Raine got up from her seat and opened her closet to the one dress she had, just for this ocassion. She put on her dress and heated up the curling iron. As it beeped she quickly curled her hair. She slid a pair of heels on and thought of how ridiculous this was, but continued anyways. She then took the keys to her car and got in, avoiding the rain.

Hook followed Emma with a gaze that for once wasn't occupied by research, vampires or funds. He had almost forgotten how beautiful his wife was; she was even more stunning than usual when she dressed up. He didn't remember that dress from before... when had she gotten it? Had he let that much pass by him while holed up with work? Maybe he was just more tired than he had realized.

It was when Hook realized that he still hadn't managed to get his arm through the sleeve that he snapped out of his daze. He shook his head. "I don't need a new one," he replied to Emma as he shrugged his jacket on the rest of the way, ignoring the fraying on his cuffs that he was fiddling with.

He paused, then glanced up at his wife with the same distant gaze again. "You look..." he faltered, at a loss for a word that would adequately describe her without sounding overly cheesy. "Lovely," was the one he settled on.

===

Standing near the window, Richard watched the numerous cars and limousines pull through the drive down below. He was already bored with this whole ordeal. His mind wandered back to the blurb that he had read in the newspaper about the royal family, who were supposedly staying somewhere in this hotel.

A chance encounter with the princess was the only excitement that he could envision for tonight...unless Eslatar had other ideas. Richard was curious to see how the reclusive vampire would behave around Ditto Town's elite, the wealthy, the gossipers. He was sure the vampire would blend well enough, after all he did seem to have certain...class. However, this wasn't Richard's idea of a party.

As Maev opened the door to tell him that his guests were ready, Richard snagged his pressed jacket from the bed. "Good, let's go," he replied. Perhaps he could make up for boredom later with his own fun.

===

Nimue lead the lost human she had found back through the remaining path to the camp. He hadn't been too far away. Letting go of his hand, she left him to look for the white-haired, sometimes-human-cat-man. He would know what to do with the lost human that she had found. Nimue could tell by the way his water-scent carried through the air that he was different. He needed to be here.

Watching the girl wander off, Graeme wondered with a frown if he was supposed to wait here or follow after her. Since she hadn't said either way, he supposed that it couldn't hurt to look around.

"Thank you," Emmaline replied with a smile and leaned forward to kiss her husband's cheek, only realizing after that doing so with lipstick hadn't been the best idea. Smirking she wiped the mark away.

"Well, shall we go?"

---

Curse woke gradually, rubbing at her eyes with a frown. There had been something in her dreams, something telling her to leave sleep. She sat up and spot Caerwyn.

Smiling, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, "Hello."

ooo

Terrance was sitting on the chapel roof staring up at the large harvest moon hanging heavy and low in the sky. A shiver descended from the tips of his kitten ears to his twitching tail. It wasn't the cold- something seemed off. He blamed it on the ball and shook his kitten head, hoping that things would go well with all of them- especially Eslatar who would have more business after the dancing was over.

Sighing slightly, the gray kitten jumped down from the roof to a post and then onto the porch. His sharp eyes caught sight of the slender water spirit coming his way. Sitting down on the step, he looked up at her, noting that she looked bigger when he was in this form.

"What's wrong?" he asked and then looked past her form to detect the form of Graeme.

---

Satin had been sitting on the edge of a log next to the fire that had been dying for the last half hour. Everyone else had left the circle of its warmth by now, most hadn't been able to feel it in the first place. The thought made Satin feel strange, once again like this wasn't a place for her at all.

Breaking off from her ruminating, Satin spotted Nimue wander through and then the figure of a stranger. She wondered if the water nymph had found another stray and hoped it wasn't a vampire. At this rate, Indigo might decide to leave just to be away from the growing leech population.

Figuring that even another vampire needed a friendly welcome, Satin stood up and headed towards the figure, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness away from the firelight. She stopped short a couple feet away and stared at the familiar face.

"Graeme!" she exclaimed, feeling the familiar guilt from leaving him behind with the vampires. "You're alright!" she added and came closer.

---

Cotton had spotted Satin across the glen and was about to head over when Indigo suddenly appeared, his anger obvious. Hand trembling, Cotton took a step backwards away from the werewolf.

"I...I came to talk to Mr. T," he managed to say, not so foolishly cheeky to not act humble in the presence of a creature that could kill him.

"Let him talk Indigo," Pepper said, appearing out of the darkness. She had sensed the bounty hunter and had come to find him, knowing there were plenty who would kill him before he could say anything.

ooo

"If you let yourself enjoy these functions once and a while you'll be much better off," Elisabeth commented airily, "After all, when you become King you'll have to host many events like this."

She turned her head to look out the window. The moon was strangely yellow and bright tonight and seemed to clash with the carefree thoughts she'd been having about dancing.

---

Eslatar exited the room. He looked up as Maev and Richard entered the hallway as well. He was disappointed to see that the secretary hadn't bothered to dress up and still had her lovely neck covered by an ugly sweater. Even if he'd promised Terrance not to cause any trouble, he didn't think it a problem to admire.

Maev swallowed at the look Eslatar was giving her and decided to nod only at Mark and ignore the vampire altogether. "You'll both enter with Richard. Remember that you're responsible for giving the guests a good image of the Unnatural cause."

"Understood," Eslatar replied with a smirk.

---

Cyrano watched Melanie enter the ballroom, feeling slightly guilty that he couldn't manage to give her a proper greeting.

"It's no problem. I doubt she'll cause much trouble here," Cyrano replied to Ian, figuring the royals would steal all of the attention anyway. "I just hope we can find a decent scandal to write about. With all the censoring it seems that trashy news is all that sells." He sighed.

---

Kanti nodded with a frown. "I didn't think much about doing security here, but the more I think about it, things could get dangerous. If any Unnaturals wanted to make a statement, this would be a great place for it."

She looked around at the room. It was a security nightmare to imagine it filled up with people.

Mark was considering whether or not he should magicly block the vampire's nose up or not but figured it could end bad. "I also understand" he said "wonder if Eslatar truly understands" he thought with a smirk.

Caerwyn was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he did not sense Curse waking up. When she spoke she startled him, and without thinking he answered outloud, his mind still on that other night.

"Olleh," he said. Then his eyes grew wide and he clamped his mouth shut, his lips tightening so hard they appeared as white as his face. After a moment however, he realized what had come out was not the usual spell. It was an actual word, albeit skewed by the curse. And the girl was not dead.

Hesitantly, he spoke again. "Si siht gnitruh uoy?" His voice was hoarse from lack of use, and the tone was full of fear. He did not move from the window, his cloak hiding the trembling of his body.

----

Pavel had been about to approach Satin, feeling bad that she was sitting by herself near the fire. He had avoided the circle around the burning sticks and leaves for he feared the flames, but it had been dying down and he felt bad for leaving her alone. However when she suddenly stood and ran toward a newcomer, he shrank back, leaning against the side of the chapel in the dark shadows, watching Satin and the newcomer with a careful gaze.

Taking another step back, he felt something beneath his foot. Bending down, he picked up a hand-held mirror. It looked as though it were made of gold, but the jewels that had adorned the handle and frame had obviously been stolen. He stared at the surface of the mirror but saw nothing, which was to be expected, he supposed. Still, it was a pretty little thing. Perhaps Satin would like it. He carefully placed it into his pocket and then resumed the watching of his friend and the newcomer.

Indigo growled low in his throat but straightened, stepping aside with a look of intense distrust and hatred. He had yet to tell Brick that Cotton was the man responsible for their sister's death, but it was times like these when he wondered why he did not tell his brother. The two of them together would be able to take the man down before Pepper or Mr. T could interfere.

----

Thomas made a face. "If I do, I won't bother with all these frills and finery," he nodded to her dress. "Everyone can wear what they like and I'll excommunicate Mother until it's all over." He followed her gaze out of the window and noticed the unusual moon. Following the streaming light led him back to his sister's face.

She looked rather queenly, he thought. Sitting there like that. Despite the wedding cake dress. She would have made a good queen too. If he had not been born. He chewed on the inside of his mouth for a moment, wondering if he should ask the question that had nagged at him ever since he found out that Elisabeth had been pushed aside to make way for the heir to the throne: him.

But looking at her, so beautiful and serene, he could not bring himself to ask it. It would most likely cause bitter feelings to arise or at least some sort of argument. So he let it go . . . for now.

Gwen made her way up to Karl's room and knocked lightly on the door. She smoothed down the silky fabric of her dress and patted her hair, making sure every strand was in place. She had made sure she wore her colored contacts, the ones that made her eyes a muddy brown instead of their usual bright red. Hopefully no one would notice the reddish tinge.

----

"Yeah," Ian said in agreement, nodding as he double-checked his camera for the forth time. When he looked up, he started to see that his sister had come back, this time with a cup of punch in both hands.

"Mel, I told you to stay in there," he said, forgetting now if those were his exact words or not.

Melanie pouted slightly. "It's boring in there," she said. "They won't even let me play the piano. They want some old man to do it." She turned to Cyrano. "But I got you something to drink," she said, holding out one of cups to the reporter. She leaned forward slightly and looked at him intently. "Don't worry, it's not spiked. I checked."

Ian did a mental, and then literal, facepalm.

Jason nodded slowly, his eyes scanning the room over and over again. "I have some men on standby," he said. "They booked some rooms on the floor above us. I just need to call them in if we need backup." He fingered his radio which was attached to his belt next to his gun underneath his suit jacket.

Katie and Billy made themselves busy setting up the refreshment tables, making sure the punch was always available, the food was always plentiful, and the guests were always satisfied. The ball was still just starting, but Katie could feel apprehension growing in herself and Billy. For what reason she was unsure.

----

Brick was getting worried. He had searched almost the entire forest near the camp and could find no sign of Lark. Finally he stopped and called out to her.

"Lark! Come on now, game's over. You won!" He paused, listening. Hearing no response, he grew even more agitated.

"Come on, Lark, this isn't funny." Making his way more cautiously now, he stopped when he saw something he had not noticed before. Crouching down, he used the moonlight filtering through the trees to illuminate tracks that were obviously Lark's small footprints. However at this place they stopped, abruptly. There were other footsteps then . . . signs of a struggle . . . and then Lark's tracks disappeared.

Brick panicked then. He ran up to where the other footsteps moved off, but something had obscured them. They had disappeared too.

"No, no, no, no," he murmured under his breath as he dropped to his knees, his gaze swirling in front of his eyes. He shook his head to clear it and growled deep within his throat. A giant ripple coursed over his body and suddenly he exploded into his wolf form, howling at the moon in a loud, painful moan.

Then he took off through the woods, searching for Lark's scent, hoping he could find her before something horrible happened to her.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

After a few minutes, a slight ripple ran through the trees on the outskirts of Savage manor as a dark figure emerged from the shadows before seeming to disappear into the darkness. Neal crouched down behind one of trees and eyed the manor and grounds. It was the usual old, stately mansion, yet something about it seemed extra unnerving. Maybe it was the lingering presence of the man who lived there? Or maybe it was the eerie light the harvest moon gave the house? Either way, Neal shrugged off the feeling as he took out his revolver and checked the number of bullets.

"Hopefully I won't have to use this, but if it comes to a fight, I'm ready" The Darkling thought as he put the gun back in its holster and continued to eye the grounds in front of him.

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

Hearing the light knock on his door, Karl turned off the TV, walked over and opened the door. "My, you look quite lovely tonight, Gwen." Karl said as he looked his vampire acquaintance over. "Let me get my jacket and I'll be ready to go." the Hybrid said as he walked back into the room, grabbed his jacket and then exited the room, locking the door behind him. "Shall we go now?" Karl asked as he put his jacket on and slipped his lighter into his pants pocket.

Hook paused, Emma's words muffled by his ever-present thoughts. His meeting with the group later that night still remained in the forefront of his mind, the one that he couldn't tell her about. He reminded himself that he was doing all of this for her anyway, to keep her safe from men like Savage.

Frowning, he reached up to touch her cheek. Emma had to understand that, even without him explaining. His hand slipped underneath of her chin, pulling her closer. Searching her eyes, wishing that he could say something honest for once, he pressed a kiss to her mouth instead, hoping that would be enough for now.

Pulling away after a moment, he squinted in disdain. "If we must," he sighed, patting her cheek with a tired hand before he headed for the door.

===

Graeme was startled to hear a familiar voice in a camp he thought housed unfamiliar creatures. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he turned to see Satin coming toward him; the last time he had seen her had been... "So this is where you've been hiding," he said with a dull smile, his tension starting to fade while still remaining on alert to any other surprises.

Nimue folded her hands, looking down at Terrance. "He's lost himself," she informed the kitten-man, glancing over her shoulder at the human who had found someone to talk to already.

===

Heading towards the elevator, Richard shrugged his jacket on the remainder of the way and pressed the down button after. As the doors opened and he stepped inside, he leaned against the walls of the elevator. Maev hadn't said anything about him being responsible, he thought with a teasing smirk at his secretary. He would though, for her sake... at least until afterward.

It didn't take more than a few seconds for them to reach the bottom floor, where they emerged amongst the guests entering the hotel. Richard cringed. It was the entrance to these functions that he hated the most. He preferred his own methods of drawing attention to himself, ones that were more subtle.

Mark stepped out of the elevator and into the ballroom, pausing at the entrance he took a deep breath "Remember Eslatar I'll be watching you closly, one false move and your nose shall be blocked up" he said sternly.

Von indescreatly radioed Jason "Did arrange for a vamp and elf to come?"

Emmaline smiled as she followed Hook, taking his hand in her own as they left the house. Maybe things like this weren't so bad if it meant a break for him. She had a feeling he was still thinking about other things nonetheless.

---

Curse shook her head slightly as she understood Caerwyn's words. She could feel the slight foreshadowing of a headache but there was no pain otherwise.

"We can talk out loud," she said excitedly, rising from the bed. Her dark, wavy hair tumbled over the back of the white nightdress she wore and around her pale face.

---

Savage looked down at the tied up werewolf as he injected her with another dose of the knock-out drug.

"Boss, won't that be an overdose?" one of the musclemen inquired quietly.

"I told you, no talking," Savage replied with a frown before standing up straight. "Go ahead and take her to the van. We'll see if she has any playmates around."

He watched the man hoist Lark over his shoulder and go off through the woods that were now swarming with Howard's men. He found himself suddenly grateful to Edmond. The man had not only given him the location of the Unnatural camp, but also provided information on the best time to strike and enough men to make sure the operation went smoothly. This time he'd have enough test subjects to last a lifetime.

---

"Is that so?" Terrance queried. He jumped down the steps and trotted over to where Graeme and Satin had met. Clambering up to Satin's shoulder, he perched there, tail swishing as he stared between the two.

"I-" Satin had begun to say when the kitten had found a spot on her shoulder. She stopped, unsure of how to apologize for leaving him on the night she and Eslatar had escaped.

"Who's this?" Terrance asked, not really liking the feeling of seeing someone he didn't know everything about.

"Oh, this is Graeme," Satin answered, "He's the police officer that was with me when we were captured by Talullah and her coven." She turned to the man curiously, "How did you manage to escape?"

Cotton looked between the zombie and the werewolf cautiously, "I came because Kes is after me. I figure she'll kill me this time- if she finds me. This is about the only place she wouldn't come because Esl- because of everyone here."

"Well this is all very interesting," Pepper began with a frown, "But if you remember, Kes is actually dead."

"She never really was- or she was and came back. I'm not sure," Cotton answered, figuring he might as well spill what secrets he had.

"Hmmm. Well I have to be going. I was supposed to be lookout for Neal's little heist. See you all later. Don't eat him Indigo," Pepper offered before taking of through the woods at superhuman speed.

Cotton's jaw dropped. He gulped nervously and looked at Indigo before trying to make a dash for the group gathering near the fire.

---

"I'd like to see that," Elisabeth replied with genuine good humor. She smiled slightly and then glanced over at the door that led out of the room, hoping the Queen would make her appearance soon so that they could go down to the ball.

Sighing, she rose and slipped her feet into the heels on the floor. Snatching up the royal sash they all had to wear, she dropped it over her head and onto her shoulder before turning to the mirror to make sure it was arranged properly.

---

Eslatar glanced over at Mark with crimson eyes narrowed. He gave up the fierce look and smirked suddenly.

"You know the advantage of being dead elf?" he asked suddenly, "Dead beings don't have living minds to tamper with." With that, Eslatar stepped out onto the ballroom floor, wondering why he hadn't thought of the solution before.

[Drama Vampire explanation]You see, the vampires of the UI universe (the sun-fearing kind) are undead and the only reason they can communicate mentally with their sires or 'offspring' is because they use a different kind of mind pattern similar to the sonar of a bat- completely unintelligable to other creatures...even elves.[/Drama Vampire explanation]

Kanti glanced over at hearing question from Von. She could make out vampire through the small speaker in Jason's ear and whirled around to see who had just come in. The four who had entered seemed ordinary upon first look, but when one glanced her way, Kanti could make out the red flash of his eyes. Why Senator Latch's son had brought a vampire, Kanti could not imagine.

She was suddenly glad that she had brought her gun, even if having it strapped to her leg was a little uncomfortable.

Ms. Scope hurried over as she saw Richard enter. Stopping short, she looked between Mark and Eslatar with a slowly forming frown.

"Latch, what is this?"

Cyrano grinned at Melanie and took the punch. "Thanks." He took a sip before catching a glance of Richard's entrance. "Ms. Scope doesn't look too happy," he said, taking a step forward towards the wide entrance to get a better look.

"I wouldn't meddle with your mind replied Mark I would just block your nose up, you underestimate my powers he said icily.

Caerwyn visibly relaxed when he saw that Curse was still alive and well even after he spoke. He ran forward suddenly and threw his arms around her waist, burying his face in her stomach. For some reason hot tears began to spill down his cheeks. Even as they did, he could think of no explanation for them. Perhaps it was the near brush with death Curse almost had at his mistake. Or maybe it was because this still felt like that night all those years ago.

"I evah detiaw os gnol ot eb elba ot kaeps niaga," he whispered, the words sounded foreign even to his own ears. Inwardly he cursed the woman who made him like this, as he had many times before.

----

Running full tilt now, Brick was concentrating so hard on finding Lark's scent, he neglected to pay attention to any others. This resulted him in flying headlong into a team of strange men. He yelped in pain as one of them grabbed him, and he struggled to get away, crushing another one beneath his weight. Unfortunately there were too many of them and not enough of him. He yelped again as a man bashed his legs with some sort of hard object, breaking one of the bones. He went down, and the men swarmed upon him, tying him up with tight knots. He shifted back into human form then, scrambling out of the now loose ropes.

Apparently they had been waiting for that. Instantly a needle came out of no where and injected something into him. He wavered on his feet a moment before crashing down to the ground. The men dressed him quickly in a heavy, constricting suit that made it impossible to shift. Then they lugged his unconscious form back to the van.

((Hope this is okay, Marshy! If not I can edit.))

----

Indigo grabbed Cotton almost out of the air by the back of the man's shirt, lifting the bounty hunter up in front of him, glaring and breathing hard.

"Hold it right there, filthy scum," he growled, his mouth twisting in a snarl. "You killed my sister. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

Pavel inched closer once he saw the man was not going to harm Satin. He moved a couple feet away from the group, now curious. He saw Satin introducing Mr. T to the man and made his way up to them so he could hear better. He stood now right behind Satin, wondering what a police officer was doing here.

----

Lucetta was contemplating whether or not she should scream bloody murder (in order to get someone up there to take the wretched woman's body away) when she noticed Kes's hand twitch. Now Lucetta knew dead bodies did not twitch, and so she screamed anyway, as it was appropriate to do when stumbling across a dead body that is not really dead.

"You're alive?!?!!" she screeched at the woman, wondering how in the world that was possible. Then she remembered she was a talking mirror able to shift across mirrors and technically that was not possible either.

----

Thomas stood and walked over to the mirror to stand by his sister. He noticed in seeing the both of them standing side by side that she looked more the part of a royal than he did, by a long shot. He frowned at his reflection and smoothed his hair down with his hand. It did not help much.

Queen Katherine exited her room then in gold and silver finery. Her dark blue dress sparkled and she beamed at her step-daughter.

"Elisabeth, you look marvelous," she gushed, taking the girl's hands in both of hers and smiling proudly. "You will be the belle of the ball tonight, make no mistake of it."

She turned then to Thomas and a wave of disappointment clouded her expression. The bright smile slipped.

"Oh Thomas, where is your tie? And your hair! We need to leave and you're not in the least presentable."

Quickly, Thomas tried again to flatten his hair, but to no avail. He avoided his mother's eyes, his face, neck, and ears hot.

Katherine sighed. "Elisabeth, help him with his hair and tie. I shall wait for you by the elevator. Do not be long." With that she swept off.

Thomas scowled darkly, stalking to his room and picking up the tie from the ground where it had fallen when he tossed it. He walked back to Elisabeth and thrust the hated piece of cloth at her, avoiding her gaze too.

----

If Jason was surprised at the appearance of an elf and vampire, he did not show it. He pressed the speaker in his ear to reply. "They are with Senator Latch's son. Let them be." Dropping his hand to his side, he spoke to Kanti, while keeping both eyes on the Unnaturals.

"What do you make of this development?" he asked her in a low voice.

Ian snatched up his camera from around his neck and began taking pictures of the Senator's son. "No she doesn't," he agreed, taking a picture of Ms. Scope's peeved expression gleefully before turning back to Richard.

Melanie looked pleased at Cyrano's grin. She stepped up with him and studied the newcomers. "His father was against Unnaturals. Yet he comes to the ball with them. Openly defying his father's standards. He must have not been very upset to hear of his death," she observed.

----

"You clean up well, yourself," Gwen said, amused. She took Karl's arm as they made their way to the elevators. "Now we mustn't make too big a scene, darling," she said with a glint in her dark eyes. "Tallulah's counting on us to behave."

P.S."Brooklyn!"

(Yes I'm still alive! I know I haven't been posting lately, but summer was like super busy, plus I had no idea what was going on. But I'm back!)

"So where did Mark go, anyway?" Stella wondered aloud.

"That's what I'd like to know," Will said thoughtfully.

Neal glanced at his watch and then at the surrounding woods. "Where are you, Pepper?" He said with a sigh. The zombie had volunteered to help him with his "heist" as she called it. Neal had consented to letting Pepper come along, she would make a good lookout.

Now it was only a matter of waiting for Pepper to arrive so he could begin his work.

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

"Thank you, dear." Karl said with a playful smile as he escorted Gwen to the elevators. "Ah yes, don't want to get on the little dictators bad side...." Karl said as they arrived at the elevators. "How big of a scene is too big of a scene?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he hit the button for the first floor.

"I... died?" Graeme offered with a slight laugh. He realized how bizarre that sounded, saying it out loud for the first time, hearing it with his own ears... but then again everyone around here was supposedly just as strange or even stranger than him. "I don't know how to explain it," he shrugged, looking down at the ground, then back up at the girl with the cat perched on her shoulder.

===

Glancing around the room, Richard cringed inwardly as Ms. Scope rushed up to him. She was the last person he had wanted to run into first. Giving her his best charming yet bored smile, he answered, "Ms. Scope, these are my guests," he waved a lazy hand behind him. He spotted a tray of champagne floating through the filling room and felt a little dry. "Try to be nice just for tonight, for me?" he smirked, ducking away before the giant of a woman could respond.

===

Voices were swirling through her head. No... not voices. A presence. His presence. He was close by, somewhere... A scream shattered her thoughts. Now she was hearing voices. Kes groaned as she felt herself resurfacing from her drug induced sleep, her head pounding. Clawing for something to block out the noise, Kes latched onto a pillow behind her with her fingers and yanked it down over her head. "Shut up!" she whined at the voice.

No heart beat but her own. It was too quiet (save for the scream), dead quiet. Kes sat up with a start as she became more lucid, her hair falling down around her face. She shoved the mess back with a haphazard motion, glancing around the room with glassy eyes at the emptiness. Cotton was gone. Her hand started to quiver with building fury. Sliding down off the bed, she overturned a few lids from the breakfast tray, hoping for some sign. Nothing.

He had left without a trace. He had left her alone again. Something inside her snapped, anger flooding every fiber of her being. Shrieking a foreign curse, she flipped the entire cart over with a crash, slamming the tray against the wall repeatedly, so hard that the handle eventually snapped in two.

How could he leave her? "I rescued him," she said aloud to the voices as she paced the floor, "I saved him, he was mine," she ranted, flinging the broken tray across the room with growl where it fell with a clatter.

===

Reaching the Bradford Hotel, Hook stepped out of the car, staring up at the building. He felt much more at home in the dingy basement of a run-down college than he did amongst all this glitz. Straightening a tie for the umpteenth time that wouldn't remain straight, he walked around to the other side of the car to open Emma's door for her. At least he would have something familiar with him. He frowned as he noticed something. How had the tires gotten muddy?

((That works perfectly Ryan Welcome back QueenSu we've time-jumped to the night, so your characters would probably be in the camp Mark is currently at a ball as an Unnatural representative))

---

"It's alright," Curse responded with a soft smile. She smoothed Caerwyn's hair gently. "Is there some way to make you speak normal again? Maybe we could find a way to let people hear you like I do," she offered, feeling he would be much happier and less misunderstood should they be able to accomplish that goal.

---

Pepper arrived moments after Neal looked at his watch. She slowed and stood beside him, casting a languid glance over the structure just a little ways ahead.

"Sorry, little bit of a puppy problem," the zombie offered.

---

"Well, well..." Howard muttered as he watched the men's efficient work. "Edmond wasn't lying when he said he sent me the best, now was he?" He smiled slightly. Having werewolves wasn't his main goal, but they would be useful in their own way. Button's research on them was already in Savage's computer, but Button had never experimented the way Savage was prone to.

"That's all for the surroundings sir," a man reported to Savage moments later. "We saw someone leaving, but they were too fast."

"No matter," Savage responded, "Four of you stay with the van, tranquilize them again every half hour, their unnatural bodies should be able to take it well enough. The rest of you with me. We'll take the camp."

The men nodded and followed as they crept through the underbrush towards the Unnatural camp.

---

"Interesting," Terrance replied to Graeme's explanation. Coming back from the dead was odd, even for the Unnaturals. Jumping off of Satin's shoulder, he circled round Graeme's boots, sniffing them for a second before meandering away. "You're welcome to stay, should you choose," he offered over his kitty shoulder before moving on.

Satin watched Terrance go and then turned back to Graeme, "I'm sorry, he's a little...odd." She turned, starting a little at Pavel's appearance. "This is Pavel," she offered to Graeme, knowing that introducing all of these people would be a little overwhelming.

She was about to ask why Graeme had come to the camp but had only opened her mouth when she suddenly froze. There had been no sound, but now blood soaked into her right sleeve where a bullet had passed through. Shocked, she raised a hand to touch the spot. Her pale fingers came away red.

"Why shoot the-" a man began to ask Savage when he was brutally cut off by a glare from the leader.

"Blood will draw in any vamps in the camp," the Howard intoned as he stood, a figure now visible on the edge of the forest. "Let's go."

Cotton squirmed in Indigo's grip, looking over at Satin, hoping to catch her attention. He could have sworn Mr. T. looked at him and then turned away, obviously not caring what happened to the bounty hunter.

"Wait," he offered, but didn't have a chance to say anything else. There was a shout and the glen was suddenly invaded by men in black protective gear, nightglasses over their eyes.

((advance announcement: don't kill all of the men a'right if you want your character captured then go ahead and write that, otherwise just keep fighting ))

---

Elisabeth smiled back at her stepmother, glad to receive the compliment despite herself. She'd so often tried to resist admiration of Katherine, but there was no denying that she would always have a great respect for her.

Smirking slightly, she took the tie from Thomas and quickly secured it around his neck. "You don't look that bad," she offered to him with a wink as they left the room.

---

"Ms. Scope I believe it was," Eslatar offered, taking the woman's hand and kissing it before she could protest. He tried very hard to resist any action. He remembered this tall one very well. She'd always been trouble, even back in the days when he'd been able to walk around free.

After the greeting, he left, figuring it would be best to avoid spending much time around the giantess. Passing around the wall, he smirked at the four officers in the room, wondering if he'd get killed for dancing.

A sudden pain passed through his head and a familiar presence reminded him of his former angst. But she's not here... he observed puzzled.

"Not sure," Kanti replied, watching the vampire circle the room, "He must be making a statement, but it's a dangerous chance. We can't do anything to stop the decision from a man of his standing- but if the vamp chooses to kill we won't have time to stop him."

She sighed, eyes narrowing, still trained on Eslatar, "He's not from the coven. They wouldn't agree to this kind of thing. Must be one of the renegade vamps that live with the Unnatural group."

"Well if stories are to be believed, Richard Latch isn't upset about much of anything...besides losing an attractive woman or a game of cards," Cyrano commented, moving to avoid bumping into some of the crowd that was forming in the room now. He glanced over at Melanie, thinking the conversation seemed strangely normal, even when she was wearing that bride get-up.

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Emmaline stepped out of the car, not noticing her husband's distracted state. Her careful concealing of everything that might lead to suspicions had not extended to cleaning car wheels and the thought of him noticing hadn't entered her head.

"We should go in before it comes time for the fashionably late to make their appearance," she offered with a slight laugh, looking to Hook for a reaction.