Fairly Modern Grim (IC)

[Harbertia]

OOC

5:58 AM (two hour and forty four minutes before High School starts for the day)

Avalon
The morning mountain dew was settled upon the lawns, and ferns of Avalon. On main street the lamps that lit the roads at night had finally clicked off, and with in the souvenir, and antique stores early risers began preparing to open their businesses. Morning birds settled upon phone lines, filling the mountain air with their calls.

Grimmsdale
Small breaks in the clouds above the town allowed the morning sun to pierce lightly into the streets. The worn buildings where met by a soft breeze that caused flyers to waver in their positions. A yellow, and orange striped police car silently made it's way down main street, towards the road back to Avalon. Soon*, one of the school buses would come down that same road to make it's rounds upon the town.

*between 6:40 and 7:30

[Holy Empire of Avalon]

A boy was curled up within a bed of intricate make, it had a canopy over it with curtains around. His dark and short styled hair was resting peacefully, meanwhile the dark rings under his eye screamed sleep deprivation. A baby's shrill screaming broke the silence. "AH!" he rolled out of the bed and landed face first on the stone with the blankets wrapped around him. "Oh Jeanie, what's the matter?" The babe quieted in her young father's arms. "You just got frightened didn't you? Well it is alright now." His tired eyes looked down upon the babe with a smile on his face. Quietly a figure had walked into the room, a young girl in red hood, "Tis everything alright? I was just strolling about the halls when I noticed her crying." The girl grinned and leaned down to the child, "You are amazing as a father, though why you keep it all a secret I do not know." The boy laughed, "Course, Robert Pendragon, brilliant father." Robert laid the baby back in her crib. "Oh and did you know bassinets can cause infant death syndrome? They simulate the feeling of being in the womb and thus cause the baby to stop breathing on its own." The girl nodded her head, a braid of red hair slipping from under her hood. "Interesting, well I better sneak on out of here before that old hag finds me." The Red Hood opened Robert's window and leaped out before landing upon a balcony, she vanished into the twilight glimmer. "Rest easy my dearest baby girl, daddy needs sleep too." Placing the babe gently into her crib Robert headed off to bed, school was to come within hours and he planned to face the day head on. With a kiss upon his daughter's forehead Robert curled back up in bed, the crib right next to the opposite side of his bed.

[Qeno]

OOC

5:58 AM (two hour and forty four minutes before High School starts for the day)

Avalon
The morning mountain dew was settled upon the lawns, and ferns of Avalon. On main street the lamps that lit the roads at night had finally clicked off, and with in the souvenir, and antique stores early risers began preparing to open their businesses. Morning birds settled upon phone lines, filling the mountain air with their calls.

Jackie

Deep in the shade if a private library inside a wealthy Grim's home rested a young woman with her forehead resting between the pages of a massive tome retelling the heroics of notable people born of the Charming bloodline. Her pure white hair showed barely a difference between the pages and pale complexion that she wore. The poor woman would have longed to sleep a few more hours until she felt her body start to move and suddenly felt the hard floor on her arms.

"Ugh...Just another year of this" Jackie consoled herself as she rolled about on the floor and she opened her silver eyes to see the sun starting to glare over the horizon. With a grumble the young lady stumbled herself off the ground and started to wander out of the library then into the dinning room on the first floor of the three story mansion.

[Zunkwentania]

John's phone rang, waking him. "Hello?" "Firewright, is it? I need you to kill someone for me. Tall, blond, blue eyes, male, gruff voice, name's James Oresmith. Once he's done, take a picture, show it to me, and I'll pay for it in the Lionshead Tavern." "Pay me beforehand.", said John. Firewright was one of the most accurate mercenaries in the region, and he was pricy. "Fine. Meet me there in 10 minutes." John started his clunker, and rode to the tavern. As he drove, he felt ashamed; though he reminded himself that without doing it, he would likely starve.

[Personal Freedom]

Marella MacCodrum
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEEP!

The alarm clock rang unanswered, Marella had gotten up more than twenty minutes ago and was already showered and dressed. Meanwhile the alarm got louder and louder with each minute.

"Marella, get the alarm! You're going to wake your brother!" her father angrily shouted from in his bedroom. Marella did as told, almost laughing but restraining herself from doing so at the risk of angering her parents. She quickly made her way back into her bedroom and made sure the alarm was off and checked to see if her little brother was awake in the next room. Miraculously, he somehow hadn't awoken in all the commotion, and after gently closing the door, she returned to making herself breakfast. Soon she ate a light meal consisting of cereal and a piece of toast before going to the mirror to brush her still wet hair. After looking at it for a moment she let out a sigh. Her hair was as wild as ever and the thick nature of it made it slow to dry. She didn't dare to dry it with a hairdryer after the commotion she caused earlier. She decided just to brush the hair out of her eyes and pretend that her hair was perfect. She smiled at the thought and then went to make sure everything was packed for school.

[Charmera]

Rachel Smith sat at her desk, reviewing case files after case files. She didn't sleep, she didn't need to. She had tried, once, though it didn't seem to work. Closing her eyes and lying didn't seem to do anything, no state of unconscious, nothing. Not that her lack of sleep made her stand out, detectives didn't seem to get much sleep in Grimmsdale anyway.

Though there was nothing particularly of note yet, Rachel preferred to review old case files than to just let them sit. She went over them to make sure no mistakes were made. This job seemed to be all she had anymore and so Rachel was determined to be as diligent as possible with it. Perhaps if she was good enough, she could finally find what she had been looking for.

Rachel sighed as she looked outside, the morning sky clearing. She supposed she had better get some food to keep up the lie she had been living. The last thing she wanted was to be found out.

[Islamic Republic e Jariri]

Clayton Moriarty

Clayton yawned sheepishly as he sat down alone at the breakfast table. He always woke up an hour before the rest of his family and had for a while now taken the early bus to school in the town of Avalon. He lived his current adolescent life under a strict and routine schedule, all part of his life plan he formed out of a paranoid fear of failing in the game of life.

He filled his bowl with chocolate shredded wheat cereal and then poured in some organic goat milk. Quietly he spooned it all down at a steady pace while observing the countdown he had set up on his iPhone. After a few minutes he wiped his mouth with a tissue, placed his bowl and spoon into the kitchen sink where he quickly rinsed and washed them before placing them into the drying rack.

Glancing down at the time displayed on his iPhone he hurried himself out of the house before his parents or sister awoke.

It was too early for the school bus so he boarded a public bus. It was a relatively hollow bus with not that many people travelling by public transportation at this hour. There was the slightly overweight driver who sported a thick greasy beard and a short ponytail that Clayton was used to seeing five days a week. There were also some tired looking grown men with depression written all over their faces. They must have been blue-collar employees with a mercilessly early shift. Clayton himself hated mornings, mainly due to the cold and also because he hated looking at Grimmsdale's fairly bleak morning skies.

As the bus moved forward Clayton aimlessly stared out against the glass window looking at his ugly home town of Grimmsdale. Clayton's breath condensed against the surface of the glass which he then promptly rubbed off. He watched his decaying town fly past him and then took a passing glance at the near dead Grimmsdale Public Library.

Or at least it was near dead to those not of the Family Grimm.

The bus took no more stops in Grimmsdale and speedily passed through the town and soon grazed into the borders of neighboring and more majestic town of Avalon. Though it was only really called 'majestic' because of its Arthurian namesake; Clayton did like the aura of this town better and he did attend its high school since the one in Grimmsdale was effectively out of order. A few minutes into Avalon and the bus stopped again.

It was her.

Norma Drake was another school early bird like him, she was part of the reason Clayton endured the school mornings just so that he could see her five days a week. She was by all means a beautiful creature with her fair complexion, auburn hair and emerald green eyes. She was living jewel that captivated him, once she got into his head it was almost impossible to get her out.

Yet he couldn't recall the last time the two had ever talked.

He had wanted to ask her a lot of things, such as what was her reason for going to school as early as him, or what her hobbies were, or her favorite color, or what her life's dream was. But she was older than him.
When he first saw her he had mistaken her for being a fourteen year old high school freshman like him, only after he discreetly inquired around the school did he learn that she was actually a fifteen year old sophomore. Plus she came from a middle-upper class household as her father was some kind of wealthy businessman. Clayton did find it odd that such a girl would opt for public transportation to reach school as opposed to being privately driven there by a taxi.

Norma passed through his front seats and settled for seat at the very back of the bus, barely giving him a moment's glance before Clayton observed a trace of a slight smile. He wondered if that meant she was happy to see him. As the bus drove on Clayton leaned his head on the side where he saw Norma reading a book. Grimms' Fairy Tales.

Dozens of real life accounts of monsters, princesses, magical creatures and so much more recorded by his maternal ancestors and presented as fairy tale fiction to the majority of the world's populace who like Norma were completely oblivious to the true meanings behind the alleged stories. Clayton wanted to walk up to her now, to tell her about the real life correlations of the stories she was reading, to tell her about the hidden world out there, and to possibly ask for her cellphone number. However he knew he could never do any of that.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Christian Ericson sat on his back porch drinking coffee. His dad, a Avalon police officer who worked the graveyard shift, had just gotten home to join him. "Got anything on radar?"
"Three deer that came bolting though last night, their southeast of here, but probably in the next county by now."
"Along with my mugging suspect then. That's the general direction he seems to be going."
"You lost a suspect, better turn in your huntsman card then."
"Well kind off hard to keep up with someone who can leap 12 ft at a time."
"True" Christian looked at his watch. "Guess its time for me to go watch the inmates run the asylum." Christian preferred to walk to school rather then deal with the idiots on the bus. "Some of these people really deserve to get their rear ends handed to them."
"Not our call."
"Such a shame."

[Nuridia]

The blaring of an alarm clock ripped through the elegant Welsh-designed manor house as the dim light of the early morning sun barely peeked through the windows, somewhat breaking up the darkness and stillness of the house. A girl with long, thick coppery brown hair spread out on her pillow grumbled sleepily, her father always had to get up early to go to work and his alarm woke everybody in the house.

"Huh, Mae'n rhy gynnar i larwm!" "Damia!" (It's too early for an alarm, damn it!) the girl swore sleepily in Welsh. "Father, please turn that thing off!" she called, sitting up in bed.

"Angharad, Ewch yn ôl i'r gwely os yw'n plesio chi" (Go back to bed if it pleases you!) the man called back. Angharad's father came into the room, he had brown hair like hers but his eyes were brown while hers were blue like her mothers. "Goodbye, I love you." "See you later." he said, kissing his daughter on the forehead.

"Love you too, but make sure to make you alarm quieter this time please!" she called after him in thickly accented English. Her father Dylan Glyndwr sighed, Angharad was a huge nag, consequently of the Rhiannon bloodline that she had inherited from him. He waved goodbye to her, kissed his sleeping wife in a far off room and headed out the door after getting ready. Angharad went straight back to bed, maybe she'd ride her horse before school when the sun actually came up.

[Holy Empire of Avalon]

Robert was awoken by a light glaring in his eye. "Ugh, go away stupid sun..." He rolled over in bed only to feel a cold hand grip his arm. "This is not the sun." Robert's eyes bolted open, he reached into his pillow and drew a knife from it. "Who are you and what do you want in my room?" He had the knife to an old man's throat. "Woah, it is me, I came to wake you up. Your father has requested you downstairs." Robert hid the knife back inside the sheath. "Don't wake me like that, my thoughts instantly went to Jeanette being in danger..." He sighed after seeing her resting peacefully in the crib. "That is actually the topic of this family meeting. Your father has a proposal he wishes to bring forth." Rob watched the elder leave his room. Rising peacefully from bed he cast off his night gown of white silk and pulled a set of boxers on, over them a pair of jeans, and upon his chest a plain cotton shirt of grey. "Come now, Jeanie, father is being a mule again, sadly I must humor him- The King." Robert laughed at that statement. "King of what one could ask? Oh, apparently Avalon, yeah right. There is no such thing as royalty any more, even if there was Crowns are foolish things." Walking down the hall with Jeanette, sweet little Jeanette, staring with wonder at her father as if seeing him for the first time. On his head, albeit cockeyed to the left side, was a crown of gold made to symbolize a wreath of olive branches, the center of the two atop his forehead was a diamond, alluring to his former title of The White Prince, 'twas given to him before Jeanette was born. Sitting at the opposite end of the long table all the Pendragons had been assembled even several of the Knights.

"I call to order this meeting, the item I wish to bring forth is the daughter of our Crown Prince." Robert coughed, "The name is Robert, I am not a pop star, so either Rob or Robert is perfectly fine." The king waved his hand towards the boy as if signalling the annoyance. "The daughter of our Robert. Now, boy, it is to my understanding that your grades have declined from top of the class to average. I suspect this is due to your added responsibilities. Hence forth you are to relinquish Jeanette in our hand maidens care that they may raise her." The young father clutched his infant tight, her eyes locked upon his set jaw. "Never, if you wish to take her you shall have to do so by force, father." With a quick movement his chair flew back and the boy was standing, arms around the infant as if being her shield. "She is my daughter and come Hell or Satan himself no one shall take her from me!" The hall of stone echoed with that phrase, the King stood indignantly with anger. "You foolish brat, how dare you defy me." Approaching swiftly the middle aged man reached forward towards his grand daughter. "You will relinquish the child or be detained." With a snatch Robert grabbed the sword of gold, silver, and crimson at his father's side. "Oh wow, that worked. I did not really think Excalibur would come to me." He looked at the white blade surprised he had only meant to knock the King over, "In this hand of mere mortalhood I hold the strength of Angels, seekith you to steal my life away I shall end yours by the blade. Mine daughter rests with me and me alone, with a mere sway of wrist thine life will end. Shall that be by mine own hand?" He tone was serious and yet soft, for some reason he had spoken in words older than even the castle itself. Edging away the King sighed, "Tell us, who is your betrothed?" Robert looked to the babe within his single left arm. "I have not a loved one, this child is my own. Jeanette needs no one but me and that is how it shall be." With that he tossed the sword aside and becoming like stone it would not lift even with the force of many a man. The King glared at the back of his son's head, this would not be forgotten, ever. He had been humiliated before all the courtmen and women.

[Nuridia]

Angharad finally got up and dragged herself out of bed. School would start in about an hour and she actually wanted to get in some time with Epona, her beautiful gray filly. After jumping in the shower she brushed out her long hair and put it back into a ponytail with a golden band shaped like a small jeweled crown like one of those crown-rings that were so in fashion, a gift to her from the goddess-queen Rhiannon and it symbolized her rank as a Princess of Mystic Wales and of the Welsh Pantheon. Instead of being worn on your head this one was worn around a bundle of hair like a scrunchie. People thought it was just a decorative scrunchie and she told people she bought it in Wales when they asked about it.

After changing into a pin and blue tunic like blouse and putting on some green capris, she laced up leather sandals and went outside, waving to her mother as she left. Angharad also wore a necklace with a tiny silver horse on it, another gift from her meetings with the goddess. She had earned it by calming down and riding the fiercest white stallion in the Divine Heard, and thus she was granted the name of Angharad Ceffyldowfr, or Angharad Horse Tamer. Finally she made it to the stables behind her house, a happy whinny greeted her. Epona was beautiful, a black diamond on her forehead and black spotted her gray body. Her mane was wild, light gray streaked with silver. Angharad kissed the horse's muzzle affectionately.

"Hey girl, I missed you to pretty one." the girl said soothingly, feeding Epona an apple while stepping into the stables and taking up a curry comb, gently combing out her mane and coat. "You are a marvel, you know that Epona?" Angharad cooed, after feeding the horse and filling her water trough, she mounted the spotted back and it seemed to be the most natural place in the world. Horse and rider were connected and trusted another completely.

"Ready girl?" Angharad asked. Epona neighed proudly and tossed her head in the air, Angharad gently smacked her haunches and the horse took off, cantering in the fenced area of the five acres of their land and yard. She liked riding this way, bareback and without bridle or saddle and she liked the freedom that this way gave both Epona and herself.

[Arstotzkas]

Jack rose out of the small bed he had made and scratched his beard. After getting up he grabbed his ax. This was the time of day that they were most likely to come and it was his job to stop them. He never stayed in one location rather he followed where the beasts went and hunted them down until the next pack came. It was a grim job but it was one that had to be done. He walked into the small forest and towards the mountains. He never trusted anyone else man or beast to help him. As a descendent of the great axman it was his job to do this and he always suspected people. Suddenly a wave of darkness hit his head. He crouched over groaning in pain. He could sense something was brewing west. Something more evil than he had ever seen. So he took his ax out of the ground where it lay after he fell and set off. To avalon.

[Arana]

Bran

Bran stood in the center of the room, spear in his hand. All of the other warriors were asleep around him from the music in the air, and his foe was just standing there, waiting for him. If he lost now, they'd all burn to death. Roaring, he charged, but right as he was about to stab the spear into him...

"Bran, a fháil ar an ifreann amach as an leaba!" (Bran, get the hell out of bed!)

Bran groaned and opened his eyes. He never seemed to make it through any of the dreams, at least not lately. After glancing at the clock, he groaned a second time and got out of bed.

"Come on dad, I was just about to get to the good part! It was Áillen too!"

"Well sorry, but you have to get ready for school. Maybe over the weekend you'll have it again."

For the last several years, Bran had been having dreams every once and awhile of his ancestor. It had happened to his father as well, and his grandfather, his great grandfather, and so on. That particular dream had been about his battle with Áillen the Burner, which had led to Fionn becoming the leader of the Fianna. It was one of his favorites too, so it was even more annoying. After wandering over to his dresser, he took off the clothes he had worn to bed and put on newer ones, making sure to take his babysitting money from the night before out of the pockets of the old ones before throwing them into the corner. He put the money into a jar on the dresser, now about half full, which contained all the money he had made babysitting since moving to Avalon. Once there was enough, he hoped to buy a sword with it. The Fianna were warriors after all, and what good was a warrior who didn't have a weapon? Of course, odds are he wouldn't need it, but that wasn't stopping him. After brushing his messy white hair and putting on some deodorant, he left his small, messy bedroom and headed to the also small, but not quite as messy, kitchen for breakfast. Breakfast this morning consisted of milk and a couple doughnuts, which was a pretty normal breakfast around his house.

After finishing his breakfast and saying goodbye to his parents, Bran headed out of the small apartment he called home. It wasn't the place they had hoped for, but it was one of the cheapest in Avalon, besides being better than the apartment they had when they lived in Grimmsdale. All the same, it was no place for a mac Cumhaill, or McCool as they were now forced to call themselves. For centuries, his family had been great warriors and leaders, but as Ireland was slowly conquered, and then later oppressed, the mac Cumhaills lost more and more power. The final blow came in the 1800s, when the family was forced to either leave Ireland for America or remain and starve. As he walked to school, he whistled a tune he had stuck in his head, looking (at least a little enviously) at all the other homes he walked by. Most of them were significantly larger than his, ranging from small houses to actual mansions, like the one he was walking by now. He paused when he saw a girl that he thought looked familiar riding a horse on the giant lawn. He had never actually spoken to her before, just seen glimpses of her in the hallway, but although he wouldn't admit it to himself, well... he might have had a bit of a crush on her.

Wanting to get her attention, but not really wanting to make it look like he was trying to get her attention, he started whistling louder, so that the horse she was riding could here. His music, whether whistling, singing, or using an actual instrument, had an affect on animals and children. Normally, they just liked it, but he could also use it to coerce them into doing basically whatever he wanted them to do. It was probably the main reason he managed to keep getting babysitting jobs. Right now, the target of his whistling was the horse. Hopefully it would hear him and be compelled to ride over to him, at which point he would act as if he had just been walking by.

[Nuridia]

Angharad looked at her watch and noticed it was nearly time to go to school. She patted Epona affectionately and spoke to the horse, her Welsh accent obvious. "Okay girl, that's it for now." "I'll see you when you get home alright?" she said. The gray horse neighed in agreement and then was cut off by a whistling and suddenly there was a change in the animal. She turned from the direction intended and walked over toward the sound as if possessed. "Epona, hey." "What's wrong girl, are you alright?" "Wrong way!" Angharad was surprised, Epona had never disobeyed her before and as Angharad tried to gently coax her back, she kept riding ahead to a young white haired boy around her age who was whistling. The girl saw him and the look in her horse's eyes, and realized this kid was a Musician. Angharad herself was a half Musician through her mother but never had she used her singing like that.

[Arstotzkas]

Jack's boots crunched through the forest ax in hand. Nothing would stop him from his quest. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl on a horse talking to a musician. He quickly changed his path. He didn't want to have any trouble. The last time he talked to a musician a event involving beer, harps and toothpicks had occurred. He was a loner through and through. Happiness wasn't for him he just did he did best. It's not like anyone would trust him anyway. He looked ragged and angry with a sharp ax and a wild beard. He could probably sneak past them and that's what he wanted.

[Arana]

Angharad looked at her watch and noticed it was nearly time to go to school. She patted Epona affectionately and spoke to the horse, her Welsh accent obvious. "Okay girl, that's it for now." "I'll see you when you get home alright?" she said. The gray horse neighed in agreement and then was cut off by a whistling and suddenly there was a change in the animal. She turned from the direction intended and walked over toward the sound as if possessed. "Epona, hey." "What's wrong girl, are you alright?" "Wrong way!" Angharad was surprised, Epona had never disobeyed her before and as Angharad tried to gently coax her back, she kept riding ahead to a young white haired boy around her age who was whistling. The girl saw him and the look in her horse's eyes, and realized this kid was a Musician. Angharad herself was a half Musician through her mother but never had she used her singing like that.

Bran faked a look of surprise as the horse came over to him, and with fake nervousness reached out and gently stroked it's neck. Although he had stopped whistling, the horse would probably still think he was friendly enough to not bite his hand.

"Err... hi there. I guess your horse likes me or something... anyways, have we met? If not, my name's Bran... you?"

[Nuridia]

Angharad's blue-green eyes saw the subtle change in his facial expression and as a bit surprised when Epona let Bran stroke her neck. What was this kid about, and she'd never seen a young person with white hair before. "My name's Angharad and this is Epona." she said to Bran introducing her horse as well, careful to pronounce it for him because most non-Welsh people found her name a mouthful. "Bran huh, are you part Welsh?" "Bran's a Welsh name." Angharad looked up and in the distance there was some bearded man and sh could see a glint of steel in his hand. He was curious but she said nothing.

Suddenly a voice called from the house, Angharad's mother Gladys stepped out, her cloud of curly black hair swirling around her shoulders with a broad white-blonde streak in the bangs. She was a pretty and petite woman with the same eyes as her daughter. "Angharad, Amser i fynd i'r ysgol yn awr , byddwch yn ne hwyr!" (Time to go to school now, you'll be late!)

Angharad groaned and hopped off Epona, calling back to Gladys. "Rwy'n gwybod Mam!" "Erbyn y dduwies roi cynnig ar y amynedd o gerrig!" (I know Mother! By the goddess you try the patience of stones!) she sighed, rolling her eyes a bit.

[Arana]

Angharad's blue-green eyes saw the subtle change in his facial expression and as a bit surprised when Epona let Bran stroke her neck. What was this kid about, and she'd never seen a young person with white hair before. "My name's Angharad and this is Epona." she said to Bran introducing her horse as well, careful to pronounce it for him because most non-Welsh people found her name a mouthful. "Bran huh, are you part Welsh?" "Bran's a Welsh name." Angharad looked up and in the distance there was some bearded man and sh could see a glint of steel in his hand. He was curious but she said nothing.

Suddenly a voice called from the house, Angharad's mother Gladys stepped out, her cloud of curly black hair swirling around her shoulders with a broad white-blonde streak in the bangs. She was a pretty and petite woman with the same eyes as her daughter. "Angharad, Amser i fynd i'r ysgol yn awr , byddwch yn ne hwyr!" (Time to go to school now, you'll be late!)

Angharad groaned and hopped off Epona, calling back to Gladys. "Rwy'n gwybod Mam!" "Erbyn y dduwies roi cynnig ar y amynedd o gerrig!" (I know Mother! By the goddess you try the patience of stones!) she sighed, rolling her eyes a bit.

Bran smiled slightly. The first thought that came to his head was that her accent was pretty. The second was that he should probably answer her.

"Not Welsh, no. Irish actually, although I think Bran is just a generally Celtic name. Nice house you got there... hell of a lot bigger than mine."

He was a bit distracted by the other woman yelling at Angharad in a language he couldn't quite understand, but knew was something Celtic other than Irish. Trying to think of what to say next, he idly wished she was some kid or an animal so that he could just play for her and not have to worry about talking... then realized that if she was some kid or an animal, that would be really, really weird, and quickly chased that thought out of his head.

"So I see you like horses. More of a dog person myself."

[Flammaland]

Sebastian Nette stood in a small, dark room in front of a large blackboard covered in odd symbols and mathematical equations. Crammed against the wall was a slab, similar to those found in a morgue, with the recently dissected carcass of a pig lying atop it. Sebastian deluded himself that he was close, but in reality he was no nearer to discovering the secret of humanity than he had been last night, or the night before. He had made some progress, true, but any idea or solution which came to him was a temporary fix, just more ways of hiding and pretending. Sebastian looked over at the slab and the pig carcass and almost sighed. But now was not the time for that. Now he needed to pretend. Time for school. He changed into a clean set of clothes and began the walk to the bus stop. He calculated that at his current speed he would arrive in just under two minutes and, factoring in any possible minor delays, he bus would arrive at the stop approximately five minutes after he did. Sebastian deemed that adequate.

[Nuridia]

"Irish?" "Interesting, I've had a few Irish friends in my time." "I'll be right back." Angharad handed her beloved horse to her mother who went to go put Epona back in her stables and then turned to Bran. "Well nice speaking to you but I have to get going to school, I don't want to be later than I already possibly am." "And since you look around my age I'm supposing that you do too." she said, hopping over the fence and walking toward the path to where her high school was.

[Arstotzkas]

Jack sat on a log and sighed. This was what is life was. Hunting, killing, and going to the next place. But he had a good reason to do so..

*Flashback 5 years*
The little boy ran. He didn't know why but he did. Panting he tripped and fell and the rider caught up. Scared the boy held his ax up to try to defend himself. "Don't hurt me!" he cried. He had just ran away from home and had been living out in the forest for a few days. The rider stopped and put down his hood. To Jacks surprise it was a boy only a few years older than him. "Hi there" he said happily. "What's your name?" he added cheerfully. Jack lowered his ax and said in a low tone "I'm Jack Lumber". The boy paused and laughed "Well that's a pretty nice name!" he added. "My name is Billy!" he chirped. And from that day forward they were friends. Jack would hide in the forest and billy would bring him food and show him how to trap animals. Billy was always cheerful except for one thing. "What's that cliff over there?" Jack asked suddenly. Billy suddenly paled. "You must never go there" he said in a serious manner. Jack knew not to ask why.

A few years later

"Ah shoot" Jack mumbled.
"What is it?" asked Billy reading a book.
"I want to build a cabin but the last maple tree is on the cliff" Jack said
Billy closed the book. "I told you to never go there" he almost shouted
"Ok, ok." Jack said
Later that night.
Jack knew he shouldn't have but he snuck up to the cliff. He grunted as he climbed the steep, rocky walls but he finally got there. "Ah here it is" he said to himself. He started cutting down the tree but than he suddenly heard a noise. A growling noise. Jack turned and he was face to face with a werewolf. Jack cowered in fear but then a silver knife went the wolfs shoulder. Billy was standing behind it with a knife in hand. Little did he know the werewolf had enough strength for one more blow. A blow that would end his life.


Jack scowled at the memory. It stung him like a wasp and it prompted him to go forward. Do the job and get it done.

[Arana]

"Irish?" "Interesting, I've had a few Irish friends in my time." "I'll be right back." Angharad handed her beloved horse to her mother who went to go put Epona back in her stables and then turned to Bran. "Well nice speaking to you but I have to get going to school, I don't want to be later than I already possibly am." "And since you look around my age I'm supposing that you do too." she said, hopping over the fence and walking toward the path to where her high school was.

Bran quickly started following her, trying to catch up.

"Yeah, I have to get there too... actually I was on the way there when your horse came up to me... well I mean, you'd know that, since you were on the horse..."

Bran was normally a very good speaker, and very charismatic. But for whatever reason, now he was all nervous and saying random things.

"So... err... since we're going to the same place and all, mind if I walk with you?"

[Holy Empire of Avalon]

Robert was brushing his teeth at the moment. "Old man... why did he have to try such a thing? I know he has my best at heart, but I must raise her! This child is not my mistake, she is my gift. One I shall not give up." Robert saw his father in the mirror only to realize it was himself. "I should apologize after school, that was rather bad tempered of me." He went from compassionate to defiant. "No, this is my burden and trial, I may be alone, but... 'twould endanger the one I love if she was seen with me. Curse this all!" Robert spat into the sink as he washed his mouth. Two spheres of hard sapphire looking back at him. "I will give him one chance, I will apologize and that will be it, else I shall take this into my own hands and free myself from this." Robert turned out of the bathroom and tossed his crown upon the bed. "Hey there, my little munchkin, shall we go to school now?" Jeanette gave her light giggle as babies tend to do when picked up. Robert brushed her hair carefully with a small comb before removing her bedclothes and changing her diaper, he then moisturized the child as so she did not get dry skin. "There, now you are safe from the troll that is dry skin." He clothed her in a little pink dress and placed a bow over her slightly blonde hair. Grabbing his bag Robert was out the bedroom in a flash, he fixed a bottle over the stove hastily and fed little Jeanette before burping her and continuing off. From his upstairs bedroom to the ground floor and out the door had only taken him five or so minutes. "You eat so fast, you will end up with a stomach ache..." The Prince softly scolded his child, "Course I guess I am a pretty bad father, I mean here we are at the rising of the sun and I have you awake." He knew babies needed much rest. "Maybe dad was right, I just am not ready..." Doubt was seeping into his heart, "No, that is not his decision to make, this is my life and I have someone depending on me. Screw the old man, I can't let my baby girl down." Walking down the stone path leading up to the stone mansion upon the hill Robert was greeted by dirt, receding the infant into his coat he kept her from breathing in all the dust. "Bad enough if I get ill, but you certainly can't. Why can they not pave this darn trail?" Walking along he noticed a girl, she seemed familiar. "Hey, hold up!" Chasing after her he was greeted by a friendly face, "Why hey there, Corlun." his voice was teasing and cheerful.

[Nuridia]

"Well I suppose that I really don't mind." "We are going to the same place after all." Angharad said, waving Bran over as she walked. She wondered how her older brother Cadoc was doing, named after the bishop-saint of Ireland he was far from patient. He was the latest sleeper that Angharad ever knew, but the two siblings were very close and even rode and studied magic together. Cadoc's own horse was bigger and more wild than her own but of course their bloodline helped them reasonably calm them all. Just then, she had heard the pounding of footsteps behind her and bran and Angharad swiveled her head around to get a good look. As the mop of dark hair came closer her eyes widened in realization. "Robert?" she whispered lightly, it was almost inaudible. And he had little Jeanette with him, he loved that baby very much. She didn't get to chance to see him in two weeks, she had forgotten that he was in this town.

[Holy Empire of Avalon]

"Well I suppose that I really don't mind." "We are going to the same place after all." Angharad said, waving Bran over as she walked. She wondered how her older brother Cadoc was doing, named after the bishop-saint of Ireland he was far from patient. He was the latest sleeper that Angharad ever knew, but the two siblings were very close and even rode and studied magic together. Cadoc's own horse was bigger and more wild than her own but of course their bloodline helped them reasonably calm them all. Just then, she had heard the pounding of footsteps behind her and bran and Angharad swiveled her head around to get a good look. As the mop of dark hair came closer her eyes widened in realization. "Robert?" she whispered lightly, it was almost inaudible. And he had little Jeanette with him, he loved that baby very much. She didn't get to chance to see him in two weeks, she had forgotten that he was in this town.

"That is you, hey there." Robert motioned to the sleeping baby taking warmth and comfort in his coat. "She is sleeping." The baby stirred as if sensing Angharad. "Sorry I have not been around much, she's demanded a big portion of my time." Robert poked the child with his finger, she held it with an iron grasp in her slumber. "She almost talked yesterday, she got to the first A in daddy. Mum was surprised, course I was given some high quality books to read to her, Doctor Seuss is the best English teacher I have ever seen." Robert joked. "So how are the horses? My old prude of a mare refuses to budge, I just don't think I can hack it as a rider. Plus I mean, they don't use horses in combat anymore, I don't understand father's whole, 'Real men ride horses into war!' thing, I mean sheesh, God made man and Samuel Colt made man equal. Give me a pistol, I am tired of all these swords and spears. Next thing you know he's going to make me pack a darn sword everywhere!" Robert feigned a walk with his chest puffed up and a hand at his waist. "Fear not mi'lady! I shall defend you with this obviously compensating for something huge length of metal! No, that just isn't how things work now. Ugh... sorry about that. Me and the old man got in a fight today. he tried to take Jeanette from me. Guess I am still steaming." The boy looked towards his daughter as if caught between regret and what he felt was duty.