Jephthah's Daughter and The Return of the Prodigal Son

/ooc Yes, I'm having a biblical sort of day :D. I apologize for my pretension.

The first thing she noticed when she stepped outside and looked down the long walkway was that, even at a distance, Marthinus looked -good-. Very good - there was color in his face and he seemed to have filled out where before his trip he had looked as though he were fading away. It was something about the way he walked, though, that really caught her attention. While he moved along with no sign of his age or recent health troubles, he went slowly, with the gait of a man who had resigned himself to carrying the world on his shoulders. He had always been dignified, unfailingly so - now he looked almost fantastically regal, like an aging king wearing an ill fitting crown.

Trusting that she'd given enough time for security to do their thing and make sure he was alone (not that she really cared either way), she paused only for a moment before breaking into a run down the path, the change in her pockets jingling like little bells in the otherwise quiet night.

"Marthinus!"Â? Forgetting to be careful, she launched herself at him, full-on throwing her arms around his shoulders in a gesture that was half hug, half collision. "I thought you'd -left-."Â? Not knowing what else to say, and completely unwilling to let go, she simply repeated herself, softly but emphatically. "I thought you'd left."Â?

/ooc permission to bear hug Marthinus, as well as to perceive various things about him. Roz plz smack me if I got anything wrong :X

His senses were erratic, if anything. The different smells around him, pungent then mute - the noises he could pick in the distance, the things he could see or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Old dog, weird tricks. Marthinus smiled a little at his bad joke as he listened to the guards secure the area around him. Part of him was proud of Simon protecting his clan before he let his emotions get the best of him. That was the leader in him - Marthinus knew he inherited something good from the patriarch.

He looked up at the sound of a familiar voice yelling his name. Lowering his hands he couldn't help but grin as he saw Nova barreling out towards him, yelling his name. His eyebrows furrowed a bit. Goodness she was running, he thought to himself when she suddenly threw herself at him, hugging him so hard that months ago it probably would have broken him in half but now he found himself holding her as she kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.

Marthinus steadied them and he hugged her back, as hard as he could. His dear Nova, the one who literally carried him to the hospital and read to him while he lay in his death bed, his body slowly rotting itself out. Her coppery red hair and roguish smile, always with a sizable chip on her shoulder and a right hook to settle any argument. And what an amazing mind. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her hard.

Marthinus whispered into her hair, trying hard not to let the moment choke him with tears of his own. 'I'm here, dear. I'm here.'

It took Nova a moment to realize that before Marthinus had left for South Africa, a hug like that would have sent them both sprawling. In fact, she would have had to entirely support his weight if there was any hope of them staying upright. And yet, here they were, with Marthinus standing very much on his own two feet. In fact, it was she who was leaning against him, not the other way around as she would have expected.

She sniffed, not quite crying but close to it, and gave a little laugh at Marthinus’s assurance. “Yeah…you sure are.”

That he’d given a few people cause for alarm with his arrival, she chose not to mention. Instead she pulled back, but kept one hand on his shoulder.

“And you’re better,” she asserted, “aren’t you?”

It scared her to think what that must mean. Eternity. Unless the werewolves…

…but that didn’t even bear considering. Besides, she wasn’t even sure she believed in ‘the big bad wolves’.

Better.

There were many things he could say about his recovery but being 'better' wasn't one of them. He felt the wind chafe at the skin around his mouth. It was a soft, scaled pink from the memory of his first kill's blood running down his chin. Even now he was fighting the urge to wipe at the imaginary blood. Smiling only made it more noticeable to him, but he kept trying to remember Hammerthynn's words. He'd get over it, he needed to embrace it but how could he when he was so repulsed by what he was.

Better.

Marthinus forced a smile and took her hand on his shoulder, holding it up to his mouth and kissing her soft skin gently. 'I'm healthy and well, yes.' Better?

Not by a long shot.

'And what of you? How is Mr. Evans?' Marthinus tipped his head and gave her a cheeky grin. 'I hope the Starburst treatement is doing well for him?'

Marthinus was a classy guy – there was no way he would be forthcoming about his personal life, including his health, and in truth Nova didn’t expect it. She gave a weak little grin at her dear friend’s reply, certain she was missing something, and let her hand drop to her side.

“That’s…good, that’s really good…” She wasn’t, in fact, at all sure it –was- good, but she forced her doubts down once again. It was stupid to worry about why he was healthy and what was wrong with his too-chapped lips and what he might be hiding – none of that was as important as the fact that he was here.

She looked down at her shoes, grinning in spite of herself at the mention of Evans. Why did Marthinus take such an interest in the two of them, anyway? Was it because of the way they’d met, in his hospital room? It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment that Marthinus might have reason to be offended by her taking a shine to the reporter, considering the way Kyle had treated him, and she thought to be relieved that he seemed to approve instead, mysterious as that was.

“He’s doing good. Lost some weight but he still looks good na…he’s healthy otherwise.”

She gave a look over her shoulder, wondering if they would get some kind of signal that it was okay to head in. Seeing nothing obvious, she turned back to Marthinus.

“So…” She laughed. “Shit, it’s cold out here – I think it’s probably okay for us to go in, I’m sure we’ll hear guns cocking if not…” She tried to play that last off like she was mostly kidding but she wasn’t honestly certain of what Simon might be doing up in his office. Her slight smile faded and she shrugged a little. “…yeah bad joke. Everything’s pretty crazy right now, I guess.”

Marthinus tucked his hands back into his pockets and watched as Nova tried to explain about Evans. Good man, he thought. Anyone who could make Nova smile like that was a good man. Eventually her grin did fade as she looked back at the Domicile, he supposed the cavalry was waiting on them. Still, something was making him hold back.

Hesitantly he reached up and absently wiped at his lips, 'I'm not sure why I'm here, Nova.' His voice trailed off. 'It might not be a good idea right now.'

So why had he come? Why leave the protective warmth of the pack, granted a group of people he didn't know, to come back to a place where he didn't belong? Because it was familiar? Because it was home? The thin line between two worlds was effectively tearing him apart and he didn't know what to do about it. Instead he just stood where he was, hands in his pockets.

'Probably not a good time,' he said wistfully. Time being all that he had.

Nova frowned at Marthinus’s admission, wondering what was going through the guy’s head. Of course he should be here. Everyone was worried about him, no one knew what was happening…of course he should come back, and make everything okay.

She put her hand around his arm, as though to lead him inside. In all honesty she wasn’t certain he was even talking to –her- any more – he seemed a million miles away.

“Hey…” She said, softly, then again. “Hey, yeah, sure you should be here. Things are just a little weird, I’m sure it’ll all get straightened out…” She frowned, then gave the arm a little squeeze. “I’m really glad you came back.”

Carol bumped by one of the mercs, running past him and out of the front of the Abby on her way to Nova and Marthinus. Even in the darkness of night she could see their shadows outlined in the distance. She ran down the road, ignoring the troublesome rocks and flung her sandals as she approached them.

'MARTHINUS!!!' Carol ran up and jumped up on him, hugging him as hard as she could. 'Oh!'

She dropped off him and then gave him a puzzled look. When she last saw him he was half dead in his hospital room, his sheets covered with blood from the bullet wounds and the huge bite mark on his neck. He was old, pale and dancing precariously close to death's door but here he was now, standing tall and straight, a small smile on his healthy colored face and...

'Oh my god.' Carol took a step back and looked at him head to toe. 'You're...sexy? What the hell happened?'

Without his trademark tie he was standing there on the road, light colored pants and shirt that was opened at the throat. His sleeves were rolled up and Carol immediately noticed the muscles on his arms. Reaching out she grabbed his arm and pushed the sleeve up further revealing a rather muscular arm.

She pointed at him, shocked and dismayed. 'You got hot, what did they do to you!?'

'Carol, really now.'

Marthinus blushed profusely as Carol ogled him, touching his arms and accusing him of being attractive. He crossed his arms in front of his chest in an attempt to shield him from her eyes but it was something he had noticed almost immediately as well.

Standing in front of his bathroom mirror at the Den he had noticed his body change in subtle ways. He had become incredibly stronger and his body leaner. Only standing at five foot eight, he carried his weight well but was extremely lean - he had not lost that physique but now his body resembled not his many years but maybe half that. His abdomen had tightened as did his chest and now the muscles underneath could be seen; the skin on his body retreated and no longer sagged. His narrow hips developed significant muscle definition and the transformation was literally from head to toe. His muscle mass must have easily tripled. Even his fallen arches recovered but alas, he did not regain his hair.

With a self conscious smile he rubbed his bald head. 'As usual, Carol, you leave me at a loss for words.'

Nova froze at the sound of rattling pebbles, wondering if the guards who had kept a comfortable perimeter were now closing in, but when she turned she saw only Carol making her way up the path. She gave the two humans (alleged humans, her mind helpfully interjected) a little space and tuned into her surroundings. There were mercs all around them, but they watched silently and made no move to interfere just yet. She wondered if they would, and decided it would be pretty stupid to make any sudden moves.

Disquieted, she faked a chuckle at Marthinus and Carol’s exchange and looked up at the sky, speaking loudly enough to be overheard.

“Oh, I don’t think he wants to share his beauty secrets.” She realized after she opened her mouth that her statement probably came off as passive aggression. Usually she was just aggressively aggressive with some extra aggression thrown in but she wouldn’t dream of using her usual slightly bullying methods to get information out of Marthinus. She gave him a wink to let him know she was at least half kidding. “Wants to keep them all for himself, he does.”

With that, she took a step toward the domicile, then paused again, still speaking loudly. “I think about fifty guys would breathe easier if we just went inside without causing any waves. I don’t think anyone is STUPID enough to HURT you but if we’re going to be watched we might as well have the watchers in plain sight, don’t you think?”

Carol grabbed Marthinus hand and dragged him with her to pick up her shoes. 'Let's go, let's go!' Part of her was excited beyond belief to have Marthinus home, but there was still the part that was aware of the type of threat he posed to the clan. Still, she didn't care as she slipped on her sandals and gently tugged on Marthinus arm.

Simon wouldn't reject him, not after the fight he put up at the hospital, Carol wagered. Marthinus was blood and as far as she was concerned, could always be trusted. She could feel him resisting her pull the tiniest bit but she ignored it and smiled back him.

'I know Simon will be happy to see you're feeling better even if he doesn't say it. You know how he is, Marthinus.'

And Carol kept telling herself that as they slowly approached the Domicile.

The Mercs were keeping their distance – probably sweeping the perimeter to make sure Marthinus hadn’t brought any of his new friends along for a tour. Nova relaxed a little, thinking she’d made an impression. Now she was mostly wondering what Carol was –on-. Hadn’t they both been in the room when Simon had called Marthinus ‘the subject’? How the human could keep her persistent optimism in place was beyond her.

Well, she supposed Simon’s reaction wasn’t the immediate problem – right now she was much more concerned about one of the boys (and girls) getting trigger happy. Being surrounded by gunmen was hardly a good situation to be in.

She took Marthinus’s offered hand and walked alongside the two humans (they were both human, right?) to the entrance, where Marthinus at the very least would no doubt be searched for weaponry.

Continuing to keep her voice raised loudly enough for anyone listening to hear, she shoved open the door and announced their presence.

“I think we should be fine, as long as no one gets jumpy.”

He watched Carol run her hand over the seam of the hidden elevator door and with her normal flair, walked in and spun on the balls of her feet back at him. She held her hands out, giving Marthinus a pixie like smile, urging him to step into the elevator that would take them down to the Domicile. He had done this more times than he could remember, but suddenly it all felt wrong; still Marthinus gave her a soft smile and stepped into the car with Nova and the three of them descended down.

The entryway from the elevator curved slightly inward to the right when suddenly Simon's tall figure appeared in the center of the lobby. He hadn't seen him in his hospital room but Hammerthynn had described his vampire visitor as insulting, imposing and arrogant - not at all words he himself would use to describe Simon but as Marthinus approached the patriarch, Simon overall exuded a different kind of presence. Curiously Marthinus found himself agitated.

Along with the pain of waking up from gun shot wounds, Marthinus was acutely aware of his surroundings, the sounds and smells were intense and over powering but it aided in his honed ability to read body language. As an orator and businessmen, he could read people like an open book and immediately he felt every signal in his body begin to twitch. Something was wrong, very very wrong. He did not feel it with Nova or Carol but as he approached Simon's unfeeling expression, he felt hairs on the back of his neck threaten to turn into hackles as he reached out to shake Simon's hand.

'Simon.' Marthinus nodded, his hand steady but his heart racing. He slowed his breathing to help control the flutter of his heart and as he felt the rushing of blood in his ears, he could see that Simon noticed it as well. The taller man's eyes narrowed down at Marthinus, concerning replacing indifference.

'Very good to see you again.'

As the words floated out of his mouth, Simon's hand connected with Marthinus and every inner alarm went off. He pumped Simon's hand once and pulled back quickly, looking at his hand for a moment. He could smell Simon's scent and the warmth of it surged up his arm. Something about Simon...something was telling Marthinus to react and slowly he began to feel it.

He was going to change, right there, in the Domicile.

Nova's shoulders were knots of tension as they exited the elevator and came face to face with Simon - not surprising considering there were mercs waiting for them to make a wrong move and her creator hadn't exactly been ready to slay the fatted calf on Marthinus's behalf. Even so, something nagged at her subconscious, telling her this was a bad scene in more ways than they realized.

We shouldn't have come inside.

She stubbornly fought against that notion, telling herself it was ridiculous - this was Marthinus's home. And see, they were making nice...in their way. But she couldn't shake the sense that something was very wrong, and it would be extremely unwise to ignore that feeling. Was her perception picking up on the general tension of the situation or was it something else - that was the question.

She turned to study Marthinus, looking for an answer, and noticed his breathing had gone shallow. Frowning, she stole a quick look at Simon, then reached out to touch Marthinus's arm.

"Hey...you need to sit down maybe?"Â?

Marthinus had been a very sick man not too long ago, and in Nova's mind it made perfect sense that he would try to appear better than he was. The gig was up now, though - he must still be sick.

/ooc lemmie know if what she picked up on is not okay

Carol watched Marthinus reaction with complete confusion...and then it dawned on her. 'Marthinus, you're not going to...' Her words were cut off as her CEO, mentor and just overall fun daddy type guy took a step back away from Simon. She could see from her vantage point that he had broken out into flushed sweat and his eyes were dilating. Carol could see Marthinus trying to contain the look of despair and quell the rush of adrenaline. He kept looking at Simon, like he was trying to figure something out.

'What the hell is going on?' Carol asked Simon, for the first time since he snapped at her in his office. Quietly, but quickly she sent it to him so only he could hear. 'Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?'

Just then, as if the moment wasn't already escalating beyond her control, the Domicile alarm began to go off. It was the first time she had heard it, but she knew there was an alarm system in the Domicile, in fact it had just been upgraded by Alec. Suddenly a Merc came running from the elevator on the opposite side of the entrance elevator. Approaching Simon, Carol walked towards the Merc and held her hands out?

'What the fuck?' The Merc looked frightened, quite a feet considering their training, Carol thought - only one person could...'OH man, you have got to be KIDDING ME!'

The Merc looked at Simon and then at Carol, backing up to the computer panel on the wall. He logged in and showed them the cause of the alert.

Any chance of having 2007 going smoothly was rapidly going out the window. Simon did not have to have extensive knowledge of werewolves to not recognize when someone was struggling with a change. Marthinus was changing and his presence had triggered it.

'Why, Marthinus? Why right now?'

Marthinus shook his head and grew more irritable, more agitated as he began to scratch his chapped lips. His pupils had dilated to the size of dinner plates and he seemed to - radiate something. Simon's perception went off the scale as he began picking up the bodily changes in Marthinus. His heart rate, the pheromones he was emitting, the musky smell...no this was going to be bad and when he thought it could not get worse, it did.

The Merc came flying in and showed them what the cameras had picked up on the outskirts of slaughterhouse district. Coming from the same direction as Marthinus, was Ellis.

Simon grabbed Carol and ushered Nova and Marthinus back to the top side elevator. This was not happening, this was not...happening. Carol began to open her mouth but he put his hand on her shoulder and spoke to her with his mind.

'I don't even have the time to explain this. Just trust me and do not question me.' Carol closed her mouth. Simon checked the computer panel inside the elevator and tracked Ellis down again, she had begun to move quickly up the dirt road, blending in and out on purpose. He knew what she was planning on doing, god damn it. Always has to make an entrance. She blurred again and the cameras lost her, just as the elevator doors opened up.

Nova had never been known cool headedness but now she felt so utterly devoid of emotion that logic was the only thing left. Perhaps she had simply reached the limits of her considerable range. She spoke firmly and with surprising calm.

“How do we stop this? Can you tell us what to do?”

Her instincts were to get him to the hospital facilities in Duibne but there might not be time for that. It didn’t look like Marthinus was going to be much help and they were dealing with a complete unknown as far as she was concerned, though Carol and Simon seemed to have a better handle than she did. Maybe one of them knew what had to happen next to stop whatever was about to happen.

At that moment, though, the Merc came in – she had wondered when that would happen – but instead of bolting up to Marthinus he seemed to have a different goal entirely.

Simon reacted to the new information instantly and authoritatively, directing them all to the elevator. She took Marthinus’s wrist as they moved, feeling the racing pulse under his skin, and tried to radiate calm even as dread, belated but present now, settled in.

Having completed the preparations he'd made for Marthinus' departure, Alec grinned. Sure, there may or may not be werewolves, but he sure as hell was going to do what he could to find out more. Getting a locator on Marthinuslocater would certainly manage it. The trick, of course, would be placing it without his notice. Finding a likely area to blend, he waited patiently...until the unthinkable happened.

The coded signal he never wanted to hear had been sent out. Ellis was coming home.

He sent a quick acknowledging signal that would show his location to the poor unfortunate soul that happened to be in the ops chair right now. Of course, none of that mattered - for whatever reason, Simon had pulled her from priority. It was Ellis. He'd place money on her walking in through the front door. She'd know the landscape had changed. She always had. On the bright side, everyone was already in position because of Marthinus.

This night certainly sucked.

Sending a coded message to Simon, he asked for direction. Until then, he'd need to buy time. Managing not to vomit from the tension, he became fully visible and waited next to the entry. On the bright side, he'd look like he had balls of steel on the footage downstairs.

"Bonsoir, Madame Duban."

He didn't need to see her. You can feel the heavy eyes of the predator. It is just a matter of whether or not you can escape their jaws.

He knew she was there, but more importantly, she knew he was there, too. Ellis waited until Alec stepped out of his blending and much to her delight, he greeted her. She was never too sure what to make of the wily young boy toy of her grenade girl. Most definitely there was talent but he was an odd pickle, and so cute.

Ellis took a blended step closer to Alec and with a whisper made herself visible as she brushed up against the amnesiac vampire, running her gloved right hand along the width of his back. 'Hello hello, Alec. Long time no see.' She let her words purr as she brought her lips close to the back of his neck as she passed. 'I see the perception is doing better - that is fabulous.'

She circled him slowly, her eyes looking him up and down. She stopped in front of him, her hands in front of her with her fingers laced together. The picture of innocence wasn't her strong suit but she always got the feeling that she made Alec nervous - but then she got that feeling about a lot of people. Funny what little things you notice, but you always seem to miss the obvious 'I'm going to kill you' vibe.

'So...that was a pretty quick response time. I'm impressed, unless...' she pause and smiled, 'I came at a bad time?'

Just then the hidden elevator entrance vibrated softly and she turned just in time to see Marthinus having what could only be described as 'having a massive cow'.

Why right now. Why, indeed.

Marthinus struggled to hold back the rising pain that was shooting up his back and up into his head. The change was coming on him strong but thankfully not as quickly as his first full moon. Still, the pain was more from fighting it than letting it take him. He sputtered as he tried to speak.

'I...gah, I don't...know.' His jaw clamped down and he felt his back expanding and as if the skin was going to split along his protruding spine. Marthinus turned away from Simon and faced the corner, breathing heavy. 'It's...YOU,' he snarled. 'Something about you and...'

Just then the elevator stopped and the scent of outside wafted into the small steel elevator. The smell of the dirt, the old blood and flesh from the slaughterhouse was filling his nostrils and it made him shudder with painful delight. He tried to hold onto his human side, trying to fight the wolf in him when suddenly that sweet, familiar smell shook him to the core.

Whatever Simon evoked in him was nothing compared to that scent. He felt her name drift softly off his lips.

'Ellis...'

Whatever human was left in him was now gone. An unspeakable feeling rose up in him, a rage so raw, so uncontrolled that it brought an eerie calm to him and he turned to face her, scaring Carol back against the wall of the elevator and as he took a step forward to the oddly perplexed looking Ellis, the change took him over completely.

Alec managed to neither shudder nor wet his pants at the physical contact. He counted both as serious points for the home team. Preparing his response, he heard the elevator arrive and felt the definite presence of a wholly new issue. Perhaps Ginnie was right, God was real and he was about to give Alec a huge gift by solving two problems at once - Marthinus would manage to kill Ellis and be incapacitated enough to not notice him plant a tracker on him as he made his escape. Of course, that would require surviving the next few moments. He also thought it was more than a long shot and certainly would have placed his bet differently in Vegas.

"Oui, madame. You could say that."

This was so not Alec's fight that it made him grin for the first time since Simon said werewolves were real. It wasn't often he was allowed to indulge his cowardice these days. Jumping quickly to the side, he arranged himself so that both threats were in his field of vision, and pressed against the side of the building, having the distinct impression would be an opportunity to blend to its contour when the greeting got rough. Not for the first time in recent days he contemplated how he found himself in these violent situations. Funny where life can bring you in the big city.

Nova clung to Marthinus’s arm, tugging at him, trying to get him to listen, but he paid no attention, turning away from them all to face the corner of the elevator. That something was happening to him could not be denied; all she wanted to do was to stop it and she didn’t know how. It never occurred to her that this was an inevitability, a force of nature she could prevent no more than she could stop a tornado in its tracks. Even when Marthinus growlingly accused them (Simon? Did he mean Simon?) of being at the root of all of this, she couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around the idea that this was completely out of her control.

The elevator doors opened, and everything seemed to happen very fast. She looked over to where Ellis and Alec were standing, and when she looked back, her eyes wide and shocked, Carol was up against the wall and Marthinus…

The –wrongness- of what Marthinus had become was enough to make her knees weak; in fact, she could no longer feel them at all. She wasn’t certain of how she was remaining upright – it was as though some invisible force, not unlike the one that had turned her friend and mentor into this –animal-, was rooting her in place.

Paralyzed, she turned to Simon, her mouth agape, and something about looking to her creator broke the spell. She pointed to the wolf that had taken Marthinus’s place, gasping out a single word.

“He…he…”

She couldn’t seem to get anything else out, and things were happening too quickly, too damn quickly, to linger in shock. She didn’t know what Marthinus (and in spite of her shock, she –knew- it was still him, in a different skin) was planning, or if he was planning anything at all, but she did know that Ellis wouldn’t hesitate to tear him apart if he attacked her, and that certainly looked like his intent if his raised hackles were any indication.

Without further thought, she dove, knowing full well that if she missed she was going to get a mouthful of dirt and gravel.

Carol was having a hard time not freaking the fuck out, but resisted it when Simon pleaded with her to trust him. She did, that wasn't the issue right that second. The issue was that something very fucked up was happening to Marthinus and the one person who already had enough guilt was the cause of it. Everything was moving too quickly, being shoved back into the elevator, Nova and Simon both trying to talk to Marthinus and then his sick, guttural noise that used to be Marthinus' voice. Unconsciously she began to step away from the adorable older man who hired her as a clueless but remorseless intern. Then the proverbial shit the the fan when the elevator doors opened back up.

Marthinus had been struggling, fighting whatever was happening to him but out of the corner of her eye, there stood Ellis and without even looking, Marthinus knew she was there. For fuck sakes, Carol thought - he could smell her.

She was not prepared for what she saw next and with every fiber in her being, she let out a sickened whimper at the sight of Marthinus. His face had completely changed, his mouth had grown bigger, longer and full of fucking huge teeth. The moment his eyes met Ellis his entire body just seemed to relax and he haunched over, his legs changing, ripping through his linen pants and his chest completely shredding his shirt.

Carol lost her breath looking at him and she felt her legs wobble beneath her. She wasn't sure when she started to cry but when her knees hit the floor of the elevator she was already sobbing. It wasn't that Carol had never seen this before - she had in fact seen the bigger man, Hammerthynn, half turn in Marthinus hospital room. The shape shifting wasn't terrifying in the least, and if anything, she was completely enthralled by it. It was because that thing that was rapidly growing hair and looking less and less human with every step out of the elevator was someone she cared so deeply about - the only father she had known since leaving her life behind to come to Tacharan. This was Marthinus T. Steyn changing into something they could never and would never understand.

Carol sobbed as Marthinus change took over completely and when he landed on all fours, he was a total and complete wolf. A snarling, fucking pissed off carnivore with Ellis in his sights. Ignoring the fact that Ellis was back from the dead and standing not five feet away from her, this was the woman who Carol knew hand picked his mother and watched Marthinus grow from a baby to the CEO of one of the nation's most prolific and technologically advanced research centers. Despite who she was, what she was, Marthinus blindly served for Ellis. Lived his life...for her, and now something about her triggered the primal beast in him and he was going to tear her throat out.

Carol ignored Ellis reaction to Marthinus' change and instead she reached out on hands and knees to try and stop him. Ellis was an ancient and if the physiological werewolf laws were anything like vampires - she had 1500 years of strength and power on him. 300lb werewolf or not, Ellis would fuck him up twice as hard as he could.

Suddenly everything slowed down as she watched Marthinus spring at Ellis, jaws open and claws out. Nova suddenly threw herself at Marthinus and Simon pushed past Carol, leaving her on the ground as they all tried to reach Marthinus before he reached Ellis.

With a deep breath, Carol sobbed loudly, 'MARTHINUS....NO!'

Ellis would never be able to fully articulate what happened the moments after the elevator door opened. She would recall every minute detail; the chilled evening, the familiar sweet smell of the old, once heavily used slaughter houses, Carol's tinkled voice as she slid to the ground and began to cry, Nova and her coppery hair leaping forward, the dark look on Simon's face as he watched Marthinus exit the elevator car, Alec moving out of eye sight range out of self preservation, all this she would remember but seeing Marthinus half changed and snarling at the sight of her would be something she would never, could never speak of again.

Ellis suddenly recalled a very warm evening in a beautiful stucco tiled house, holding a gorgeous fat baby. She would name this baby and grow particularly fond of him, despite who he was and what he ultimately was to her. This baby would help rule her financial empire and enable her every technological whim. This baby had hazel eyes, exactly like her beloved companion and he smelled exactly like a baby should...absolutely delicious. Deep blue-green eyes mixed with soft brown looked up at her from his perch on her lap, giggling loudly as she gave him zerbers on his neck. She would watch this baby become a man and wrech havoc on the medical industry, giving Duibne a name that inspired power, wealth and hope. This man would then almost die and she would not do a damn thing about it. Ellis thought of all of this as she watched those same hazel eyes on that same great man advance on her.

With every step he took, his features changed, morphed and, much to her surprise and dismay, broke her heart. That same feeling washed over her now as it did when she saw Simon and Carol together for the first time. The urge to throw up was severe as she felt her eyes well up with tears. This magnificent man before her was changing into something she just could not fathom. Becoming something that she had never once foreseen or planned for his life. And she had planned every single monumental event in Marthinus life - from his birth and what she thought would ultimately be his death, but she realized that the fire Simon let her drop in did more than give birth to a hate that knew no bounds, that it stripped her of that resilient armor she wore to protect her from feeling and realizing how empty her life might actually be. She considered all this as Marthinus' snarling jaws opened and he came for her.

Ellis sighed sadly and whispered, 'Marthinus...please don't.'

Werewolf or not, Marthinus could not compare against fifteen hundred years of a vampire's life. Everything she had learned, abilities she had honed and developed, could withstand a high speed two ton car - stopping it in its tracks, what hope would Marthinus have against her? Still, something in her told her not to hurt him and later this feeling, instinct...whatever, would surprise her. Ellis relaxed and let Marthinus knock her to the ground, but she was not prepared for the frenzy.

The fury of his attack surprised her and she hit the ground with his full weight on her stomach and chest, effectively knocking the air out of her. The moment it took for her to reassess the situation and catch a breath resulted in her almost losing part of her face. She pushed back with her arms and elbows, keeping his snapping jaws far enough away from connecting with her, but instead they closed down on her forearm and she let out a painful yelp.

'FUCK...damnit...Marty stop...STOP.' Ellis tried to push at his chest but his grip on her arm was surprisingly strong, stronger than she thought it would be for such a young werewolf, but maybe things didn't work the same way they did for them. It was strangely quiet for a moment before everyone around them erupted into screams and yelling. Simon came flying out with Nova and with Carol screaming she lost track of what Alec was doing. Marthinus squeezed his jaws and had she been human, her bone would've broken like a twig.

Simon tried grabbing a hold of Marthinus who growled in response but pulled him off her enough for her free hand to frantically reach into her coat pocket. Her face twisted with pain as she fought the instinctive urge to reach up and snap his jaw till it separated from his head. Then for a moment her eyes met Simon's and they both looked at each other with frightened and sad eyes. Her eyes pleaded with him to get Marthinus off as her free hand finally found what it was looking for in her coat pocket. Her fingers slid into her prize and she pulled her hand out, only now brandishing lethal looking brass knuckles - only they weren't brass.

They were silver.

Wasting no time Ellis pulled back and punched Marthinus on the top portion of his chest, the silver connecting with his skin and he immediately released his grip on her arm and was flung back, yelping in pain.

The only thing he could hear was not the frantic flutters of heartbeats, but the scratching of nails against dirt. It was oddly quiet the moment after Marthinus jumped at Ellis, fully changed in mere seconds, trying desperately to tear her throat out. It was frantic, primal and familiar. He supposed she inspired those feelings in the people who knew her best.

Next Alec moved, then Nova and then the screaming and scuffling noises were fast and furious. Simon lunged right behind Nova, in fact almost past her with his older abilities pushing him. Later he would reflect on just who he was trying to protect - Marthinus or Ellis? It was more than probably the thousand plus years of companionship and intimate loyalty that forced him to react at a break neck speed, but the realization of his actions stopped him from killing Marthinus when he very well could have done in two seconds.

He stopped his rush and fell to his knees, grabbing at Marthinus along with Nova. He grabbed a fist full of fur, immediately causing a low, guttural growl from Marthinus that gave him the chills. Pulling back as hard as he could, he lifted Marthinus but could not get a decent grip on the frenzied beast. Whatever pissed his grandson off about himself, it was a thousand times worse in Ellis. Suddenly his eyes locked with Ellis.

For a full two seconds they looked at each other. Marthinus tearing the flesh off of her arm, Carol crying and screaming, the rush of wind and dirt around them as he felt the Mercs closing in. Her blood lust should have been raging and Marthinus' jaw should be separated from his head right about then but the look on her face told him why.

She was hesitating.

Then her eyes moved away and down and his eyes followed as she pulled something metal from her pocket. He was halfway to grabbing her hand when she reeled off and hit Marthinus, square in the chest. Nova spilled off to the side from the force of Marthinus moving past her, Simon fell back onto his side and he caught himself with his hand on the ground. Then he did a curious thing.

Simon leaned forward and extended an arm over Ellis. He hovered there for half a second when he realized what he was doing. If no one noticed, he would be grateful to the gods beyond words, but he didn't have to look over in Carol's direction to know that she saw him protecting the woman he tried to kill over a year ago.

He quickly pushed forward, leaping over Ellis who was left on her back on the ground, breathing heavy. The mercs were there now, the entire crop standing over them but their guns were moving back and forth from Ellis to Marthinus in a ridiculously comical show of indecision, more than likely stemming from the fact that Marthinus was now changing back. The fur, his features - all of it were receding now and there was a glaring ringed impression on his chest where Ellis had hit him.

A sharp whistle caught every one's attention and they looked back at Ellis who lifted a hand, signaling to the Mercs to cover her. The laser points of the Merc guns reflected off of the metal piece in her hand. Walking back over to Ellis, he reached down and grabbed her armed hand.

She winced and grunted at his grip, pulling her half up off the ground as he forcefully took the bit of metal out of her hand. Brass knuckles, he thought. Holding them up he looked again, they weren't brass at all.

'Silver?' Simon asked her, his hand still wrapped around her wrist, pulling her from her sitting position but not up all the way.

Ellis smiled as she shrugged. 'Lucky guess,' she replied.

Nova lowered herself into a crouch, watching carefully as Marthinus transformed but making no move to interfere. His fur receded into his skin as his limbs twisted and reformed with sickening snaps and cracks. Soon she could make out a large red welt where Ellis had punched him. The whole process looked horrifically painful, and Nova winced when she realized how clinical and cold she was being. In spite of her instinctual ‘this is –wrong-‘ reaction to what she was seeing, the scientist in her couldn’t help but find the entire process fascinating. The way the joints in the knee flipped and the muscles reattached themselves to strong thighs was…

…ho. Strong –naked- thighs. Marthinus was naked. She was looking at Marthinus naked. And had the words ‘not half bad’ crossed her mind? No, surely not! She quickly sought out something else to think about. The Queen of England. Simon and Carol having sex. Gah! How did –that- keep popping into her head? Flustered, she turned to the mercs, sizing them up. Too tall, too skinny…ah, this one’s just right.

“You,” she said, pointing. “Strip.”

The one piece coverall the merc was wearing would do nicely for Marthinus, though she thought his nudity was probably the last thing on his mind. In truth, she wasn’t entirely sure of what to do with herself, and was unsettled by her own desire to study and investigate this man who was supposed to be her friend.

As quickly as it had all come together, it came to a close. Marthinus had gone from man, to monster...and back to man again. Ellis had shown her hand in a very clear way, but still wasn't giving anything for free. But she'd hesitated, as well. Nova'd commanded Abdelhalek to surrender his clothing. He and his organ donor information boxers were on their way to the lift. Though any of those things would have captured his attention on any other day, they were shoved unceremoniously to the back of his mind.

Simon had moved to protect Ellis.

Alec felt a strange dread bubbling up from within him. Ellis was supposed to be dead by this man's hand...and now he was protecting her. The enemies of the Clan were supposed to die - not necessarily by the Clan's hand, but there was no room in his mind for exceptions of this magnitude. His brain hurt, and his world was slowly reversing magnetic poles. Moving toward the elevator, he paused, and considered Carol. As bent as his mind was from this, he couldn't imagine what she was thinking, was going through. Giving her a sympathetic look, he turned back to see Ellis grinning in her direction. What. A. Bitch.

Moving to break the nonverbal exchange, he offered a hand to help Carol up. Eyebrows up in a concerned arch, he asked

"Are you injured?"

Carol's tear stained face glared back at the smiling pair of eyes across from her and almost didn't notice Alec's gesture and concern. She jumped slightly at his offered hand, but took it gently, letting him help her up off the ground of the elevator, her knees skinned and bleeding lightly. Carol didn't bother to dust the dirt off her skirt or look back at the unfolding drama in front of her. Instead she put her back against the inside wall of the elevator and kept her eyes on Alec.

'I'm fine. Mind, uh...' she cleared her throat quietly and felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She would have rather not had Alec seen her react this way, but it was taking everything not to scream so she quietly did it in her mind and it was proving to be a little distracting.

'Mind taking me back down, Alec?' Carol finally finished in a soft voice.

This was distinctly outside of his comfort zone. Like...everything about the day. But Carol's day was worse. Human or no, she'd been through the ringer and that was no kind of fun.

"Ah. Of course."

As he cued the elevator to descend, he really hoped that she wouldn't start crying. He had no idea how she wouldn't...but he really hoped it didn't happen. Today had been surreal enough without then having to console the usually bubbly and upbeat girlfriend of his boss.

Yeah, rough night.

((Alec and Carol out))

The silver had indeed been a lucky guess. Wives tales and folklore had some semblance of truth Ellis noticed over the years and she used this theory when she had her nickel based silver knuckles made. It had an interesting affect on Marthinus, who now lay crumbled on the ground. Her eyes watched silently as Nova directed one of the Mercs to strip.

Simon suddenly let go of her and she dropped back on her bad arm, causing a tight grunt from her mouth. He was preoccupied she noticed as the elevator doors closed on Carol and Alec. She caught Carol's eyes and smiled through the pain. Ellis resisted the urge to say something coy to Simon, however. In front of his men, his woman and children, he would not hesitate to hurt her and quite honestly she just didn't have the strength for it. Still, she laughed inside.

The hallow point of a gun barrel was suddenly thrust up against the back of her head and she knew it would never leave until Simon said so. Almost bitterly Ellis raised her hands as she slowly stood from her sitting position; her hands hovered on either side of her head and roughly her wrists were pulled back behind her and bound. Again she never felt the gun barrel move. A gunshot she could easily take and walk away, but getting her head blown off - well those don't grow back as easy plus she was pretty partial to the state of her noggin. Ellis blinked slowly and looked back down at Marthinus as the Merc quickly shed his jump suit and helped the trembling man into it.

'I guess I came at a bad time.'

Simon watched as Carol and Ellis made eye contact just as the elevator doors slid close. The urge to throw up was instantaneous and inevitable, but he maintained his composure in front of the Mercs and Nova. He honestly did not know what he was doing. Protecting of all people Ellis. He mentally shook his head and tried to reassess the situation. Ellis would have to be dealt with but first Marthinus had to be returned.

'Nova,' he said looking down at his grandson, shivering as the Mercs dressed him. The welt on his chest was bright red now and looked sensitive to the touch. He could not stay here at the Domicile, not in his condition, not with his reaction to Simon and not with his pack no doubt looking for him now. The thought made him cringe. 'Take Marthinus back to town, please.'

He hoped Nova would recognize that letting Marthinus stay there would only provoke him further and possibly the werewolves. It was bad enough that he was going to have to explain why he was even out here, much less the mark on his chest now.

Simon looked over at Ellis who was standing quietly with an intrigued expression. Nodding his head the Mercs pushed her towards the elevator and retreated back down to the bowels of the Domicile. He had no idea what he was going to do with her but figuring it out now was good enough.

She was a little surprised, in retrospect, that the merc actually listened to her; maybe Alec or Simon had backed her up without her noticing. After all, she didn’t sign their checks and if their positions were reversed she would have told him to go fuck himself. Maybe he was just a good guy…or maybe the self help books were right and it was ‘all about confidence.’

Not that she had read any self help books. Especially not after she’d been told she had an ‘anger management problem’. What a crock of shit – she could manage her anger just fine! Sometimes you just needed to put a hole in the wall. Was that so unreasonable?

All pondering aside, she was being helpful in her way, getting Marthinus into the jumpsuit and trying to ignore everything else. She didn’t want to even look at Ellis and she was honest to god sick of just about everyone right now. It was almost a relief when Simon sent her off.

Getting to her feet, she helped Marthinus up along with her, surprised at the strength he had already recovered. Wordlessly, she led the way down the path, meeting Simon’s eyes with silent resolve before continuing on. She would trust that Simon was not about to let Ellis get away with trying to kill her; in fact, it looked as though the mercs were taking care of her now.

/ooc Marthinus and Nova out

Sometimes irony was hilarious. Really, truly comical in its cosmic...ness. Ellis thought this as she sat on a metal chair, in a metal room with a one way mirror. Wasn't she in that same exact position almost a year and a half previous? Except for the three armed Merc's standing behind her, each with a shot gun leveled at her head.

That part she didn't recall.

Ellis turned to her right and looked at the merc who closed in to about three inches from her face. Spanish decent, tied back curly pony tail and hair lip scar on his top lip. Overall he was actually very handsome which made it that much easier to remember his face and kill him slowly. She winked at him just as the electrical seal of the door opened and Simon stepped in.

'Simon, baby really? Where's the trust?'

Simon stood with his hands behind his back, watching her from the opposite sides of the one way mirror. She was patient, even more so than he was, but he knew it was time to come in when she looked at one of the merc's behind her. Great, he thought, that one's dead.

'Turn the audio off.'

The two other mercs in the room both turned and looked at Simon, then at each other.

'Do I have to say it twice?'

The merc on the right of the monitoring console immediately reached up and cut the audio. Simon ran his tongue over his bottom lip and then left the console room, confident that neither merc would even dare turn the audio back on. Still, it would be recording visually so he would have to make his visit brief.

He pushed open the door and the electrical seal hissed softly. Neither of the mercs moved to acknowledge Simon, much to his pleasure, keeping their weapons aimed at her head. Still, he wanted this to be quick and private.

'Out.'

One by one they lowered their weapon and in a quick clip, walked out of the interrogation room. If they were unsure of this order, they did not voice it until after they closed the door behind them. Simon stood with his back to the one way mirror and crossed his arms in front of his thousand year old ex lover.

'What do you want?'

Ellis shrugged and crossed her legs. 'I want what every little girl wants - a pony with purple ribbons, an ice cream cake with...'

Ellis would have finished what she thought was a funny reply when Simon's hand came out of no where and back handed her so hard it felt as if her head would come off her shoulders. Immediately she gripped the arms of her chair sending icicles of pain up her damaged arm. Still, Ellis gripped the arm rests so hard they bent like straw and she began to stand up when again, much to her dismay, Simon's gun was shoved unceremoniously in between her eyes.

She lowered herself back into the chair and tried to temper the blood lust that had risen to the challenge. Her eyes blurred not only from the rage but the pain and she shook her head to clear her vision. Ellis looked Simon over with an appraising and glaring eye. He had come a long way from the man she once knew - her knight in shining armor, her completely consumed lover. He stood in front of her now, with his unwavering gun and determination. Grimacing she tried to relax her stinging cheek muscles.

My,' she started - her voice steady and ironically laced with humor, 'what a temper you have now.'

Without hesitation he replied to her sarcasm with his own.

'We all have to evolve sometime, Ellis.'

Simon wondered though, was this the man he was meant to be? The quiet and sullen pet of a tyrannical leader suddenly realizing the wealth of power and the stink of humiliation - namely those around him. He spoke now with a cold finality whereas before he chose his words wisely to soften the inevitable blow of Ellis' tongue. The path of a leader had become a clear one full of nothingness, cold hard edges and an unyielding need to cause pain.

Simon lowered his gun at his last thought and watched Ellis give him a bitter smile. Holstering the gun under his jacket he reached down and took his ex-lover by the arm. Ellis looked at his hand but came willingly as he walked them both out of the interrogation room. He could feel her eyes on him as he walked down the hallway, his hand still gripped tightly on her left arm. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but when he found them in the elevator descending to the residential rooms, Ellis turned to him with an openly questioning face.

The steel elevator opened up to the floor with his own and Ellis' quarters. The entire floor itself was sectioned off for just them and finally Simon let go of her arm and walked down the hallway, right up to her door. He turned and faced her as he reached his destination. Simon watched her casually close the distance between them and they stood, face to face.

He was thinking again although about what, she wouldn't wager to guess. There were a million things crossing her mind right now, she could only imagine what he must be thinking. Ellis figured he was done thinking his thoughts as he turned and crossed the threshold with a firm gait. He was making a bee line across the ground floor to the far wall. She wasn't sure why - she knew where he was headed, but why he was headed there was beyond her.

The space was open and large, so even his quick walk would take enough time for her to decide on whether or not she wanted to step into her old quarters. Gingerly she took a step in, leaned back a little to look into the hallway, but then took several more steps into the apartment. No explosions, no laser beams, no party streamers or welcome home surprises.

Simon was now halfway across the floor as she slowly descended the steps, her boots vibrating off the cold granite. Ellis took a look around and was a little surprised. She was fairly certain that nothing had been touched - in over a year. Not since she took her last steps out of the Domicile, not even her bed was made.

Nothing had changed...but everything did.

He was nearing the far wall when suddenly she blurted it out. She hadn't even been thinking about it but her question just spilled out as she ran her eyes over the tussled sheets on her bed. Or maybe since pulling herself out of his grave for her, she had been thinking of it every second of the day, every day since then.

'Was our life together so bad, Simon?'

It stopped him short and maybe, deep down, he felt something break, but as quickly as it came, he dismissed it. This wasn't something he wanted to talk to her about, not here. Not with everyone watching, certainly not where Carol could hear. With a deep breath he continued to the wall and pulled her swords off the mounting.

Simon had put them there not long after the raid. He had stood at the doorway of her quarters and stared into the darkness and smelled her. Her swords were on the table beneath the crest and they were the only things he touched that day. He put them back on their mounts and sealed the room forever - at least until this very moment.

Simon turned with them in his hands and looked at her across long distance. She was standing just at the foot of the steps of the entrance and he all the way on the opposite side. So close, so far away. Slowly he walked back across the room, never taking his eyes off of her, letting the silence fill up the moment, making it ache and sigh. As he got closer he could see the confusion on her face - she honestly wanted to know.

Once he got to a foot away from her, he looked down at her swords and swallowed. Ellis gave him a small nod in understanding and held her hand out. Simon put them in her hands and then took a step back, wiping his suddenly sweaty palms on the his chest. He cleared his throat and was shocked to hear how loud his voice seemed in her quarters. Well they weren't hers anymore.

'Take what you need, what you want and then go, Ellis. Tacharan is mine...for better or for worse.'

Ellis pursed her lips and gave the room a final look.

'Naw, I think I'm good now.'

She looked down at her weapons and ran her hand over the engraved twisted knots that were enlaid on the hilt, the tips were shaped as boar heads, representing courage and fearlessness, used in Celtic and Saxon history. Ellis lifted them with a soft, 'Yeah...I'm good.'

Ellis turned away from him and started back up the stairs. He wasn't going to answer here, but it wasn't as if he really needed to. Funny thing about being left for dead in a burning fire - not only does it do a job on your sinuses, it does quite a bit to help clear away all that the rose colored glasses seemed to hide. She didn't need him to tell her that. As she left her quarters, more mercs were standing silently in the hallway, their guns again pointed at her. Ellis decided, she was no longer their leader, but she didn't have to give up her pride. She raised her hand to her earlobe and tugged, then wistfully ran her fingertips over the computer panel, lighting it up briefly. All good things must come to an end, she figured. Why stop the inevitable, especially what was inside her? Lifting her head she nodded to the men and they followed her down to the elevator.

As they escorted her off the property, Ellis paid no attention to her surroundings, she just walked as a normal pace down to the dirt road she had come up. Tacharan was behind her now, figuratively and literally, and she had the whole world in front of her. Why stay in Nachton? Why bother? Ultimately it came down to principle, she decided.

Because getting fucked over sucked balls.

((Ellis out))