And so it begins [Rumi]

He had woken up with a migraine from hell, a tense body, queasiness and so much noise inside of his head that his own breathing only furthered agitated the situation. He couldn't do anything except close his eyes tightly as he curled up in his bed and did his best not hurl.


He found himself waking back up in his bed, his migraine had died down and most of the queasiness was gone. The loud noises in his head had become the low sound of static in his mind. He still felt off and under the weather, but he had to get up and at least try to help himself while he could. Rolling out of bed, he'd find that the sheets were sticky and damp. He had apparently sweated alot when he went back to sleep earlier...Was he sick then and that was why he was feeling so off today? Yeah. That was it....He was just sick and needed to address it. Right.


He woke with a gasp and a jolt only to find he had was somehow on the floor of his kitchen on his side? What in the world....? He would wince and grimace as he forced his aching body to move as he propped himself up to look around. The kitchen light was on and from the looks of things....he was....preparing food? He would blink at that one as he carefully got to his feet, using the counter to steady himself before squinting at what was around him.

He had pulled out the cutting board and sat a knife next to it, but why or what he was going to do next with said items was a blank. Seriously? What was wrong with him? And why did he keep blacking out and then waking up in odd situations? This was concerning. He was going to make a note right now to call the doctor first thing in the morning to be checked out. There was too much strangeness happening in one day for him to ignore. Clearly whatever was going on with him was beyond just some bad bug.


Golden eyes would snap open as the young man took a deep yet soft gasping breath in, his body that had been lying prone on the cold hard floor of the grocery story finally coming to life again. Unlike the previous black outs he remembered how he got here. He had jotted down his reminder to call the doctor and then after gathering himself enough he recalled he needed to get some onions and with this unknown sickness about thought it would be a good idea to also buy some more green tea and broths. He had checked the clock before he left his apartment leaving with enough time to get to the store and back before it closed and before curfew kicked in.

He had went to store with a simple mission, but it seemed nothing was going to simple today. He recalled that he started to feel dizzy and was about to head towards the front of the place for help...when that helliacous headache from earlier came back with a vengeance. He remembered it bringing him to the ground and that was indeed the cause of why he was on the floor now, but...what didn't make sense was why he was still here and not waking up in the hospital instead? Even stranger still was the fact that he had been left in this place at all. Surely the employees would've noticed him, yes? So what happened?

Closing his eyes before pushing himself to get up, it would take a moment of stabilizing and refocusing himself before he could attempt to walk and look around. The store was definitely closed alright with the lights being out and all. Though as he walked around and saw how some shelves were turned over and how goods were shattered all over, it seemed like this place had been raided or something, but...when did that happen in this place guarded by Five?

Not liking where that train of thoughts was leading him, he would make his way carefully to the front of the store and....out of the broken view window. As he stepped outside, glass crunching under his shoes and the heavy rain instantly drenching him, the pink haired young man could not help stop the sinking sensation as his stomach twisted in an uncomfortable way. If the situation with the store was strange, then it was tamed in comparison to what he was seeing now. Destroyed buildings and what looked like fires being dowsed by the heavy rains. The city....had been attacked?

He would shiver as he literally shook his head to clear those thoughts away. No, no. This...this was just a bad dream. If he just went home and laid down bed, he would wake up and find this all gone.

Yeah. Just a...just a bad dream. Right. Get home.

He would tell himself all this to try to keep himself calm as he forced his legs to move and not look at anything too hard. This was too surreal to be reality for him and his mind that had already suffered enough for one day was not having any of whatever this new insanity was.

While he walked through that cold rain, his mind racing he would find himself coming to a halt halfway to the apartments as a strange black creature fell from the sky above and plopped down in his path. As the strange thing wiggled and shifted like some horrific cockroach, Snow felt the blood drain from him as he felt nothing but dread at seeing that thing shift and morph until finally with a strange gruggle and scream it launched itself straight at him.

Okay maybe that sound was actually coming from him as he reacted to the attack, his body sidestepping the whooshing thing that slid to a halt and then turned to come back at him. This time that thing was met with the solid metal of a trash can lid and some piece of pipe the pink haired male had managed to find and grab.

Yes that is right damn it! That roach thing was not going to kill him. Yeah he was scared and screaming and didn't give two hoots if anyone saw him or if he got in trouble for property damage and theft or whatever. All he knew right now he was in a do or die situation... Needless to say, the way he fought was a clear indicator he was not going to be the one dying tonight.

As the strange roach blob black thing became still and ceased its attack, Snow would keep hold of the pipe and trash can lid backing up slowly as he kept his eyes on that thing. If it was anything like a real roach it was not dead.....and he was not about to get jumped from behind by it either. So for now with heavy breaths and a shivering body, he begin to make his retreat praying this time he could make it to what he hoped was the safety of his apartment home and bed.

The air was filled with sounds, smoke, and cinders that were only becoming even more scattered and thick thanks to the pouring rain and winds kicked up by the storm. The skies were painted black, red, and other colors that were hard to put into words and the world around him was such a blur of coldness, wetness, clutter and chaos that the trembling young man's mind was having a hard time accepting that this hell was real. And yet... the way the coldness sunk into his skin and bit right into his bone like a sharp knife... the way each intake of air made his lungs burn and at times had him coughing just to breathe properly as he continued to back away from the creature he had down in this disorienting hellscape...The suffering caused from these things and that cursed headache of his made for unwelcomed slap in the face. This was no nightmare. This was real. His home was being torn down and set ablaze by the unknown things from who-knew-where and if he wanted survive then....

That line of thinking immediately shut down his racing thoughts as he stopped retreating backwards and became still. Closing his eyes only for a second, he took in a deep breathe and let the breath out slowly as golden eyes snap back open, this time set in a serious face of determination and focus instead of fear and panic.

Okay, Snow. Calm down and think. How do you get home without potentially getting badly injured or something worse, hmm? Where are you?

Golden eyes would quickly scan the area looking at his options while still keeping alert for anything that may try to get at him. He had three choices: East, back the way he came, or through what he liked to call the Bridge building. Well considering he wasn't even sure what the hell that black blob roach thing was, he sure as hell was not about to get closer to it. Yeah, he managed to somehow beat it into submission in his panic with his impromptu "sword and shield", but who knew what else it could do? Or even if it was dead. Curious and eager to learn about new things as he was he knew better to go poking about at something underprepared or without a plan. Life had already taught him some rather harsh lessons in that department and that was over stuff no where near this level.

So then East or the Bridge building?

They both had their pros and cons, but getting home safe and in piece was the goal here. The Bridge building would get him home quicker for sure. He had passed through that building when he was felt more on the adventurous side and was in no rush to go home. It was a quiet being with a few residents there that took care of cats and other stray animals in the area. Seeing it its state now though his heart ache a bit. He hopped the folks and animals got out of there before whatever happened to it made it like it was now. Considering the condition of the place from a glance there was a high a chance it was unstable....and he did not want to be injured or buried alive by whatever could possibly come down upon him in his travels through that place among...other potential unpleasantries.... The other thing that crossed the idea out of his was the fact that even if he did miraculously make it home, he was still screwed.

He had no way to know if the building was even safe to get in and even it was.... He wouldn't be able to defend himself well if something came for him. He was pretty sure the trash can lid and the already pretty bent up piece metal had a very short life span before they broke or became useless to him...and on top of that. Of course he would have to live on one 7th floor of the building! Brilliant, right? Just brilliant!

Yeah. No. Death by stairs, trapping himself in a corner, falling debris and whatever else this hell could throw at him at any second? That sound worse than the Bridge building or going too close for comfort to roach blob 300 over there. No. No sir. Hell no! He was not about to listen to his illogical panic side now that he was back to his sense again...even if the damn headache was annoyingly still around.

Well then that left only one choice didn't it? Right. Wincing a bit thanks to the sharp pain of the headache flaring a bit, he would steady himself and shift to take the path that headed east and towards the shopping district. A longer and more exposed route with is own issues? Yes, but it did take him through the shopping district, so maybe there was something more useful there to use against whatever these things were or maybe he could find the Vanguard or some other law enforcer or something....

All he could do was pray this was choice was not about to make this nightmarish hell even more horrific than it already was.

His body was trembling from the rain that soaked and chilled him to the bone. The adrenaline and instinct to survive in full swing, overriding anything for the moment that may slow him down or cause him to hesitate in this hell. However, he was no fool. He wouldn't fear and panic take the reigns nor would he completely disregard how his body, mind, and soul was feeling in this moment, his mind was a quickly whirling machine that would somehow keep a notes and tabs on things in the background while he kept a tight hold on the reigns of control as he pushed forward taking in new data that was thrown at him as he move.

Much like the section of the city he had come from, the path to the east that led into the shopping district was no different. Debris, smoke, cinders...it was all here along with....

The sudden sharp pain of the headache would force him to temporarily stop in his place as he released an extremely quiet suction of air that was release on a hiss buried under the noises of the rain and the destroyed rolled around him. How he managed to stay standing and not drop the items in his hand was beyond him as his vision became black and unfocused for a moment, but then just as suddenly as it came the headache began to calm and with the calm his vision slowly became normal again.

...Right in time to spot the those weird ass monster in the distance. And wouldn't know it they were headed right towards him! Of course. Of course they would be. Why.The.Fuck.Not.

Oh yes, he was irritated and becoming rather angry at the situation and perhaps if he had less control of himself it might made him do something reckless like scream out loud or start laughing before charging forward with his temp weapons to face them. Thankfully he would do none of this as he kept his silence and stillness for the moment observing them.

They did not seem be aware of him, so that gave him time to make actions of his own. His eyes would scan the area quickly accessing what options were open to him and in this case would not get him killed immediately.

There was debris and options open for him for both sneaking past or hiding from the creatures. Or he could toss the die down and see how he faired with the canal system. Heh. Fuck no. While it did lead to a safer path if he did somehow make it across who knew what was in the water both from the destruction and the blob rain from earlier? Besides a watery death wasn't very appealing either. As for sneaking while he was indeed graceful and elegant in a normal situation, he was no where near a normal situation right now and pushing his luck in space he new he did not excel in or could would cast chances into a bucket of 50/50 was not something he wished to do. So he would attempt to use the one thing he did know he was not too shabby in. Using his strange mind to his advantage...Or at least that is what prayed would be the outcome as he kept his eye on the where those creatures were while moving carefully and quietly around that twisted landscape in search of a place to hide and hopefully find a different way of moving forward.....provided he was not caught or noticed before then.

Location? Found. Progress to said found Location? Cautious and careful to not alert the ones lingering about in the street, yet with enough speed to get to his targeted location and slink inside the darkness of the place with not much issue.

With the rain no longer drenching him and filling his ears with its loudness, the world around him became more muted as he stepped as lightly as he could across the shattered glass that snapped and popped as it crumbled back to sand under his foot and fallen debris that sought to impede his entrance into the building. As he moved golden orbs would scanned the area, keeping his breathe controlled under all the trembling his body was doing. He was a sopping mess of drenched clothes and pink locks that had become flatten against his head and face from the rain. The rain water dripping off of him and his temporary weapons for now, creating small droplets quietly upon the floor of the cafe as he took well measured and calculated steps as his mind quickly evaluated the area, noting what was worth noting and tossing out options that were worthless or more trouble than he was willing to bare right now....and he was in no way wanting to be too cocky while was at the mercy of Lady Luck. She had managed to favor him thus far, his choices leading him to his current location without much issue. And it seemed she would continue to favor him golden eyes would land on the counter.

Without stopping, he would shift his careful yet deliberate path ever so slightly so that he could quickly arrive at his hiding spot, slinking around it with the elegance, grace, and silence of a cat before he settled among the scattered bottles and items back there. Relaxing his body a bit, he would carefully lower his lid and bent pipe to rest them quietly against the floor being careful not to clank them in any way as he let out a silent and slow breath of air.

He could hear them... those things. Heard them waltzing around the streets of the hellscape like they owned the place. It was something that terrified and sickened him on one hand, but on another made him deeply curious about so many things. This picture perfect place now shifted into a hellscape that belonged to those beasts that sought to harm and kill him. Was this...actually their world too? What were they? Where did they come from and why were they all of a suddenly bursting forth like a river rushing forward after breaking a dam? Were they always the--?

A sudden sharp pain in his head would interrupt his thoughts as he gritted his teeth, his eyes closed tight for a moment as the commanding, yet calm voice of Him spoke to him.

Hey, daydreamer. We need move. Get up!

"Jesus can you not make my head split when talking to me...." He found himself grumbling lowly under breath as he opened his eyes squinting against the pain as he shifted in his spot to move.

"Hmph. Not fault you can't handle all of this!" Was the cocky response of Him, but then as if coming to save him from the torture and energy drain, She would speak, her present and voice easing the pain with familiarity and Her motherly present. [/i]"Do not bully the darling unless you want to get us killed. I swear you men are hopeless without me."[/i] Okay she was motherly until that last part. Really? Was that dig necessary? Were two voices in his head necessary? Or what was apparently about to be --

"Shut up." He would command the two voices in his head, his voice hardly audible as he froze in his spot his body tensing. The voices obeyed the command giving him much needed silence and the space to be able to focus and hear the world around him clearly again. There were new noises here...what was it he heard?

Footsteps....rapid, but definitely not the usual slinking about he had come to associate with the monsters. No these footsteps were definitely human.

A flash of hope went through him before it was quickly smothered out and replaced with uncomfortable tension and alertness. Keeping himself as small and still as possible in his hidden spot, he would keep listening as the hurried steps belonging to more than one person got closer and then...they were speaking.

A heavy accented woman, Sunbird. A man's over what sounded like a radio or walkie talkie piercing the hissing and static of the connection, Starling...and another also another male, Jackdaw.

The Chapel...keys...The Vanguard being pre-occupied....What? What was all this? Were these people the ones that caused whatever the hell happened here and why? Who were they and what were they going to do at the Chapel? Being careful not to bump or rattle anything, the pinked haired male would take a careful peek around the counter to see who or what he was dealing with. Golden eyes took in the four hooded figures that were there, took in the words they were saying...took in as much detail as he could so that he could hand it all over to the proper authority later.

Though he would soon find himself wondering if there would be a later at what happened next. That guy...Jackdaw. He...He could smell him somehow...?

Snow would take in the red mask and strangely colored eyes as he pulled himself back into hiding as quickly, carefully, and as quietly as he could. He would keep silent, controlling his fear and his breathing, his heart beating wildly in his chest as his body grew even colder than before. This guy....whoever or whatever he was...Snow knew deep down this group and this guy was no good and while he knew nothing about the one with him, there was something about the way he spoke and the energy that he gave off that made ever fiber in the young man scream to run and not get caught by him. This guy...was a hunter and he was now his prey.

What to do? What to do?

His eyes would dart around at what he had at his disposal. Bottles, debris...okay, okay...yeah...right..right.

Coming up with some form of plan, he would quietly collect a few bottles close to him and then steading himself into calmness, he would intentionally roll the bottles in a sudden way as if something had suddenly moved or rushed away from the counters. He would roll and cause the commotion to the left side of the corner. Hoping that by doing so that the guy would be drawn to the sound and either go investigate it or move in some fashion towards the opposite way thinking he would have fled in the direction of the sound. However, what Snow would not do was flee. Instead using the sounds as a distraction and cover he was able to tuck himself right under the counter, having replaced his temp weapons with something a bit more dangerous and way more familiar and comfortable in his hands - a discarded switch blade someone had left behind the counter probably when they tried to get away from this nightmare when it first started. With everything in play, Snow would stay completely still and quiet, his sense on high alert as the horrible game of cat and mouse began between him and the one known as Jackdaw.

He would stay absolutely silent in the spot he had decided to hide in, clutching that switch blade tightly in his hands as he listened to his hunter to keep track of where this dude was in the place, but also to get a better read on what he was actually dealing with.

There was no doubt that whoever this guy was, he was a predator that enjoyed the hunt. As for the killing part he could not say, but he wasn't about to let the situation get the point where he would have to even so much as get a taste of that either. No....he was not going to die here. No matter what. Back to his hunter.

The other spoke clearly and called him mouse. He taunted and questioned him all the while having the confidence of one who knew without a doubt that they would win in the end. This being was intelligent and aware like a human. He would not be an easy opponent to take on or one he could take on without thought.

A fact driven home even harder when he was able to get a good look at the other's face...That face of razor sharp teeth, a glowing green eye and a mask....so distorted and broken that it was a wonder it even stayed on that face. The sight would have made most freeze or even whimper perhaps, but for the young man that stayed hidden? He wouldn't make a peep as the sight snapped his racing thoughts into a sudden focus as his behavior and personality shifted into a different one completely. The display of power of the weapon or maybe even an altered body part that was shown to him when the other erased the bottle from existence only caused the change within the boy to snap into play in instant rather than a slow take over that such shifts in his personality did in normal situations. He was no longer the one running as some silver of something long buried and barely remembered from his younger days grabbed hold of him and set his determination to live on fire with powerful rebellion he had not felt in forever. It was unfamiliar and yet familiar feeling and one that he decided to trust rather than question as he let it guide his next actions and way of thinking.

Oho? He was a rat now and no longer a cute mouse? My my my. Such harshness...and words that had came with a price of course. No one was allowed to disrespect him like that and get away with it, but he wasn't your typical hot head buffoon or vengeful wraith. Nah. That took way too much time and energy. Why do that when he could simply give back what was dished out in his own way, right here and right now, hmm? A much more simpler, energy saving, and efficient plan no? Well then, shall we get to it then? Right.

Moving as quietly as possible, the boy would unfold himself and move from his hiding spot staying low and as out of sight as possible as he placed the knife between his teeth as he grabbed one closed bottle of oil from the ground and tucked it securely under one arm before moving to scoop up an open bottle of some form of slick sweet substance from the ground.

To cover up the sounds of what he was actually doing, the pink haired boy would actually speak to the other as he hurriedly poured out the contents of sweet stuff on the floor making a messy path towards the kitchen.

"Your name is...Jackdaw, no? I have to wonder what I really am to you. A mouse or a rat?" he would ask somehow talking around the knife in his mouth in a calm collected way as he made it to the doors of the kitchen. With the contents of the bottle now exhausted,  he would place it quietly to the side before he would let the bottle of oil slip into his right hand catching it in his grip and holding it by its neck before it could even touch the ground as he took the switch blade in his left hand and stood up fully revealing his location to the other, a smirk on his face rather a look of fear as he pointed the blade at the other.

"You want to see how boring I am Cat? Catch me first and maybe you'll get to find out." He would taunt the other and then giving a playful wink, he would slip through the doors of the kitchen and scan the place quickly to get both the lay out of the place and also to find a hiding spot before that guy caught up to him. He just prayed his smaller trap would stall the guy long enough to indeed not be caught....and if he failed? Well, he would just have to deal with that problem if it indeed became a reality...  
***

He would listen to the other as he had made his hopefully useful trap. He would not speak until he was finally face-to- face with the taller male and got a really good look at him.

The guy was certainly a beast in ever sense of the word. Everything from the twisted face and fangy grin the other gave to that twisted shiny metal arm the other had that glowed with the same uncomfortable hue of sickening green as his exposed eye did...all of it was wrong and made no sense to the part of him that was screaming for him to run. But run he did not. Fear was overridden by a rebellious fire within him that had long since laid dormant, it was a familiar feeling...maybe his instinct to survive or maybe something else. Who knew or cared right now? That matter was irrelevant to helping him survive right now.

What he did know was that the voices in his head seemed to align with this strange fire within and knew even if he didn't have a chance against this guy running away like a scared chicken was not the answer. No if he was going to run and get away, he had to make sure he was able to at least do some damage to this beast and hopefully get him to slink back to whatever hellhole he had come from. His mind was set on what he needed to do and for once those things within him were in agreement with him and the each other. No arguing or laughing, just a quiet hum and absolute focus.

To the man's words, the smaller pink haired male would give an exaggerated frown of sadness as he spoke. "Aww. I've heard too much and now I have become a rat and unworthy dance partner in your beautiful eyes? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Such tragedy," he would say in a sarcastic theatrically way that would seem unusual for him to the normal eye, but this wasn't a normal eye he was performing before and his intention with his acting was to try to mock and infuriate the guy enough that he would not think and attack reckless and well?

It kind of sort of worked?

He saw the sharp tipped tail the other revealed, heard the strange words that the guy spoke, but did he did not respond back as he started moving at the same time the other decided to swing that tail his way.

He would make a quick dodge towards the kitchen doors, letting his body drop to the floor and used the momentum do a surprisingly elegant...ish roll through the kitchen doors. As he was rolling he felt the wind of that tail go over him as he barely made it pass and into the kitchen. Yes... he took some damage to his left shoulder and upper arm as small, sharp pieces of debris bit into him as he did the move, but he did not care as he scrambled to his feet his eyes scanning the kitchen to gain a lay out of the place - marking exits or ways to get back out if the guy followed him in along with keeping an eye out for anything of use to him while he was in here. How he did not stab himself with the knife or hold onto the oil bottle without somehow dropping it or breaking was a mystery in its own right, but one he would not ponder at all in the moment. As the young man moved, he used his teeth to uncork the oil bottle and let that liquid make a path as he moved deeper within the place finally stopping at the opposite end of the place and turning to face the door. Between himself and the door was a long row of stoves and ovens in the middle with sinks and places for dishes and other items to the left and right of the area. Not trying to hid now, he would keep his position at the end of the ovens, the knife now back in his hand as he watched and listened for what exactly that beast would do...