a moment's hesitation, she gently knocked on the heavy wooden door, unsure of whether she would be heard straight away. If not then she could always knock again. Within the few moments prior to the door opening, she tried to push out the obvious look of nervousness that was written all over her features.

~~~

"See you tomorrow, Pete!" Gray called into the doorway of the department store, giving a small mock salute to the security guard posted at the door as he left the building. As soon as he stepped outside, a heavy sigh of relief escaped the tall dark haired male. After spending all day in that building, he was sure happy to be out there and not doing something as menial as arranging rails of clothes into the right size order all afternoon.
Gray took a moment to fumble with the zip of his light jacket, covering up the black shirt that was un-tucked and the black tie that was loosely knotted around his neck.

He slowly began to make his way to his home, the building only twenty minutes from the town centre or so. It was easier than paying for the bus that took the same amount of time to get home. He delved into the pocket of his pressed trousers, pulling out his mobile phone to check if he had any messages. He was surprised to find that he had no messages from Fior. Again?

For weeks he had been receiving at least 1 text message a day, and they were often meeting up after he finished work. Last week she had mentioned that she was in trouble at home, and that they might not see each other so much in the next couple of weeks. There were two more days of the texts before nothing was said at all. Nothing had been said between them for almost four solid days. Something was not right there, though Gray didn't want to message her if he was not going to get a quick reply like usual. He would give it another day or so before checking up on her. She might've not had time.

Gray was suddenly distracted by a bright flash of colour followed by a loud bang, looking up to see turquoise sparks fading into the night's sky, leaving a thin layer of smoke to dissipate. Did they even make fireworks of that colour in England. Obviously foreign, probably even illegal. It would not surprise Gray. Either way it still looked rather impressive, especially seeing as he was rather close.
"Looks like another quiet night in with the family." He murmured as he slipped the mobile phone back into his pocket, stuffing both his hands into his pockets as he continued to trudge his way to his less than fancy home.

"So you see Lady Walker there really is very little to worry about, that reptile was very far into the poorer territories and it doesn't look like the rebels have even touched those who stay where they are meant to be. Not even the big cats have anything to worry about, do they dear?" Garrett directed the question at Charlotte who jumped in her seat and then nodded enthusiastically at Lady walker. They were sat around the large dining table, Garrett at the head with Charlotte on one side and Lady Walker on the other. Michaline had been seated beside her mother and Jesse beside her with Dana opposite. Garrett had assumed that the visit was over the worry about the rebels getting stronger and was busy telling Lady Walker that there was in fact nothing to worry about. Had she been a man Jesse had no doubt that is father would be giving a lot more detail on the matter, like the fact that there was actually quite a lot to worry about. Numbers of reptilian attacks had risen and the one that was killed had not actually been i poorer territories. He'd been in his own home. And if that wasn't worrying enough a shop owned by a panther family had recently been subjected to arson although his father was telling people that that had been an accidental fire.

A knock on the dining room door signalled Roland's entry. "We aren't finished with the first course yet Roland." Garrett broke his assurances to dismiss the man.

"Sir, the young Miss Tamesis is here with some paper work for you, I hardly have the time to see to her, I was just requesting Master Silverstone's assistance." Roland bowed his head.

Jesse immediately stood up, "I wouldn't trust a servant to sort such things out properly any way, father." he promptly declared. Garrett, nodded and waved a hand. Jesse, smiling to himself rounded the table and headed for the door without looking back. Once the door had shut behind them he slapped Roland on the back, "You sir are a life saviour, I didn't mean a word of it." he went to bound up the stairs when Roland caught his arm.

"Miss Tamesis is actually here sir, I asked her to wait for you in the living room. I do have a lot to do sir." Roland smiled and turned away before Jesse could stop him, no doubt heading for the kitchen to rile up the cook.

"Bring some drinks will you?" He called after the servant then headed to the main living room. He pushed open the door and slipped in to find the young girl and what looked like a rather heavy suit case. So this was the person he had to thank for his excuse to get away from the table. He offered a smile.

"Miss Tamesis, it is a pleasure. You look, exhausted." a bit of a mess really. He gestured for her to sit as he himself sat down, "Now I can't let you go without at least offering you a drink, it wouldn't be proper of me." reaching to his neck he loosened his tie as Roland backed into the room carrying a tray of tea. He set it on a stool between where him and Miss Tamesis, "Thank you Roland." the man bowed his head then hurried back out of the room.

---

Amy sat on a high stool on a raised stage in the hidden basement of the old house. Now and then another person would slip in but as it most of the rebels could be accounted for. There were around fifty of them all together, and she knew that there were more groups being headed by other people Cassandra knew she could trust all around the small town and especially in London. They were talking amongst themselves until Amy clapped her hands, signalling silence.

"I've been told that the big cats are becoming restless," she declared, "What I suggested has slowly been working," a few murmurs of agreement swept the hall, "But winning small battles like these wont win the war. We may need to take things up a notch. Now we know that the only way to win this is to break the Lions, just picking off big cats and reptiles wont do it for us. So I suggest that we go straight to the source." more nods of agreement. "We need to put pressure on the Authority."

"But," a man in the front row spoke up, "Their security is impossible to breach."

"Not in London." she sighed, knowing that no good would come of what she had been ordered to say, what she had to get her people to do. It seemed that her mother was going to provoke civil war and mentioning that to these people would cause war between themselves. Not all the rebels before her wanted a war. "We must kidnap a White Lion, hold it hostage, only then can we get what we want. Losing one of their own will pressure them into appealing to the main authority, and with that on our side how can we lose?"

Most of them cheered although a few looked awkward, Amy knew that there were intellects in the room, that those ones would realise that what she said was wrong. There would be people who knew how White Lions worked, as there were some Lions who knew how the poor classes lived.

"Now, my people, I do believe that I have given us much to discuss."

Michaline was sitting through dinner, not paying much attention to any of it. The people, food, or the talk. Something about a reptile who had sought to destroy someone or something and had been caught. Her mother listened attentively. It was only when Jesse was taken out by the servant Roland did Michaline show any interest. "Lucky bastard." Michaline thought with a smirk. She glanced down at Dana, and offered a small smile. The girl was very cute, and Mickey liked her spunk. She wondered when Jesse would come back, or if he would at all. Due to her mood, she summoned the best manners possible, and excused herself from the table.

She knew she would get it from her mother later about just leaving like that. She found a bathroom, and stared at her reflection. What was she even doing here? She had no chance with this boy, surely her mother had known that from the begining? To what end did her mo-

Michaline's thoughts were interrupted by a rustle outside the bathroom window. She stood still, a passive look on her face, her hand on her whip at the ready. Rebels? On the proporty? That would be outrageous...but not impossible. That would just mean that they were organized enough to get in. And strong enough. Or of course she was just imagining things, hoping for some sort of excitement. She wasn't leaning toward either at the moment, not until she had more information.

With the ease and grace like the cat that she was, Michaline opened the window, and slid outside, dropping to the ground silently. Her eyes pierced the night easily. She saw nothing yet.

Fior's gaze wandered up to a man in a tailored suit as a servant of the Silverstone family answered the door. She smiled a little as he ushered her inside quickly, bringing the suitcase with her as she was guided towards the living room. She still held on to the suitcase as she was left in the living room, gazing at the many pictures and paintings that adorned the walls. She had not yet taken a seat when one of the younger Silverstone's walked in, distracting her from gazing at the many pictures.
She blinked a couple of times as she was addressed as Miss Tamesis, but she had told the servant her full name? She hadn't expected to be called Miss. She wasn't quite sure if she liked it. She nodded a little as he mentioned that she looked tired.

"Father said I could do with a walk, I didn't expect this to be so heavy..." She said quietly, her usually playful loud voice having toned down a few notches, the nervousness around White Lions seemingly have affected her communication skills. Fior edged over to the sofa opposite Jesse, taking a seat as the tea was brought in, gently setting the briefcase down by the stool the tea was set on. She practically sat on the edge of the seat, her hands placed on her lap and her head bowed slightly, just like father had taught her. She had to be respectful amongst the White Lions, not just for her own sake. Her actions would affect her father, and she didn't want to hurt him.
She shook her head lightly as he said that he had to at least offer her a drink.
"Please, call me Fior, mister Silverstone..." She said, "I don't want to take up too much of your time, I just came to deliver some paperwork from Father."

Jesse picked up a cup of tea and sipped at it. She told him her name was Fior but he already knew that. Of course he had seen her around before, he'd been to parties that she had attended but never had he spoken to her. Just looking at her he could see why his father wouldn't have wanted to introduce them. He sighed as she corrected her, knowing that it was improper to call a lady by her first name. Not that he cared. "Jesse," he gave his own name, hoping that she knew enough not to call him by it around his father.

"And please, stay as long as you want, I need the distraction." he could hear the muffled talk still coming from the dining room, he gestured to the cup of tea that had been left for her. "You don't have to hurry back do you?" assuming that her father wouldn't mind if she got home a bit late and told him that shed been delayed by Jesse Silverstone he continued, "What have you heard of the rebels?" politics, nice one. He couldn't think of anything else to talk about, the fact that he'd had to stoop to that was quite grounding. He didn't want to turn into his father. But he'd asked the question now and it would be rude to switch the topic. He set his cup down and leant back, relaxing against the sofa. He tugged his tie off and threw it aside then rolled his sleeves up again. He checked the time, he still had around half an hour to kill before dinner ended, he hoped she was a talker.

As Ethan walked out of the hunting shop he quietly and quickly did a small count of the amount of folded bills in his hand. It was a reasonable amount, he had sold what was left of the deer to the shop owner who would no doubt turn it into a head above his fireplace. Ethan placed the bills in his pocket and looked up at the night sky. It was getting dark, really dark, it was a new moon tonight. Ethan grinned, he knew because he had plans for tonight. He began the short walk back to his truck. As he walked along the sidewalk he passed a few people, neither party gave the other a second glance. He looked down an alley to see a young man and woman talking, a second man unconscious on the floor. When the sounds of approaching sirens came within earshot the man seemed to be in a hurry to leave. Ethan smiled and shook his head. He could tell that the one knocked out was a shifter, and that the one standing was a normal human. He quietly laughed in his head at the pathetic shifter and applauded the human. Within a moment he continued walking and soon crossed a street to his pick up. He got in and drove off.

Within an hour Ethan had his truck parked in the shadow of a building and in a small alleyway. He got out, walked to the bed of the truck, and took his crossbow. He put the weapons sling on his shoulder and let it hang loosely. He then removed a long dark jacket from the truck's bed and put it on. the cross bow was effectively hidden from sight by the long jacket. He placed a black baseball cap on and exited the alleyway leaving the truck behind. He silently walked through the streets of lower class London. Eventually he neared one of the tall gates the separated the higher and lower classes. He turned a corner and walked down a dimly lit side street. Suddenly he knelled down on the side walk, and he eyed a storm drain. He pulled the protective grate up and made a space big enough for him to shimmy through. When his feet splashed down into a couple of inches of water in the drain he reached up and replaced the grate. When he finished with his task he put on his hunting mask, partly to help with the smell and mostly for what was coming ahead. He took out a small flashlight and a piece of paper. He turned on the light to look at the map he had. His unjust time in prison had earned him several useful contacts who all owed him favors. this was one of the smaller ones. A map of the city's storm drainage system. He shined the light down the tunnel to his left, the way he needed to go. The tunnels would allow him to pass under the massive gates and the tough security that guarded them and up into the higher class of the city. Where Adney Locke was working as head of security to one of the White lion families.

Mei wanted to laugh, rather maniacally, when he'd asked if her parents had taught her anything. What a funny notion and yet, a totally sad and pathetic realization that she couldn't answer him. Showing that his well meant statement hadn't hurt her in the least, the young woman decided he was going to be followed.

"Well I'm glad you called someone to help. He looks pretty bad!" Kneeling down in front of the unconscious boy she shook her head. Her long hair pooled over her shoulders and almost brushed across the dirty, cement ground of the alley. "Good thing you can defend yourself!" She chimed, standing back up and turning to face him again. His intrigue was too much to handle and her meddlesome nature was winning the unfair fight against her instinct to keep out of trouble. But what in the hell was she going to say that would make sense for her to follow him. Nothing was coming to mind.

"I suppose you're right. I don't want to be here when the police show up. That would surely be hard to explain!" Smiling widely at the man, Mei held out a thin hand. "My name's Mei Lo. Quite a pleasure meeting you." Mei couldn't place a personality on him. He was mysterious, but didn't seem dark. He was handsome, but he acted as if he didn't have time for anyone especially women. Would he bother telling her his name? In the end it wouldn't matter, Mei was planning on knowing a little more about him, with or without his permission.

"If you don't care, I know the streets of London pretty well. I can get you far away from here in a small amount of time." As she was saying this, she was moving closer to him, whispering over the noises of the city. Soon she was only inches from him and could smell the sweat through his clothes. He was very tall and so she had to tilt her green eyes to meet his. A mischievous spark was adorning her expression.

"I do love a good run." Slowly moving a bad band from her wrist, she tied her hair back at the nape of her neck and started to walk down the alley, further into the belly of London. "I'm going to keep on. Follow if you want. I'm pretty fast." Mei had a sick feeling that he would not follow her. What a way to ruin a night. But she would find him again. There was clothes sitting on the ground as she kept walking and she knew he was chasing something more than just a few criminals. Did he even know what he was chasing? Could he even tell in the way her legs seemed to float across the ground that she could fly?

Rain shook the girls hand. "Well, I guess you can call me Rainier, or Rain for short." Her finger were long and slender, but soft. He lightly blushed when she moved closer to him. Despite how he may look he hasn't had much experience with women since he graduated from high school, and that was three years ago. Before Rain could say another word, Mei Lo took off, prompting him to follow almost on instinct. Ah crap, I'm getting swept up in someones rhythm again. The girl seemed more like someone who was just searching for something fun to do than anything else. He couldn't comprehend girls these days, always gallivanting off without a care in the world, or at least that's how it appeared to him. Now, he felt some obligation to make sure she stays out of trouble, at least for tonight. It didn't really matter, its not like he had anything better to do these days. If he wasn't taking abuse from the ones who hired him, he was hitting dead ends or sleeping on the couch. "My office isn't far from here, only a few blocks away on 4th. We can head there, if you want." Rain was surprised, when she said she was fast she meant it.

Rain could hear the sirens in the distance. They were likely already at the place where they left the red haired man. "Oi, we should be nearing my office soon." He was starting to breath heavier. Too much running in one night. I swear, if my car didn't get repossessed. . . He wondered if he would keep following her should she not go to his office. He was the type unable to leave someone alone, but he knew he needed to get the numbers from the cell phone checked out.