There were few times when the dignitary ever had regrets. Three times, actually, and he could call up the memories of them with perfect clarity, although seldom would he do it. And looking down at the dead form of the bounty hunter, he almost felt that sensation of regret again. Almost. He did not feel any guilt for Cotton's demise, only that it was bound to happen eventually; however, he felt an opportunity wasted on killing Cotton too soon.

Frowning, his brows knotting together with reproof, he dismissed that notion all together, for it was foolish to believe that matters would change if Cotton knew or did not know.

"It won't hurt to know what we're up against," the dignitary reminded Ruth, "even if all we can do now is plan for when the time comes." Straightening, he stepped over the fallen bounty hunter. "And you never know when the wind changes," he added wistfully, turning to regard Miss Smithson fully, now that he was at a better distance and angle.

~~~~~~

There was something in the tone of the creature's voice that made Fanny feel sorry for him. Possibly because she understood how it felt to be a part of a group and yet not feel a part of it . . .

"I'm sorry. . ." she offered meekly. Not knowing what else to say to someone she couldn't see and an Unnatural at that, she wondered how much longer it would be before he lost interest in her questions, or when he'd find interest in her in another way.

Margaret was taking her sweet time as the other vampire in the room knew. She had finished off her goblet of blood slowly and was only now finishing it off, though everyone else had left by now, including her own husband. She raised her eyes and looked across the table at Eslatar, wondering what it was about this fellow vampire that had her so undone.

Margaret nodded, scarcely knowing the importance that his last statement had.

With a frustrated frown, Margaret rolled over in bed and stared at the dark hangings above. She had been determined to repress these memories of Eslatar. They had no place popping up of their own accord after all her hard work. Memories were dangerous, especially since she shared a mental connection with Loren...the one person who wanted Eslatar dead more than anything else.

Sitting up, Margaret concentrated on placing the recollections back where they belonged. Once this was accomplished she rose and crossed to the window. It was almost sunrise, a time of bitterness. I have hated the sun's face since the day I was changed...a picture of what I'll never have again. The one enemy I'll never conquer. Funny how humans are afraid of the dark and of death. They're old friends compared to light and life.

---

The old Eslatar would have gone in and approached the pub owner about talking privately with one of the men...or acquiring some private time with a bar maid. Back before Ditto Town, before the family, before laws he had no trouble obtaining whatever he wanted. Even after that he'd gone about his business subtly, taking human blood when he couldn't stand the strain any longer.

Now was no time for timidity. He owned the world now and every patron in that bar was prey. So who cared if one or two went running to the police or if word got to the coven. He reveled in the idea of letting everyone know exactly where he was and what he had become. Let them try and stop him- the game had begun.

Letting his cloak slide off his shoulders and onto the floor, Eslatar entered the establishment and reached out, grabbing the wrist of a barmaid who had unluckily passed right in front of him. With superhuman speed he had her dead body sliding back against the wall, drinks spilled and mixing with the trace of blood drying on her dark neck.

He wasn't sure when the uproar started. There had been another barmaid, a foul-tasting man and a shocked looking drunk before he began to recognize other things besides his thirst. Men were yelling. A woman was standing and screaming in the middle of the room, tears running down her blubbering face. The barman was reaching behind him to press a button under the counter. Not in the mood for a spoilsport, Eslatar leaped across the mash of moving humans to land on the counter in front of the pale-faced pub owner.

Eslatar caught his hand and spun him around into the shelves of bottles. They came crashing down, cutting gashes in the man's face and hands- but he didn't notice, he'd been dead before his nerves could translate pain. Even with feral needs raging, Eslatar couldn't understand the idea of playing with food. The sooner they spilled their blood the better.

---

"I don't have an issue with you," Kanti offered to the invisible person, slightly frightened that Thomas was interested in dealing with someone so powerful. She rubbed the affected arm, wondering at the goosebumps that appeared suddenly. It wasn't like her to be unnerved. "I'm just helping his majesty with this case...we want information, not your capture."

---

Elisabeth eyed the guard with a frown and uncrossed her legs, sitting straighter in her chair. "I'm sure my mother won't be happy to hear that, but I'm willing to overlook the fault if you find someone who can discover the prince's whereabouts immediately. Understood?" She stared the man down, inwardly worried about where her brother might be...and with whom.

---

"Don't see why not," Cyrano answered, looking over at Melanie with an amused smirk. He watched Ian's pained look, "Come on you too, let's get an address and figure out where this stake-out is happening."

---

Ruth returned Taylor's look and raised her eyebrows questioningly. However much she appreciated the man's support, it was still hard to accept his way of making her feel inferior. It was not a sensation she enjoyed, so used to being in total control.

"The order of weapons is in," she offered finally, sick of the staring contest, "There was a malfunction with one, but the rest of the lot are ready for use. If we're careful we might even be able to put them to use soon. Of course whether or not the police will be allowed to use them against Unnaturals is up to the politicians. It would help if those royal brats were on our side- give us more sway."

---

It won't be a problem Mr. T. thought to himself, knowing Caerwyn would be able to hear the mental response. He looked back at Talullah and spotted the leather bracelet on her arm. Ire rose in him, much more than his small body could handle. Hissing once, he covered for himself by jumping off Curse's shoulder. There would be a time for questioning the little vamp later.

"I think it's time," he offered to the group and headed towards the chapel doors.

---

Udi nodded, "Not to worry," he offered softly and reached in his pocket for the small, tarnished flute resting there. Quietly he put it to his lips and began playing a simple bar ditty, unable to think of anything else to say to his new acquaintance and feeling awkward with being pitied.

---

"Werewolves just live the normal human number of years...at least my kind," Naomi replied, glancing over at Indigo who had seemed to withdraw from the conversation. She busied herself with eating, feeling the talk had reached a deadend.

---

Dellan nodded, unable to respond to Sparrow for the moment. He cleared his throat after a few seconds and removed his hand from her's. "We'll get out of here," he said, leaning his head back against the wall, "I promise."

---

Darileen was dragged up the stairs by two crew members who eyed her gloved hands warily. She couldn't see the deck as they came aboveboard. They kept a tight grip on her arms, not releasing her even as many other prisoners were let go. Her head snapped to the side as she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Victor?" she chanced to call out, feeling very lost in this unfamiliar setting.

"Quiet!" One of the men shouted and she was pushed down into the slimy deck. The side of her face was covered in filth as the other put weight into her back, pinning her in place as her sightless eyes roamed the deck.

"Get the prisoners into the boats!" someone ordered and Darileen felt herself lifted to her feet again, shoulders aching from the rough pushing.

After drying off his face and putting his trench-coat back on, Neal made his way to the door, grabbing his fedora from it's place on the wall as he left the room. The Darkling had contemplated leaving his revolver on the dresser, but had finally decided to leave it strapped to his thigh in case the visitors misbehaved. Hard to believe we have the leader of our local coven in our midst and we can do anything about it... Neal thought as he put his fedora on and entered the chapel.

Walking to the back of the room, the Darkling took a seat in one of the last pews and tipped his hat slightly to Satin.

---------------------

For most individuals, the sight of a powerful, crazed vampire ripping through a pub full of patrons would elicit one of two reactions: panic or fainting. For Karl, the sight was nothing short of marvelous. This is even better than I imagined it... the demented halfbreed thought as he stepped into the pub, closing the door behind him and ripping the doorknob off at the same time.

A few patrons tried running for the door, but were quickly stopped by either a swift punch to a pressure point or by one of Karl's many knives, which were coming in very handy today.

Dodging thrown bodies and stepping over bloody corpses, Karl made his way to the bar. "A good beer would be just the thing...." the Hybrid mused aloud before grabbing an unfortunate patron who happened to stumble up to the bar by the back of the head and slamming the mans face into the bar. Karl's hands quickly shifted into wolf-like claws while his face shifted into a wolf's snout before ripping the man's throat out. Hmm, an aged ale would work better. The Hybrid thought as he glanced back up at the line of bottle's on the wall.

Thomas nodded, relieved the girl hadn't simply taken off as soon as she had seen him. That was progress at least.

"Please, I want to know about the night of the ball. You were there, I remember you helped me and my sister get back to the hotel."

There was a pause, then a girl materialized in front of Kanti and Thomas. She wore a dark hoodie over silver hair, and startling blue eyes shaded with purple stared at them from a pale white face. She pursed slightly purple lips and looked them both up and down in perusal. Apparently she was satisfied by what she saw for she visibly relaxed and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Yeah, I was there. So were you." She nodded at Kanti. "You died. Then you came back. You were different after you came back. Billy could sense it. Not like he would say anything about it, but I know him pretty well."

Thomas glanced sidelong at Kanti, wondering if she looked any different. But then he had not known her before the ball, so he couldn't tell.

----

"Y-yes, Princess," the bodyguard said, inclining his head. "Do you have anyone in mind?" He mentally ran through the list of men he had at his disposal. There was not many.

----

Ian sighed, but printed out the address. "It's near the forest," he said warily. He looked up at Cyrano. "Are you licensed to carry a gun?" he asked wryly.

"I am," Melanie piped up.

Ian started in surprise. "Since when?" he asked her, his eyes wide.

"Since I was twelve. Remember? Daddy took us hunting and then got me a gun of my own when I told him about the Snorkracks invading my room and stealing all my underwear."

Ian flushed red and swiftly stood, grabbing his jacket. "Anyway," he said quickly. "I just think it'd be best if we had something to defend ourselves with so close to the forest."

----

Caerwyn kept his eyes on the two vamps as he tugged on Curse's hand and led her into the chapel, practically walking backward at one point so he could keep them in his sight. Finally he reluctantly shifted his gaze away, taking a seat near the back before thinking better of it. He looked up at Curse.

You want to sit nearer the front?

He wondered if she would release his hand now. It was not that he did not like holding her hand, he had just lost all feeling in it.

----

Indigo spoke up after the silence had already become uncomfortable. "Our kind only age when the Cold Ones are gone. Since we seem to have an overflow of them, I doubt my brother and I will grow much older for quite some time. At least not physically."

He fell silent once more, staring into the fire. The food did smell good and he took a portion for himself after a moment.

----

Sparrow smiled faintly. "She is glad to have met you, though she wishes it were under different circumstances."

----

Whiskey had the bird in her sights. It was sitting there, preening, stroking it's beautiful feathers with its brightly colored beak. Those feathers would look very pretty in her bows, she thought. Just what they needed, a little pick-me-up since they had not been used in a while and were growing sad.

Better make sure no one else is around.
Can't get caught now! Can't get caught now!
Pretty bird. Pretty, pretty bird.
Shh!
Shh!

"Shh," she whispered, drawing her bow taut, resting her thumb against her dirty cheek. Shifting slightly on the branch she was perched on, Whiskey closed her left eye and concentrated. At just the right moment, the arrow flew from her bow. She smiled in satisfaction as the pretty bird dropped to the ground, an arrow pierced through its eye.

No need for the feathers to get bloody.
Yes, yes, good shot. Now hurry!
Pretty bird. Pretty bird dead.

Whiskey reached down between her knees and grabbed the branch. Slipping backward off the tree limb, she swung forward, flipping in mid-air before landing beside the bird with hardly a noise. When she straightened, her bow and arrow were tucked carefully against her back. She picked up the bird carefully, cupping it gently in her dirty hands.

"Shh," she murmured, stroking the soft feathers. "Shh."

Suddenly she froze, listening hard. She was not far from the shoreline. There were boats coming. New prisoners. She smiled briefly before glancing down at the bird in her hands. Too bad the little thing could not hear anything anymore. She wondered if it had been a singing bird.

"New playmates," she said finally in her unusual sing-song voice. "Maybe they like pretty birds. But they can't have you, can they? No, silly. Because you're dead! And soon they'll be dead too!" She gave a maniac cackle before cutting off abruptly and turning away, disappearing quickly through the trees, leaving nothing disturbed behind her.

New prisoners go to Pale Ones.
Yes, yes, they'll be food soon.
Pretty bird is dead. Pretty bird is cold.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Steel smirked at the comotion going on inside the bar and noticed a tasty looking patron jump out the window, knowing that Karl and that his friend wouldn't appreciate it much if word got out to the police and he decided not to turn down a free drink.

Needless to say he sprinted over and jumped onto the back of the young man, sinking his teeth in as he did. Secconds later he dumped the dead body into a trash can and whiped his face on his sleeve.
---
Josh nodded "I wasn't sure" he said and dug into his food.
---
Mark nodded to Neal as he entered and walked to the back... He was ready for anything the visitors might throw at them, he carried his machine gun under his jacket strapped to his back.

Malachi watched Satin with interest as she combined the ingredients for the vampires' drink.

"Maybe when this is all over it'll be a good town again," Malachi said, smiling at Satin. He wanted to say something to ease the sadness he could hear in her voice, but couldn't think of the words.

Right about then people began to trickle in, presumably for the wedding ceremony.

"So are you the maid of honor or the matron?" Malachi teased. He didn't see a ring, but that didn't necessarily imply singleness.

-----

Amy toyed with her drink and glanced around the room furtively. There was a table in the corner catching her particular interest. The woman who had originally sat at the table had vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Adrienne," Amy hissed at her companion. "There's an Unnatural over there.

Adrienne didn't look up. She stared down at the liquid swirling in her mug and tried to fight the attraction the liquid held for her. It was an annoying distraction, but a necessary one. The entire room was full of walking bags of water and she itched to reach out to it and control it. Something gurgled inside her and she flinched.

"Adrienne, relax. Just focus on keeping your powers under control and you'll be fine. You aren't going to hurt anyone."

"Rummaging around my head again?" Adrienne asked with a weak smile. "I'm afraid I'm getting closer and closer to transforming completely. If I had had just one day more of preparation for my transformation into an Elemental, I wouldn't be having this much trouble controlling myself."

"What will happen if you transform?" Amy asked, biting her lower lip nervously.

"First I'll probably lose control of my powers and rip the liquid out of everything within my range. Then my body will dissolve into a puddle of water and my untrained mind will be lost in the confusion."

Amy reached out her hand and touched Adrienne's face. She closed her eyes and Adrienne's face lost something of the tension that had creased it.

"Feel better?"

"I smell something baking? A pie maybe? There's a tree, tall, with cool shadows under it. Music. Pachelbel? What did you do?"

"I can affect your emotions. My mom could do it better than I can. I have to use memories of feeling the way I want you to feel, so things slip through. Memories.

"You should be more careful about acting strange in public. Never mind how I feel. You're a lot more vulnerable than I am," Adrienne said reprovingly. "But still, thank you. It's nice to feel happy for a change."

-----

Harmoni stomped across the peculiar black sand beach, sweating and swearing under her breath. She'd been at this for what felt like hours now. She'd lost track of how many fish she had killed with lethal rock throws or jabs with stick spears. Every attempt to retrieve the dead fish ended in failure though. Either something bigger ate it before she could reach it or the tides swept them away. And to make it even worse there was Dex's annoying presence. He was currently lounging on the beach, looking cool and relaxed. He'd even offered his most "helpful" advice at perfectly timed moments to annoy her even more.

"You do realize I'm not sharing these with you. You want fish, catch them yourself," Harmoni snapped. "Sometimes I think letting the vamps bleed me dry would be worth it just to get away from you and your annoying mouth."

Kanti started as the girl appeared in front of them. She had been expecting someone older- though as she knew from vampires, an Unnatural could be much older than they appeared. She listened, uncomfortable with the subtle observation about her own changes. That night was something she wished to disappear completely.

"We came to ask you some questions," Kanti finally said, unsure of how to respond to the statement.

---

Elisabeth rolled her eyes, thinking it was quite pitiful that the man couldn't come up with a plan to find a teenager. Inwardly her anxious thoughts were growing, so she stood and crossed her arms.

"I know someone who might help," she said simply and left the cafe, crossing to the elevators.

---

Cyrano nodded, thinking of a particular shapeshifter and a tiger's roar. "It'd probably be best...though if we come across any Unnaturals we might be better off looking harmless. It's hard to tell what might set them off." He paused, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Do you two need anything before we go?"

---

Curse let go of Caerwyn's hand and nodded, heading towards the front row of the chapel, avoiding the side where Talullah and Wystan had taken seats.

Satin shook her head, "Neither actually," she began to answer and turned to watch as people began to file in. She nodded at Neal and then turned back to Malachi, smirking slightly, "I guess if anything I qualify as head caterer or something..." she said, moving things aside to make room for the people sitting, "Though if you were trying to ask if I'm single the answer is yes."

Without a backward glance, Satin headed for the back, wanting to say something to Zaref before the wedding officially started. She smiled the whole way there, wondering if maybe she was being a bit too cheeky for her own good.

Zaref looked up as the door opened the room he had been dressing in. He looked over, hands still adjusting his tie. "Satin, what are you doing back here?"

Satin held up a small vial with red liquid in it, "Drink first."

Taking the vial with a questioning gaze, Zaref downed the blood, recognizing the taste of Emmaline, the genuine article rather than the duplicate formula that always tasted slightly chemical. He felt guilty for savoring the moment, but tried to remind himself it was blood willingly given. After finishing, he looked back at Satin, putting the vial down.

"Great, now I can hug you," Satin offered with a smile and stepped closer to give the vampire a quick squeeze. "Congratulations Zaref," she said, pulling away with misty eyes, "I hope you two will be really happy."

"Thanks Satin...thanks for being here."

"No problem, now hurry up- they're about to start," Satin said, forcing a smile as she left and took a seat at the back of the chapel. Memories of the old Zaref who could joke around and forget about being a vamp flooded her mind. She was genuinely happy for Selena and Zaref, but it was hard to see her old friend take another step away from the person he had been, back before everything had changed.

Terrance straightened his white tie before appearing at the front of the chapel in human form, white hair tamed slightly. He blinked sanguinely at the crowd and faced the doors at the end, hands clasped in front of him. He was trying to remember the last time he'd actually officiated a marriage ceremony but it had been long enough ago to have been wiped from memory. This should be fun...

---

"Have you ever thought of leaving?" Naomi asked Indigo, unable to resist satisfying her curiosity, "I mean so you could have a normal human's life?"

For herself, Naomi couldn't imagine living as a human after being with the pack for so long. Sometimes the idea of indoor plumbing was tempting though.

---

The two boats having already been lowered, the men quickly dragged the prisoners over to throw them overboard. Most were lowered so fast that it was hard to actually land in the flimsy boats.

"Unnaturals sighted," somebody called, having spotted the people on the beach.

"Can't be too dangerous, they aren't vamps if they're out during the day," the Captain replied, "Hurry up!"

Darileen fell into one of the boats, nearly going over the side. She felt ocean water splash onto her face. The experience was terrifying as unseen companions landed in the boat as well. It was hard to know if all or any would be remotely inclined to help the blind girl avoid drowning. Flying was an option- but a poor one since she had no idea of what kind of weapons they had on the boat.

There was a scraping sound as the boats were released and set on course.

"Welcome to Aspros!" Some man shouted from above on the boat. There was raucous laughter from the sailors that slowly died away as the tide carried them towards the shoreline.

After a while the dignitary lifted his gaze to the upper part of Ruth's frame. As much as he enjoyed the view, he knew when to focus on business.

"Well, the royals are young," he stated suggestively, "and impressionable. Especially the future king. We could, perhaps, use that to our advantage."

~~~~~~

At the sound of music, Fanny frowned, perplexed as she did not expect this turn of events. This wasn't exactly what she thought a spirit/Unnatural creature would do to a trespassing human. Drag her off into his camp, brainwash her somehow, or offer her as a meal to be devoured by his friends: that made sense to the gypsy girl. But music?

Suddenly, as another motive came to her, her puzzled features gave way to panic. Maybe that was what he was doing with his flute: Brainwashing her.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your own people?" she proposed loudly in a hopefully convincing way. However beautiful the music, she wasn't going to let herself be dragged off again, not even half way.

~~~~~~

While Harmoni 'tried' to catch supper, Dexter sighed contently as he wriggled his hairy toes in the sand. Despite the sand being black and its staining capability, he reclined in a sand built chair and leisurely soaked up the sun. With his nose lathered in sunscreen, he wouldn't have mind doing nothing all day. This was an island, what else was a body supposed to do! But Harmoni was being less than harmonious to the rhythm of the tropical paradise, and her unsuccessful hunts and angered grunts distracted Dex from relaxing.

The most natural thing for him to do, then, was to help Harmoni out the best as he could, and he only knew one way of doing that since he never fished before.

"I know you never miss your target, but I think that if you stood straighter that might help," he suggested one time while Harmoni was stalking a fish, "all things considering! Slouching like that is going to throw you off balance, and I am not going to stop myself from laughing if you fall in face first . . . Or maybe if you actually went in the water," he shouted at her at another time when she lost her catch, "that might help more than just waiting for the tide to bring the fish in. No, no, no! Not up to your toes; all the way in!"

His tips seemed to be helping, he thought with a pleased smile, since gradually she lost more fish because of the tides than to predators. Although, it might be her frightening scowl was scarring them away. . . At Harmoni's remark, he shook himself from the thought.

"Aw, but then we wouldn't be a duo if you did that," Dex pointed out, but after some thought he added, "But maybe we could still. If you turned into a vampire, I have no qualms with getting myself turned; unless I lose my abilities then forget that. But if you died—" He halted his train of thought, his forehead creasing as he frowned. He had no wish of dying any time soon, not even for a sidekick, there was too much left for him to steal and adventures yet concurred! But he didn't want Harmoni to be alone in the afterlife.

"Never fear! You can always come back as a ghost!" He grinned in triumph of his cleverness. "I always wanted a ghost sidekick."

"Obviously," Katie said, rolling her eyes. "Look, maybe I saw something, maybe I didn't. What I want to know is: what's in it for me?"

"I can offer you diplomatic immunity," Thomas suggested.

Katie smirked. "That wouldn't work, kiddo. You're the foreigner here. Not me."

"Oh, yeah," Thomas said, frowning slightly.

----

The bodyguard followed close behind the Princess, gesturing for the other two guards to follow. He wondered who she was talking about.

----

Ian shook his head. "Nothing from here," he said. "Might want to pick up some mace at least."

Melanie pulled two cans of mace out of her pocket and tossed one to each of the men. "We need coffee," she said. "And doughnuts. Both are essential on a stake-out."

----

Caerwyn did not feel very comfortable letting Curse sit by herself (even though technically she was among friends), so he hopped off his seat and followed her, taking his place at her side once they reached the front.

I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not while they're here.

Selena's hands were shaking. She clenched them into tight balls, taking a deep breath before bending over and picking up the bouquet of roses. Taking one last glance in the full-length mirror, she studied her reflection for a brief moment before turning away. She was in her dress, her hair was up in its messy bun, and she had the flowers. It was time to go.

Stepping out of the bridal room, she made her way slowly around the building to the front of the chapel, hand resting on the doors, ready to push them open when the time came.

----

Indigo nodded. "Many times," he admitted. "Only I know Brick wouldn't come . . . because of Lark. And I won't leave him." His jaw tightened as he thought about how he had left him. The day his brother had been captured, Indigo had not been there. It was hard to forgive himself for that, even though he knew he had no way of knowing any of this would happen.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Malachi smirked happily as Satin walked off.

"That was somewhat promising," he said to himself and dropped into the pew next to Neal. He had a feeling that following Satin as she went off to talk to her friend would be a bit rude at best, and bordering on creepy at worst.

"Don't think I caught your name," Malachi said to the other man and extended his hand. "I'm Malachi and I can't fly, which seems to be an important fact."

-----

"Don't look now, but the girl over there with the blonde chick is watching us," Portia warned the others. "Friends of yours?"

Night swiveled in her seat to look, causing Portia to sigh in exasperation.

"Probably because she saw you showing off," Christopher commented acidly.

Night's face froze in a look of determination and she removed her gloves purposefully.

"Can we count on your help if we have to fight our way out of here?" Night asked Portia.

Portia shrugged lazily and nodded.

"It's been a while since I got to crack some skulls. I'm up for it."

Christopher had nothing to add, but there was something of an odd glint to his eyes.

Night shoved her chair back and set off toward the table Amy and Adrienne occupied.

"Um, we may have a problem. They're coming our way. All three of them," Amy said nervously.

"Only three?" Adrienne said and chuckled. "Maybe it'll help me blow off some steam."

-----

Harmoni glanced up and spotted the approaching boats. She briefly considered an escape attempt before reluctantly admitting to herself that it would be foolish at best. Anyone traveling to this island would have more than enough weaponry to obliterate her before she could kill more than two or three of the crew. And of course Dex would be of no use whatsoever.

Speaking of Dexter, his prattling managed to distract her from the approaching boats. She turned to him and smiled in an exaggerated manner.

"Gosh, Dex, if you think a ghost sidekick would be cool, maybe you'd like to be one?" Harmoni said and followed up her words with one of her crude spears. It stabbed into the sand less than an inch from Dexter's legs.

"The names Neal and I also can't fly. So, I guess your in good company then." the Darkling said with a wry grin as he shook Malichi's hand. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of Unnatural are you? I would venture to say Psychic or Magic user, though I may be completely wrong." Neal enquired of the man sitting next to him.

---------------------------------------

A cool breeze was blowing in from the sea this afternoon, as it always did at this time of day. Desmond stood at the edge of the forest that surrounded the beach, just within the dark canopy of the fruit trees. New arrivals. How.... interesting the ancient Darkling thought as he watched two boats make their way to the shore. "I hope their not more vamps. We already have enough of those" the man said with a tone of disgust before taking a bite of the fruit that was in his hand.

Desmond surveyed the black beach for any signs of other prisoners. The only ones he could see were the woman Hermoni and her pathetic "sidekick" fishing. "Well, might as well enjoy the show.... if there is any." the Darkling said as he leaned against one of the nearby trees and continued to watch the boats.

Ruth raised an eyebrow at Taylor's line of reason. She smiled slowly, "I assume you might be talking about an impressionable young princess as well?" Ruth was already imagining what advantages might be gained by royal influence.

---

"Word has it that the Unnaturals will get a legal settlement soon," Kanti began slowly, looking at the girl, "What if we could get you a spot there?"

---

Elisabeth made her way up to the fifth floor (being the floor her drama vampire thought of first) and found the room that her sources had informed her belonged to the owner of the hotel- Mr. Latch. Pausing slightly, she took a deep breath before rapping on the door.

---

Cyrano caught the can of Mace thrown at him and eyed it skeptically, reminding himself never to get on Melanie's bad side. "Alright, coffee and doughnuts- let's go."

---

Eslatar slowed his slaughter as his hunger abated and his fury died to a simmer. Standing in the middle of the blood-stained pub, the vampire looked around himself, focusing on the faces and expressions of the dead people on the ground. There was no one alive left in the establishment. A hollow emptiness filled him, clashing awkwardly with the sated feeling giving him physical peace.

Outside (undetectable to the three inside), Basil leaned against the wall of the pub, hiding in the shadow. He had been given a call from a contact and had arrived before, it seemed, even the police were notified. He knew he was no match for three Unnaturals, but the idea of catching at least one was very tempting.

((Don't mess with Basil, thanks))

---

"Huh?" Udi asked, confused. He stowed his instrument and eyed the stump with a wrinkled forehead. Why exactly the creature inside was eager for him to leave, Udi couldn't tell. Unfortunately, for him, it felt like one more rejection in a very bad day. He got to his feet slowly.

"Well I suppose- I- I'll be going then..." he offered, trying to sound as dejected as possible, just in case the female in the stump was remotely attractive. "So long."

---

Curse nodded at Caerwyn and watched as Pepper took a seat in front of a piano she hadn't noticed before.

Zaref took his place next to Terrance at the front of the chapel. Nodding at his friend zombie, Terrance listened to the first notes of the music start.

Talullah turned in her seat to eye the doors at the back, slightly interested in such a rare occurrence amongst her kind.

---

Naomi nodded. "Of course you couldn't," she answered. It was beyond her reasoning to imagine a reason to leave a pack member.

"I agree, we do have to many vampires" said Desperodo as he materialised out of nowhere next to Desmond. Looking up he noticed a bunch of grapes on a vine, "Jirda" he muttered and the bunch of grapes fell to his hand. Looking out onto the ocean he said "I see we have more prisoners... Hi my name is Bob... No its not; its Desperodo... Nah its Bob... Shut up bob... Fine, Ooh! A show, what type of show... SHUT UP!"
---
Josh quietly listened to the two Werewolves converse and tried to figure out some of the Werewolves society. Which was another thing Mark had sent him with them for.
---
Mark glanced around the chapel, from what he knew this was very rare in the vampire species and he was lucky that was here to see it. Of course he wasn't sure if the occasion would turn out to be peaceful or not. What with the visitors and all? Nothing good could come out of having them here.

Katie looked at the detective skeptically. "Both me and Billy?" she asked, ready to refuse if they said no.

Thomas nodded. "Of course!" he said quickly, perhaps too quickly.

Katie studied him for a moment before shrugging. "All I know about what happened that night is that it involved a vampire. Maybe two. Obviously since there weren't any bodies, despite the blood. And the blood trail ended at the window. So either they could fly or miraculously stopped bleeding."

----

Ian followed Cyrano out, his sister close on his heels. He went directly to his car before hesitating.

"Should we all take one car?" he asked. "Or would you feel better driving your own?"

----

Selena heard the music and, with a deep, necessary breath, she opened the chapel doors and swept inside.

As anxious as she was, and apprehensive that the coven vamps were here, the moment she saw Zaref standing at the end of the aisle she felt her fears dissipate, and awe filled her. She was about to go through something vampires rarely did. Yet she felt as though it was right. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she gazed upon her husband-to-be, and she could not hold back a small, excited smile.

Keeping her eyes on Zaref, she could forget about the others in the chapel, even as different scents drifted toward her. Somehow they were not overwhelming. All she focused on was the vampire she loved.

Colors blurred around her and she felt as though she were floating as she stepped up to stand before Mr. T and Zaref. It was an odd sensation, but not an unpleasant one. She looked into Zaref's eyes and knew she would not trade this moment for anything, even with Tallulah and her guarddog there.

----

Indigo nodded, falling silent once more. He finished his part of the meal and then stood. "Any message you'd like me to convey tonight?" he asked, his mouth twitching in what could have been a smile.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Karl's hands and face reverted back into their "human" forms and with a nonchalant shove, the Hybrid pushed the corpse he had been feasting on off of the bar. The Agent of Chaos then admired the blood soaked pub from his perch on the bar. "You have quite the talent, Eslatar. Quite the talent...." The Hybrid said after taking a swig from the beer bottle in his hand. "Although I must say, I think your talent would be put to better use on a larger scale..... or perhaps against those that have done you wrong." Karl said as he hopped off of the bar and walked over Eslatar, not seeming to notice all the corpses he stepped on in the process.

"Here, have a beer. It'll go nicely with the iron taste in your mouth." Karl said with a friendly grin as he held out a beer to the vamp. "It would probably be wise not to linger around much longer. I'm sure the authorities will be arriving anytime now." The Hybrid said glancing around at the windows. "Of course, if you feel like taking them on, we could stick around. I haven't ripped through some good officers since the night of ball...." Karl added with a devilish grin before taking another swig of beer.

---------------------------------

Desmond merely glanced over at the man that had appeared beside him. Besides that, the Darkling gave no indication that he knew the Elf was there. And yet there are some here that I would not mind if the vampires ate.... he thought as he continued eating the fruit in his hand.