NPC Characters's Story

Catherine smiled at the girl, she was easy to amuse, but also easy to manipulate. Fortunately there were no ill intents this time around. "Of course Bethany. What little girl wouldn't need juice for her tea parties?" She replied reassuringly. Setting everything up was simple enough, and there would be no need for word to be sent to the court ahead of their arrival. "Now Miss Molly here is going to take you on your adventure, and I'll be waiting right here when you get back." It would take the better part of their afternoon to get Bethany bathed, dressed, and ready to leave. However, it was well worth it, especially if it brought peace of mind to everyone involved.

"Alright Bethany, I need you to hold as tight as you can to my hand and Miss Molly's hand, then wish real hard for us alright?" Catherine said as she stood there with Molly, dressed in a pale rose silk gown dripping with lace and pearls, looking every inch the fairy tale princess. Long hair piled high in complicated curls and knots, it was quite the departure from her normal somber mode of dress for the office. No longer in mourning, her choice of clothing matched the rest of the court that much closer.

It didn't take long for Molly to work her magic, and soon they were rushed between the planes; deposited gently on the other end in a rustle of silken petticoats and skirts into a path in a beautiful summer garden in full bloom. The light here was different, it was gentle, with warm breezes to caress the skin. "Well this is a surprise! How pleasant to see you my dear!" A voice called out from nearby. It belonged to a woman in an opulently trimmed buttercream colored gown, who soon began to approach them. "Hello, Tatiana." Catherine said, calling the woman by name as she broke from Molly and Bethany, briefly embracing the woman. "You remember Molly," She said as she gestured towards the pair. "I have a request, strange as it may seem..." Catherine added pointing to Bethany. "Of course my dear," Tatiana said with a smile. "She'll be perfectly safe here."



Xiaolian hoped that Molly's day hadn't been any worse or crazier than her's, but she suspected that the other officer had probably had it even more hectic than she did. Word around the office was that the Everchild had been a DOA, and that the Warden and Bronson were expected to be back from speaking with the Council in a closed conference any moment now.

Molly gave Tatiana an appropriate curtsy, “It’s a pleasure to see you again ma’am.” And then she knelt next to Bethany, who looked a little suspicious in her pretty pink gown with a big fluffy skirt. Molly had been talked into a plastic tiara for the little girl, and gotten the child’s hair oh so carefully styled and clean. The bath itself had been interesting. Bethany apparently was not fond of bathtime, but had been bribed with the idea of seeing Molly dressed up in a princess dress as well.

Molly herself was in a pale green dress almost as opulent as Catherine’s and decorated in embroidered butterflies. Her hair had been pinned and coiffed and curled fetchingly, and she had even bothered with makeup and jewelry given the trip. She smiled to the pink clad little girl and gestured to Tatiana. “Bethany, this is Queen Tatiana. She’s going to take care of you from now on.” She assured the child. Bethany bit her bottom lip, uncertain and looked the other over once, clearly not sure that it was the truth.

“You’re a real Queen? Like, really really, like Miss Catherine is a princess?”

Molly hide a smile at this and quietly explained. “Bethany is under the impression that princesses never age, ma’am.” Given that she refused to acknowledge she was a vampire and drank blood, the eternally a real princess thing must have been the best description that her caretakers had been able to come up with. It was almost cute to see. For now, Molly remained next to the child and admired the realm once more. It was beautiful, as always, and in a way, she almost missed it. It had felt more like home than the mundane realms ever had. The officer had never admitted that fact to anyone though. She likely never would.

The queen gathered her skirts about her and knelt down next to the child. "Yes, really." She said as she gently placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. It appeared that Catherine had been cleaver with a few things in order to get the child to cooperate, and her intentions were good. "It's all true dear girl, you'll be here with me. We'll have so much fun!" Tatiana said cheerfully as she smoothed Bethany's skirt and readjusted the sash on the dress. "Catherine and Molly have told me so much about you already, I'm very certain you'll love it here." She added as she clasped the girl's small hands in her own with a warm and gentle smile.

Looking up at Molly and then to Catherine, she nodded. "She'll find it very normal here. Her every need will be seen to, and she can enjoy a peaceful life." The queen explained as she stood back up, releasing Bethany for the moment. "As I'm sure you've both ascertained, it is difficult to get here unless you know the way." She said reaching down again to offer the small child a comforting hand. "But please, rest assured she's in good hands." Tatiana added.

Beth beamed and took Tatiana’s hand. A real Queen! This was so cool. “Can Pa’son visit?” She asked cheerfully. “He was supposed to visit me for Christmas with lots of gifts, but then I got lost.” The little girl clearly beamed up at Tatiana, obviously happy with her, obviously pleased. This place sounded absolutely wonderful. She couldn’t help but be pleased.

If Parson could visit, that would only be the absolute best. Molly stood upright again and smiled, stepping back seeing that Bethany was calm and apparently happy. Everything was going to be fine, it seemed.

Tatiana thought for a moment before answering Bethany, "Let's let you get settled in first, then maybe Parson can visit, how does that sound?" She asked as she led the girl towards a pavilion covered in fragrant roses and summer flowers where a sumptuous tea had been laid out. "I'm sure Catherine will visit more often, won't you my dear?" Tatiana asked looking towards the woman.

Catherine looked up, slightly startled out of her own thoughts, "Yes of course.." She said. A little peace and quiet couldn't hurt anyone, especially with her line of work. "Forgive us, grandmother, but Molly and I do need to leave." Catherine said after the queen had settled Bethany into the cool shade of the pavilion.

"Of course, I understand. But I still insist that you must come visit more, I do so feel that you're loosing touch living amongst all those mortals." Tatiana said shaking her head in disappointment. These years after Oberon and Sir William's death had been difficult, but the queen managed just the same. "Eitha, iet eldunarí. Atra du evarínya ono varda." She finally said as she grasped Catherine's hands tightly, before pulling the woman close again. Knight commander or not, the queen would always remember her as a charming and mischievous child with a love for sweets.

Nodding Catherine stepped back and offered the monarch a brief curtsy before she and Molly left for the mortal realm.

In the back, Molly stretched, bored already of her mini steak out. The woman sighed and wrinkled her nose as she nodded to a vietnamese man who stepped out the back a cigarette in hand. Great, a smoker. Just what she wanted. Neither she, nor the man recognized each other.

"I hadn't expected to find anyone out here, miss." He said, looking Molly over. The woman, who looked like she was one of the too young mothers in there, shrugged at this.

"I needed a break from my son. One of the other girls is watching him. I love him, but he's a handful." She made up on the spot, the lie coming all too smoothly. The man nodded in acknowledgement. "What brings you here? You don't look like one of the caseworkers."

"My sister's son ran away. He takes after his father in appearance, but he's inside, and we're...working things out. But please, tell me about your boy." And now she would have to make things up. Bringing up the only experience she had on kids, she spoke.

"His name's Brandon. He's always getting into trouble. I mean, he's only a little boy, but he's always in trouble with someone, somehow, and it just gets to be too much." She explained, and ran a hand through her hair, hoping to look like a stress out mom. "I had him when I was in high school, and we've been trying to make end meet sense, but he just never behaves."

"Brandon? I dated a Brandon once."

Inside the home a seemingly young Indian boy began a board game with some of the other kids, what appeared to be homework discarded off to the side of the group. The boy was certainly not expecting anything to change, not after the 'reconciliation' meeting with his uncle. They had been having these periodically for days, as the caseworkers worked with him and his 'uncle' on things like guardianship, living situation, and how said 'uncle' would treat a runaway boy to keep him from running away again.

Catherine nodded to Tristia and Gaudia as she unlocked the rear doors on the SUV. "Be sure to keep in contact with either myself or Sargent Bronson." She instructed before sending the girls on their way. Catherine just hoped that using the boy's trickery against him would work out in the end. 'The 'girls' are headed your way Bronson.' She advised, sending the other what could really only be described as a quick thought and image of how the girls looked now. It was easy to keep a strict radio silence with four telepathic capable officers on this particular operation. However, things would still need to be kept to a minimum, as sometimes the communications could prove distracting.

After letting the twins out, Catherine pulled the SUV out of park and moved it closer to the house, finding a inconspicuous spot to park in the neighborhood. "Let's just hope this goes off without a hitch.." She muttered to herself as she sat back to wait.

The girls walked into the building, looking around curiously. They were greeted warmly by the lady at the front desk, "Hello girls! How are you doing today? Can I help you with anything?" Gaudia stepped forward taking the lead in the conversation, "Yes, my name is Elisa Hastings and this is my sister Elizabeth. We got transferred her from another house?"

The woman shuffled about a bit of paperwork, "Hastings....Hastings....the name sounds familiar but I can't seem to find..." Gaudia interrupted her, "We were told that we would be able to just walk in. Paperwork was already dealt with." The lady didn't even look surprised, "Oh, alright then. Our female living spaces are down the hall, third hallway to the right. If your paperwork's been taken care of then a bedroom should already be prepared for you. The entertainment room is in the first hallway to the left, second door down. Bathrooms..." This continued for a bit as the lady seemed determined to give the girls an audio tour without moving from her seat. Finally she wrapped up with a warm. "Welcome!"

"Thanks," Gaudia waved before the two girls started walking down the hallway toward the entertainment room. Kids of all ages were in here. They stepped inside drawing almost no attention. Kids came and left here. Newbies were expected and could be gone in a matter of hours. They looked around for their mark finally settling on the boy playing a game with some other children. Gaudia sent a quick directional mental ping towards the Warden. 'I think I've got eyes, can you confirm?' she asked and sent a mental image of the scene in front of her along with it.

The twins had improved as far as mental communication went. They weren't quite at the point where they could speak privately, but Gaudia had found she had an affinity for sending messages toward the people she wanted with minimal leaks. If she kept it quick, the most a third party would get is the direction the message came from, not what it contained. They weren't completely skilled yet, but they were getting there.

'Confirmed. I'll step back inside once I lose this guy.' Molly sent a mental image to the conversation participant to Catherine. She could receive what an actual telepath sent, and send to a telepath, but actually facilitating the conversation was beyond her. She offered the vietnamese man a smile. "Yeah? I better be getting back to my son." she said, rather wanting to get away from him. He gave her the creeps, and something inside her stirred uneasily in his presence. "He's a handful, so I can't just leave him with the other moms forever." She inched to the door, hoping to get away.

The man blocked it. "Mm, are you new here, miss....?" He trailed off leadingly, and Molly said the first name that came to mind.

"Kaitlyn Matthews." She introduced herself, using the name of a childhood best friend. Hopefully the other would forgive her for it. "And yes, Brandon and I just got to this location. It's a lot closer to my part time job. It doesn't really make ends meet." She made up on the spot, knowing that was true.

Inside, the boy didn't even notice them, playing the game half heartedly. He hated pretending to be his actual age. These kids were so stupid and didn't know anything about anything.

"That's him, Sargent Bronson should be along shortly to help you guys and I'll meet you out back." Catherine answered Gaudia as she checked her equipment and proceeded to wait for further information. However it wasn't long before Molly's information made Catherine sit there almost too stunned to reply. She doubted that Molly even knew who she was talking to, or just why she felt so uncomfortable around the man.

Formulating a plan quickly, she gave Molly a quick reply, "Be careful... you're talking to Hanh Dam." The other woman would have to figure out a way not to give away what Catherine had just told her. "Stall him if you can, I'm heading your way." She said before climbing out of the SUV. Catherine hadn't parked far from the facilities, intent on getting in and getting out. The appearance of Hanh Dam had definitely put a kink in their plans.

The twins moved forward to watch the children at their game. "Hey there! What are you playing?" Gaudia crouched down in between two of the children, across from the target. Tristia grabbed a chair and sat on it backwards, watching from just behind her sister. They had to be careful here, acting like actual kids until the last possible second. The best part, they had no experience being a normal kid themselves. They only had Gaudia's ancient memories from before she was sold off to the facility, so everything here was new. The interest Gaudia had in the game was not just for introduction, she was genuinely curious, as was Tristia, so that was in their favor.

'I'm what? He's been stalling me from heading in. Stalling won't be hard.' She answered and then looked to Hanh Dam. How the hell was she supposed to stall him? Flirt? That was just gross. The woman hesitated, but didn't have to for long as the man began to speak.

"Please, Kaitlyn, call me Hanh." He said and held out his hand to shake. Oh great, the necromancer wanted him to shake his hand. Briefly, she did so.

"A pleasure to meet you Hanh." She kept her back to the door ready to slide inside as needed. The twins had to be wondering where she was at this point. This was absolute madness. Molly managed a smile for him, and hoped it was more flirtatious than queasy. "I'm sorry to hear that your nephew is here. I hope you're able to get him back home soon."

Inside, Terun glanced up to them, sensing something off before another boy piped up. "It's shoots and ladders! It's a baby game, but it's not like we have a lot of games to play." So shoot and ladders it was. The game was also a lot less prone to fights breaking out than any other choice that could be made.

"Hanh Dam, the guy who gave us so much trouble back around October. I'll be there shortly." Catherine replied unsure of what she was going to do with him once she had him. Killing by use of magic would be trouble for everyone involved, and she'd rather leave something that the Council could deal with later. They had their ways to deal with people like him, and while she wasn't certain how it worked, she just knew she didn't want to know all the gory details.

For now she was just grateful that Molly could stall the man while the twins dealt with Tehrun inside. Thankfully they had been able to exploit the fact that the shelter was over run and disorganized like most social systems dealing with children. "You girls might want to make this quick, we've got company outside." Catherine said shooting both Tristia and Gaudia a quick mental message.

Hanh's appearance had complicated everything, but it also allowed them to close yet another case atop of others that had been open for awhile. Thinking quickly, Catherine left the SUV and ducked quickly down the alley that flanked the building, keeping cover between her and the necromancer. The use of magic wasn't a bad idea either, as she took advantage of the man's distraction and lack of attention, to create the illusion of nothing there. It wasn't hard, much like a self supported glamour, but used much less energy.

Tristia yawned, the game quickly losing her interest. Shoots and ladders? Why would anyone play this game? It was an exercise in futility. Every time you thought you would win you got knocked back to square one while your opponents shot towards the goal. And then the roles would reverse. Plus, as far as she could see, there was no strategy involved. Bored now. She nodded toward Terun. "Hey kid." she called, "Do they serve food here? Sis and I haven't eaten since yesterday and they declined to tell us where to eat when we transferred in." Gaudia managed a sheepish look as her stomach growled, "If you could be so kind...?"

Molly tried to think of how else to keep the man distracted. This was more than a little difficult. She smiled to him, and he answered her. "I hope he will be home soon also, but you know how it is. There's many steps between the boy coming home, and now. They even want to do a home visit, of all things, to make certain it's safe." And given he was on the run from the law, that would no doubt be difficult for Hanh.

"We're just working on earning enough to get a home. I have to take lessons in a trade for it too, to stay here." She said, then managed a grin. "Cosmology! I'm going to be a hair dresser." She said, seemingly very proud of her career choice, snatched from thin air. That was one of those things people went to trade school for, she seemed to recall. Geez, making this shit up was harder than it should be. "What do you do Hanh?" She hoped that Catherine was going to be here very soon. This was a bit much.

Inside, Terun looked the girls over then shrugged, and stood. "You missed dinner, but I'll take you to the kitchen. They usually have some snacks there." And these two would make great snacks, as far as the red eyed boy was concerned. "Come on." He said and led the way, abandoning the stupid game in favor of more interesting things. He led the way to an isolated kitchen and then turned to them. "Here we are." His voice now sounded almost sinister. "The snacks are in the cabinets." He met Tristia's eyes, or where he thought her eyes were, and spoke, almost hypnotically. "But how about you some close. I'm peckish myself."

Catherine just rolled her eyes as she heard Molly mention cosmetology as a career choice. ‘Real creative there Bronson.’ She thought to herself as she paused behind a dumpster to watch Hanh and Molly for a moment before moving forwards. Catherine was roughly twenty feet away from the pair, but with little cover other than a dumpster full of stinking and rotting garbage. Today was one of those days where she cursed living in Dallas, with it’s temperate, almost tropical like climate. Leave any sort of trash in the sun long enough and it would begin to smell.

Moving again, she slid quietly and easily behind Hanh, the man all too involved with trying to impress Molly. “I’m right behind him now Molly, keep your guard up.” Catherine instructed mentally. It very well may take the pair of them just to deal with the necromancer, he had proven problematic in the past. She just hoped that letting the twins tag team Tehrun would work.

Tristia cocked her head at him curiously. "Why would I do that?" she said, smiling bemusedly. Gaudia silently closed the door, summoning soul arrows behind Terum's back. Hopefully he wouldn't notice, he seemed to have forgotten that she was in the room. She silently started infusing one of the arrows cauterization. She had no intention of killing the kid, but she had no desire to make this painless for the bastard either.

Hanh smiled. "I'm sure you'll get there soon." There was something bothering him, something he wasn't aware of that he couldn't quite place. The man's eye narrowed briefly and he looked around. "I should get back inside. My nephew...besides, you wanted to go back to your boy, your Brandon, didn't you?" He said and made to push past her. Molly stood firm in front of the door, and bit her bottom lip.

"Wait, what's your nephews name? Maybe he and Brandon play together." She said, trying to get the other to hold still for just a little longer so Catherine could get handcuffs on him or something. Hanh Dam smiled to her and shook his head.

"You know, some girl's aren't fit to be mothers? Why don't you take a nap, Kaitlyn." He said and reached out a hand of dark magic. It would be a long nap if Molly let it touch her, and not the sort that she woke up from.

Inside, Terun's eyes narrowed. "Because I told you too." He sounded rather petulant once more. "Why isn't it working? I just want a little snack from you. I bet you're still a virgin, and they taste good." He whined and then darted forward, intent on simply tacklign her to the ground. She appeared much closer to his height after all, and the boy believed it possible.

As much as she wanted to wrap her hands around the necromancer's neck, Catherine refrained from doing so. Dropping the glamour, she pulled out a pair of cuffs to place them on Hanh's wrists. "Not this time Hanh." She said as she stepped closer towards the man, her own shields up against any attack the man might come up with.

Reaching out she grabbed him by the arm and began to force it backwards with the intent of putting the cuffs on him. "I think you'll find that this time you won't get away so easily."

Tristia met his tackle head-on grinning. Regardless of his height or his strength, he was simply trying to tackle her. She was trained in melee combat and knew what she was doing. This is what she trained for. She shifted her body weight to her right leg as she stepped very slightly to the side. As he ran over her leg she used her left hand to put pressure backward on his left shoulder so that his fall twisted and he would land on his right shoulder. If he had reacted as expected and put his hands out to catch himself as he fell, the increased weight would now be falling only on his right wrist and at an angle, likely fracturing it. Even as this happened her right hand summoned her twinblade. The instant her left hand was free it was holding the twinblade as well, holding it to the Terun's throat. "Child, you are under arrest for multiple charges of murder. You have no rights. Any and every thing you do will be used against you by the council. You don't get an attorney and I know damn well you understand what I'm saying."

Gaudia moved forward to try and handcuff him.