After the two hour combat class, Torlan's muscles ached with fatigue. She really should have been practicing rather than researching, but she just couldn't help herself. She continued on through her day and classes, and soon her school day was done. She was excited that now would be the perfect chance to speak with Celeste over her findings and concerns. In her last class, Tory overheard two pureblood vampires muttering something about a councilwoman having convinced the minister to allow the scrubs a special protection order. The two teenagers seemed very displeased with the outcome and it took all of Tory's restraint to hold her tongue about the matter. 


 She walked the cool, dim hallway from the classroom towards her favorite professor's office, thinking about everything that has happened. She was excited once she reached the closed door to the professor's office, she  couldn't wait to share the information. Torlan didn't knock on the door to the office, rather she just opened it, walked in, and shut it back with a lock behind her. She knew not everyone approved or felt the same way about their views on the scrubs, so she wanted to keep the conversation secure. "Celeste..." Tory called out softly. "Do you have time to speak now?" She asked politely as she pulled her computer from her bag and opened it, putting in her encrypted password.

Alistair sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head; the soft tendrils of silver hair offering little resistance to his frustration.

It was always like this, with his mother.

She ever sought to impress her husband, his father, with things; his father enjoyed the attention, the expressions of affection, and Alistair was sure his father brought back some bauble for his wife, though Alistair himself was not privy to such information.

Maybe that was the frustration.

He had asked his mother, once, and she merely chuckled and said, 'He gave me you', then she tussled his hair and sent him to bed.

So many years ago... He pondered if the answer would still be the same; if his mother was still proud of the man he had become. He sat down on a bench, letting his thoughts take him away; allowing the frustrations of the events to wash over him, through him, and to leave his mind.

What about his father? Was he a son that a father could take pride in? It wasn't as though he had achieved anything great or momentous, nothing of notice. Alistair knew he had strong magic running in his veins, that his own blood was power by itself, but didn't do anything with it. Well, that wasn't entirely the case. He had spent more than a few years with the elementals, talking about the wardings and the design of the council building; defensive-type magicks were more of his speed, but with the peace that currently reigned in their society, he hardly had any need of it.

He exhaled.

Perhaps that was going to change, soon. He scratched his chin in thought before shrugging, leaning back; his arms resting on the back of said bench as he crossed a leg over the other, stretching out said legs; people gave him a few glances but left him alone for the most part.

It wasn't as though he was imposing figure, but he wasn't small either; he carried himself with pride, as any dragon would do. His presence wasn't palpable, but with the mutation of his albinism, he didn't need an imposing presence. People just noticed him. His mouth quirked up in a sneer at the stirrings of old memories of School. Not all attention was good attention.

Given his aptitude, or his want -his need- to protect, he had taken a role as a security guard after his graduation; it gave him an excuse to be near the council building without too many questions being asked and allowed him to study those centuries old building that was so deceptively large.

But, in reality, he was just a glorified errand boy; which was fine, because again, it allowed him to be in places he'd otherwise have been questioned about. On top of being the only silver-hued man in this society, as far as he knew, he was easily recognizable for who he was and who his father was; but sometimes having your fathers name behind you doesn't quite solve all the problems that arise when being found out in places one shouldn't be found in.

Thinking of his father brought back his own hesitation of his feelings towards Celeste, to which he shrugged at; letting out a heavy sigh.

With that, he came to the crux of his frustration; outside of his mothers insistence that her husband, his father, had something nice awaiting him upon his return.

Love wasn't a choice for him; he had long resigned himself to the knowledge he'd be married off to some girl that had half the brains of a bird and just as humorless. He half-expected his father to come back tonight with news that someone had finally accepted the marriage proposal put forth by his father. Normally, someone with the station Alistair's family had, there'd be no need to have to wait so long. In theory, he should have been married off so many years ago.

His silver-hued affliction, while exotic, wasn't exactly what a family was looking for.

Alistair feared that his father disliked him for said affliction; that, in reality, his father only came back because of his mother and, without his mother, Alistair would be alone.

Perhaps Alistair was merely projecting, which he would most likely go with, and just move on past it.

He got up, brushing some of the dust off himself, and continued to walk around the marketplace, searching for the few items his mother needed, whistling softly.

No use dwelling on it.

Instead his mind wandered to the Scrub's district, Alistair catching himself looking in that direction.

He hurried his shopping faster.

Within an hour, he had everything and was home.

His mother greeted him, a pleasant smile on her face, 'Ah, there you are! I was just beginning to worry!'

Alistair nodded, bowing his head, 'Sorry for making you wait, mother. The council was abuzz with the recent Cullings in the Scrub district. Apparently a councilwoman finally swayed the minister to offer them protection.'

She clicked her tongue a few times, disapprovingly, 'That minister is a doormat. He'd let them scrubs walk over him if given half the chance.' She shook her finger. 'Can't say I disagree though; a shame it has come to this, however, to have to protect them.' She basically spat the last word, the gentle look in her eyes never leaving as she busied herself in tidying the house more.

In truth, it did look and smell better than this morning and he was impressed. 'Teach me to not trust a witch, eh, mother?'

She laughed absently, humming to herself; Alistair figured it was some cantrip to help with headaches, or just a simple song from her childhood. He remembers the tune well enough, from growing up around his mother humming it constantly. His own whistling drifted towards said tune, but it was a subconscious thing, much like what his mother was doing now.

She just did it; instinct, as if preparing for something.

He broke the silence, 'I'm going to go out again; there's a few things I need to do before I can join you and father tonight.' He bowed at the waist towards his mother. 'Do not wait for me if I'm not back for dinner.'

He left before his mother could really say anything.



After a few blocks away, he murmured under his breath, letting his magic flow out and surround him. A little misdirection magic that few would notice and if they did, would just assume it was a childish prank.

Either way, he'd be ignored.

It was hard to blend in when all you did was stand out; if not his mutated albinism, then the smell of brimstone and smoke; if not those, his eyes and everything else that screamed Dragon. Alistair inherited a lot of his fathers genetics, though his mother was clearly there; in his face, in his hands, to name a few. He passed for a rather normal person right up to the eyes, or when he smiled.

His nostrils flared with different and new scents, as well as old, as he neared the Scrub district.

While it might seem harsh or shrewd, Celeste was the first suspect, though she hadn't smelled dirty; though she had showered since they had last embraced, the Scrubs had a very distinct smell. He himself was wary of this smell on his person and knew there would be questions if he was found out. He never entered and with the barrier around the district now, he didn't dare. He had merely been staking out a few different spots over the last month, having noted scents that didn't belong.

And he had found a pretty good place to eavesdrop on during his nightly visits about the second week in.

It was this spot in which he found himself tonight, mostly to gauge the mood in general and the general mood about the protection now being provided.

She stood back only for a few more minutes, watching the two women interact and catch up before her professor ushered her on towards school. "Ah, yes ma'am" Tory smiled and departed with a small curtsy and nod towards each woman. She knew by the time she got there, it would be her lunch hour, so she continued to take her time. Her mind wondered over the thought of the woman who  was now accompanying the professor back at the cross-way. Who was she? What were they talking about? Many more questions flooded her inquisitive mind, but Tory new she needed to shake them off and focus on getting through the day. Hopefully she and the professor could have a moment later to discuss the rising issues at hand.


When Tory reached the school, she headed straight towards the food court. The smell of the different kinds of food flooded her nose and she winced. Sometimes having heighten senses had their downsides. She approached the line for raw seafood where she ordered a couple pieces of great white shark and salmon wit ha side of squid tentacles, and then made her way over to the blood cooler. This held bottles of blood drained from various species, human being the most expensive to pig being the cheapest. Tory didn't have to worry about her finances, so she grabbed a single bottle of human blood, which had been harvested under full consent. Once she had everything she needed, the young woman walked to the back corner where no one was and sat to enjoy her meal in peace.

While she ate, she took the time to pull her computer out and run over the numbers she had gathered once more to make sure there were no discrepancies to the data, her golden eyes occasionally glancing up and around to make sure no one else noticed what she was doing.

After her lunch, she closed and returned the laptop to her bag and threw her garbage away. She felt recharged and ready to get the rest of her day over with. Her next class was hand-to-hand combat and she knew she had to have focus for that. Having the same strength level as her scrub counter parts, she was placed in one of the lower level classes. Walking into the class, she let out a soft sigh and placed her bag in her cubby before starting her stretching routine. 

Lenai sighed as she finally shut the doors to her lab. Research was definitely the job for her, but analysis was exhausting. It definitely made her cravings build faster, but what could she do? It was the job she loved! The job she went through an extra seven years of school for! There was no way she was giving it up! After locking up, she made her way out the door, and hazel eyes settled on the sky for just a moment. It didn't feel like a "go-straight-home" kind of day! Perhaps a walk was in order...

Lenai knew what a walk meant the last time she took one, but she was reserved for that not to be the case! She went to her car, clad herself in a short black dress, and made her way to the forest. She was really a city kind of girl, but every once in a while she found the lights of the forest more soothing than the lights of the city. It was a different environment that she wasn't accustomed to, and while she knew it was inhabited by many, she rarely encountered anyone.

The sounds of birds singing their songs soothed her as she made her way through the trees, the smell of salt water not too far in the distance. She envied the birds and sea creatures. They didn't have to worry about stupid politics, and classification systems. They just lived their lives, day to day... Lenai was a simple creature, or rather she wanted to be. Do what you need to do to survive, and to be happy. Why should anything else matter?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of voices much to her annoyance. She quickly located the source of the voices; There were three of them, just standing and talking. She resolved to go the other way, until she realized that she recognized one of their faces! Professor Celeste! She had been one of Lenai's teachers at the University! One of her favorites, in fact! She seemed to be having a bit of a serious conversation, but it wouldn't do any harm to simply say hello as she continued on her way would it?"

She continued on her current path, which would lead her right passed the congregation. She stopped and smiled politely. "Hello Professor!" She bowed her head politely to the other two individuals. She didn't want to hold them up, or spend too much time here, but it was nice to see the Professor again! It must have been three or four years since she had last seen her.

The water was her favorite place. It was peaceful, smooth, and everyone knew to leave her be when she was there. The water was her safe-space, the one area she could be to clear her thoughts and focus on herself. She tried to keep all the outside drama away when in the warm, salty liquid. Her tail swished up and down, her body rolling itself through the water as she swam around. Her long brown hair flowed every-which way under the surface. Her arms and hands glittered in the sunlight with hints of sliver and purple. She had decided to start her day later than usual, as everything that was brewing in the city was frustrating her. She needed some time to herself, after all, self-care is the best.

After an hour of swimming, Torlan decided it was time to move on to something more productive. The half-blood Siren x Vampire swam her way to the side of the pool that had the ramp and pulled herself up. Once fully out of the water, her rough skin began to sloth off, She pulled herself further up the pool deck, slipping from her scaly tail, her gills and most of her sharp teeth retreating back in. It was painful, but not as much as entering the water from this form was. Her pale grey skin dripped with water as the young adult reached for her white robe.

After drying off and getting dressed, Torlan grabbed her computer that held important data information on the current events and placed it into her messenger bag.  "I'm heading out father..." Torlan called down to the basement where he, Malcolm, spent most of his days at, working. "Be careful, my darling." Her father's deep voice called back up. He worried about her often since the night he witnessed her mother be captured and killed by the scrubs. Aribell, her mother, had gone for a late swim in the ocean when the horrible incident occurred.

Torlan smiled at his worried words and slipped out the front door. She carried her bag over her left shoulder as she made her way down the near-by path and into The Oceans Whisper forest. She liked how the lights surrounded the walkway, guiding people towards the center cross-way. As she neared the center that would take her towards the main city, she heard faint voices. Her thoughts quickly turned to worry as she hoped they were friendly.  A lot of people thought that her and her father were responsible for a couple of the scrub's deaths. Just recently, two scrub hiker's bodies were found off the Oceans Whisper path with two small pinholes in their necks, claw marks scattered over their bodies, and bled dry. On the contrary, she was actually one of the groups of people who wanted to unite everyone, even after what happened to her mother.

Even so, Torlan continued her way down, turning the final bend that would bring her to the cross-way. "Oh, it's just you two" She said softly seeing the two lovers talking.

Dracierous had spent the better part of his morning at his home, with his mother, Sonea. She merely needed help with a few things around the house, to get things ready for his fathers return.

'It's your own fault, mother. You know what happens when you get your coven together," he chided gently, chuckling; his voice was low, a soft growl in the back of his throat.

The home, despite the best efforts of housekeeping and his mothers own list of things for Dracierous to do, ended up looking like a disaster; blood from the animals was everywhere; the smell of their spells and incantations were just as bad as they clung to the walls and furniture. He himself had spent more than an hour or so trying to get the witches to leave, who were either drunk or hungover from the previous night.

That had been interesting, to say the least, fending off their advances. He figured his mother was trying to find him a suitable partner, but he hardly cared, having found his own interest. His eyes squinted as he peered out one of the windows, checking the sun.

He cursed.

'What is it now, boy? You are worse than your father with that mouth.' His mothers chiding was less gentle, but he knew her heart wasn't in it when he caught the twinkle in her brown eyes; her dark hair was beginning to show grey, but her beauty was timeless; a few laugh lines were more apparent due to the fun from the last few nights.

There was no doubt she was a strong woman, who found humor and pleasure in odd things, and, while she loved her son in her own way -and definitely showed that-, she was no less a mother.

His father was more proper, perhaps the polar opposite of his mother, which was a strange combination of personalities. Needless to say, he didn't find himself home a lot when both of his parents were home. It wasn't as though their personalities clashed, it was just the opposite; but they grew tired of each other as much as anyone, which was why father took off for a few days out of the months.

Dracierous snorted, smoke exhaling from his nostrils, 'I'm leaving, mother.'

Sonea offered futile arguments to the back of her son.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dracierous 'Alistair' Carstairs was a half-blood; his father a dragon while his mother a witch. He had been born with a form of albinism, though it had mutated. His eyes were a dark silver; his hair, which hung about his shoulders, offered a more natural silver color while his skin was a darker shade of silver than his eyes.

Alistair found himself nearing the Oceans Whispers, the walkways allowed him to walk carefree with the lighting, though his feet took him off the beaten path, his nostrils flared with a familiar scent and he grinned; revealing the sharp teeth.

As he walked towards the origin, his mind wandered. He thought of his own immediate family, of his mother and father. He thought of his time at the School, though that line of thought darkened his mood and he pulled himself out of his own head. Besides, he had reached his destination.

'Is this where you were lurking, Celeste? You should know better to be out and about alone, especially with all of what is going on.' One could almost hear the grin that spread across his face as he addressed her.