GxE: awesome assassin lovin'

Griffin

I didn't bother to catch myself as I fell into the box face first, falling in a crumpled pile on some grass.
No. Not this place. I'd rather stay at The Order than come back here.
I honestly hate this box. When I first started getting thrown into places like this, it wasn't so bad. But now...it's like a sucker punch to the face.
This is where I would come, and see...her.

I couldn't even bring myself to think of her name. I had failed her. I was weak. I failed to maintain mental resistance enough to stop myself. I had sat there, covered in her blood, just like I had done only three or four years ago with Marie.
Yet, in a way I suppose i should be glad. Glad that Falco never had the chance to get to her and turn her into some brainwashed mutation.
...
...
She's gone. And as far as I know, she's never coming back. My fingers absentmindedly trailed down towards my ankles, where a small, hidden pocket was. It felt empty. The usual weight there was gone. The ring I planned on giving someone someday.
Throwing out that ring meant throwing away love. Love is pointless. Only brings pain. in my line of work, seems all that comes with love is death.

Then Emmeline had the nerve to...be Emmeline. The girl is confused. Making a fatal mistake.
I figure that maybe I should just stay away from people from now on. I can't stand to lose another.
After...she died, I felt lost. still do. Lost and empty, the hopes I had for the future dissipating.
...
I had seen a family. I pictured gaining freedom, marrying her, and...yeah, I guess I wanted children. I had this whole corny family scene in my head, where we would have normal lives. Be free.
I had ruined all of that. I guess I should be blaming the shapeshifter for forcing me to kill her, but the only person I could blame was myself.

I hate this place. Hate myself. Hate my daggers. Hate my lifestyle. Hate love. Hate The Order. Hate it all.

...exactly seven days and twenty hours since she died.

I aimlessly walked around for a while, before wandering by a bump in the dirt, the ground looking as if it had been dug up, spots of fading blood marring the dirt.
There she was. I had forgotten that I had buried her there.
I slumped to the floor and stared at the ground, willing her to come back.

Esmeralda

It was dark. I couldn't feel my body. I couldnt feel the pain in my throat, or face. I couldnt feel his arm around me. I couldn't feel anything. I couldnt see. I couldnt smell his rose soap-manwhich smell, nor the overwhelming tang of copper in the air; my blood. It's like I was floating in darkness.
I was alone.
I wonder if I even still existed; If the concept of a soul was true. And the second I wondered that, a noise broke through the silence. No, wait, not a noise.... A giggle. My giggle.... Then my sister's six year old voice followed, tellin me to stop, to get out of her mind.
I laughed again. A small, childlike giggle.
And then it hit me- a memory. This was a memory. This was the day I first discovered my powers. I was three.
More voices broke through the silence. Now I was eight. I was in the middle of a lesson on mind control. I refused to follow directions. I didn't want my powers.
I paid dearly for that.

Then I was twelve. I meet Mason that year. Voices echoed, like they were in a hall. Footsteps followed elizabeths excited voice. "oh, isn't he wonderful, Esmeralda? He's letting us live with him in the castle! Oh, isn't it marvolous here? Just think, one day this will be mine!~"
"he's our uncle, elizabeth," I whispered back, nearly appalled. I knew why we were there... Word of the clan leaders search for a bride had reached even our sheltered ears, and as his decreased brothers daughters, we made for a fine match. The bloodlines must stay pure.

Then I was thirteen, and mason voice echod around me, soft and caressing. "I choose you, sweet Esmeralda."
I remained silent, my inner thoughts would Only earn me pain.
That night, elizabeths anger was great. She was the eldest. His choice denied her her dreams... And left her with a broken heart. but i had no say. His decision was final, and my fate sealed. She hates for that.
I would of winced if I could. But I lacked my body here in this strange place.

Elizabeths screams and cries faded away and now I was 16, completing the 3 day initiation proccess into the cult. I had to pass if I wanted to live. These sounds seemed to dwindle the longest....

My teachers voice as he drilled me with countless questions, in multiple languages.
The sound of drawn swords then clashing as I had to fight to the death.
his screams... As I won...
Then the silence, filled by my racing heart and hard to catch breath as I weaved my way through an obstical course.
Then My babbles as I injected a nearly fatal dose of poison into my blood stream. The babbles stopped. Then silence. Then.... Screaming. Raw, hoarse, painfilled screams. Then silence, only interupted by panting again...
"congratulations, you've passed"

So many memories. So much I didn't want to recall.

Meeting coren.
Telling coren to fuck off.
Coren not listening and finding me again and again.
Me nearly dying.
Coren saving me.
Us talking.
Us bonding.
Me letting my walls fall.
Him doing the same.
No secrets. None.

...the announcement of my weddening date...

Corens outraged, panicked reaction....
His confession of love.
My utter confusion followed by much name calling.
Silence.
We didn't talk for months.
...
His return. Lots of hugs. Even some tears. Apologies.
Then his solution.
Me automatically turning it down.
His persistence.
Me finally... Relenting.
Us escaping.

Him screaming.
Him burning.
Him dying.

Mason laughing.
Masons anger.

Me loosing control and taking over his mind.
Then... Me running... Always running...


"you're doing it wrong."
That voice... That voice broke through the darkness, and i could of sworn i felt my hear skip a beat. But im dead. I dont have a heart.

Those were the first words he ever said to me...
I had arrived in the strange box, seeking shelter from my people as I bandaged my arm.
I was 'doing it wrong'.
I paid him to do it right.

...griffin...

The voices picked up. His, mine, they blended together as each moment I spent with him melding into one confusing pile of chaos.

"princess!"

"it's cold..."

"dont jump!"

"so you /killed/ me?"

"you smell good..."

"I don't like emmeline."

"no,no, don't die on me griffin, you promised"

"...jonathan."

Gun shots.
Lions roar.
A slap, a sob, a slap.
Kissing.
His screams.
My screams.
Peaceful silence.
Laughing.
Sharks.
Crackling fires.

Chaotic mess. It made me dizzy. The swirling, round and round of our blended voices... It pulled me in. I let it. I didnt care if it led me to hell, i just wanted to hear his voice.I fell head first into this whirlpool of memories. It tugged me by my belly button, pulling me toward this light.
Confusion. Chaos. I felt sick to my stomach. And then suddenly- plop.
I was in the box again. And griffin.... He was three feet away.

*looks up* let me just tell you- that was hard as HELL to write on an iPod... >.>
excuse the grammar mistakes.

Griffin

...quiet. Box was too quiet. Normally I would hear a few noises. But today, it seems I am completely alone.
Alone...
I stayed sitting on the ground, staring at the lump. Only a few feet down, her body is laying there. The body I worked so hard to protect, but ended up killing.

"...Esmeralda..." I breathed, more like a barely audible whisper. I wrote her name in the dirt with one of my daggers, then placed the dagger firmly into the ground, leaving it there. The same dagger that had ended her very life.

I did not pay attention to anything else around me, eyes locked on that one, precious mound of dirt.

Esmeralda
I slowly sat up, eyes locked on griffin. It felt weird to have limbs again. I could move, I could feel, I could see.
Better yet, I could see /him/. And he was okay. He was alive.
My chest rised and fell. Breathing, what a simple but underappreciated action.

There he was... Staring at a mound of dirt. What had happened since I had died? Was the shifter dead? Was he okay? How long was I gone?
I died by his dagger, his hand. It wasn't his fault. Not one bit. But I wonder how he handled that. I can't express how relieved i am to see him alive and whole.
He looks like a mess though. That's my fault. I should have better protected him. Then I wouldn't have died and all this pain...
My fault. All of it.
It didn't care though. I just wanted to feel him again.
So without thought, I glomped him.

Griffin

I had to move on. Go back to The Order. Sign another contract, and kill another person. It was my distraction, I guess you could say. Besides. Around nine hundred million dollars left. I know that number may seem large, but it was bigger. After....after Esmeralda died, there was nothing for me to really thrive for. Only freedom.

I was about to stand up and leave, but paused. something...wasn't right. I heard breathing. Familiar breathing, too.
It couldn't be. ...could it? I myself had been brought back to life twice, so...why not her?

I barely had enough time to react to the breathing when I was suddenly glomped.

It surprised me, one of my hands fumbling toward my daggers, then suddenly freezing.
............................sniff.
Cinnamon. And lilies.
I sat there in surprise for a moment, the inevitable spark of hope and joy creeping its way to my senses.
She's back.
All I could think of.
She's back... alive and breathing.
After a while I pulled her away from me, just so I could stare at her face. Take it all in.
Blue eyes. Best blue eyes ever, multiple shades of deep colour.
Soft, blonde hair, coming down in gentle curls, framing her face. Her lips. Nose. Cheeks. Chin. Eyebrows, eyelashes, ears...I was more familiar with her features than my own.

I couldn't say anything. Couldn't form a single coherent thought. What would I say?
I had killed her. But now she was back, and I sat there, frozen like an idiot.

I didn't drop my eyes from hers, didn't even dare to blink. Maybe this was an illusion. I didn't care. I just was glad to see her, and feel her.

...she was back. Thank God.

Esmeralda

I clung to him with dear life.
No pun intended.
I could feel him. I could see him.'I could smell him.
It was so unreal.
He pulled away and stared. I stared back.
Slowly, I brought my hands up to his face. My fingers skimmed his cheek bone, drifting up to his forehead, the hair line, then down his nose. They bruished his lips, lingering there the longest as I stared into his eyes.
I was just making sure he really was there. This would all be so cruel if I still was dead.
But I couldn't be... This felt too real. His smell... My feeble mind could never do it justice. This was him. And now I just wanted to feel him. That place was... Hell without his touch.
"griffin?" I breathed, smiling ever so slightly.

Griffin

I watched her, the stare slowly turning to a glare, my eyes narrowing.
Then... I blinked.
She was still here.
I blinked again.
Yeah. Still around.
I slowly reached a hand up, running it through her hair, staring at each strand.
She's real. She's alive.
The glare went away, a soft stare replacing it, filled with a sort of longing and relief.
"Princess." I breathed, swallowing hard. I then slapped her cheek, more like a gentle touch, my hand lingering there.
"Never leave me again, ya hear?" I whispered this in a stern tone, pretty much ordering her not to die. She needed to stay alive. Not just for herself...but for me, too. I know how selfish that sounds. But without Esmeralda, I am lost.

I slapped my other palm onto her cheek, both of my hands now cupping her face. Then I pulled her to me, practically smashing my lips against hers.

I missed her. Missed her voice, her walk, her smile. Even that annoying little tone she uses whenever she lies. I missed staring into those eyes of hers, even if said eyes wore a cold glare. I guess I even missed being half frozen at night time, just so we could hold each other for warmth.
And, even though they were inexperienced and reluctant, I especially missed her kisses.

I held her face firmly in my hands, giving her a deep kiss. A kiss filled with longing, sadness, yet also joy, and I guess you can say a bit of need mixed in. I used to kiss her softly as to not hurt her, but this one was more rough, and faster.
...
...
She's back. Esmeralda. My Esmeralda.

Esmeralda

I stared right back at him, taking in his glare, then stare, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Was he mad at me? It was my fault. If I had actually cared about my power training I would of been able to defend him. By no, my own childish stubbornness nearly had us both killed.
Then he slapped me. Well... Not really slapped, something tells me he'd never really be able to do that too me, but the intention was there.
Did I deserve said slapping?
Yes. I think so.
I didn't flinch, just held his gaze. He looked so... Relieved, Desperate, sad, yet happy all at once.
My fingers were still on his lips, marveling at the softness before he cupped my other cheek. I blinked, my hand dropping slightly before he bought me toward him.
Then he kissed me and I was feeling those godsent lips against mine.
The kiss itself startled me. It was... Deep. It was intense. It was... Different.
But unlike his usual kiss. This one was so much more... Real.
It's like the curtain separating his lips and his emotions was dropped. I didn need to look into his eyes. I could feel everything he was feeling just from the way his lips moved against mine. It was rougher, sure. Even rawer. But he was pouring himself into it.
One beat, two beat... My hesitation dissolved away and I poured myself back.
The need to feel him, the utter relief, the joy, the self blame, the apologies, the complete happiness to be in his arms again. It was all there, mixed with my own roughness as I tried to convince him with a kiss to never let me go again.
"Hey," I breathed, unwilling pulling my lips away and resting my forehead against his. My heart was racing excitedly as I tried to catch my breath. I felt weird. Like someone had pumped me with adrenaline or some happy endorphins. I don't know. But that kiss; his touch... I couldnt help but to smile.
...Wow...
I could have gone on forever, but unfortunately, we needed air.

Griffin

I slowly opened my eyes after the kiss, our ragged breathing meshing together. I kept her pressed close to me, and could feel her heart, beating excitedly against mine. Both of our heart beats and breathing seemed to match, a relief filled smile finding its way to my face.

"Hey." I mumbled back to her. I still could not believe she was here. I saw her die, killed her with my own two hands. And here we were, laying on the floor, wrapped around each other. I slid my hands away from her cheeks and gently stroked her neck, letting my hands glide downward, resting on her hips... just feeling her. Reassuring myself that she was truly here.

"I love you. Don't you ever forget that."

Esmeralda

I shivered under his hands, goosebumps forming.
God, it's good to have a body again.
I rested my hands against his chest, pinned between us. I could feel his heart beating against my hand, then mine, beating back on the other side.
It's like they knew they were close again. Like they refused to beat without eachother and now that I was back... They were skipping with excitement.
"I love you too," I replied. "I'm sorry."
Sorry for leaving you, sorry for being weak, sorry for all the pain.
"How are you?"

Griffin

I frowned a bit, studying her expression. She always said she was sorry, but she has nothing to be sorry for. She looked as if this was her fault somehow. It isn't. None of it is.
"No. I'm sorry." I leaned my head back down, resting against her, relaxing for the first time in a week. ....felt nice.
I took a while to inhale her scent, that familiar scent that meant, just maybe, things today wouldn't be so shitty. At least not while she's here.
And how am I....hm...
Even I don't know the answer to that question. You see, I'm more good at the physical things. When it comes to mental properties and emotions, I'm stumped. That's been Dove's thing, not mine.

I guess I felt bad. And also good. Bad that I had killed her and she was the one apologizing, and how I had failed her. Yet good because, well,...she's back. I intend to have things stay that way. No more death.

"...confused. But fine." I answered truthfully. "You?"

Esmeralda
Confused? About what? Could I help?
These were the thoughts running through my head as I stared into his eyes, enjoying his body heat.
"I'm...alive," I laughed lightly, nuzzling my face against his.
"Confused?" I nuzzled a bit more, trying to sooth him however I could.
I held back the urge to brush my mind to his. Such a connection was... the greatest sign of trust, and the greatest bond one could have with another. With your consciences so intertwined, you were... utterly exposed. Everything, good and bad, about you was laid out on the table for the other to see. Your thoughts, your feelings, your very being was raw and there for the taking. You were not alone.
I did not want to be alone anymore. After all those years of pushing others away and refusing to open up, even to Griffin, I felt... alone. An overwhelming emptiness.
That darkness was mercilessness. It did not let me run or hide. It forced me to relieve each waking moment... each unwanted memory... each cold truth.
I couldn't escape the emptiness... And I needed him... I wanted him. But he wasn't there. I was dead.
But now, now I had this amazing second chance and for once... for once I was willing to let the curtain fall. I was willing to let griffin in.
I'm so dangerous to him, my recent death proving exactly that. Allowing him in was so.... selfish.
... What if I wanted to be selfish though? What if I needed to be selfish. For me. I needed him. I needed to feel him; I needed to convince myself that he was mine and I his and that he wasn't going to be taken away.
So much need. So much.... desperation for him, it was overwhelming. Where did it come from? What was I to do with it?
I wasn't sure, but I refrained from brushing up against his mind. After what happened... I didn't blame him if he never opened up again.
I pushed back my selfish desire and settled for staring into his eyes, trying to figure him out.
"I'm sorry."

Griffin

I just ignored her apology this time, not bothering to tell her to stop being sorry. Besides. She looked as if she had something on her mind, and wasn't sure if she should say it or not. And the way she looked into my eyes... seemed as if I was a sort of puzzle she was trying to solve.

"Yeah." I said. Might as well admit I'm confused. Knowing Esmeralda, she would probably just figure it out anyway. She had her ways. She had this ability to just look into my eyes, read my facial expression, or just feel the way I kissed. She almost always seemed to know how I was feeling.

It's infuriating.

I looked her over carefully, taking in her fresh scent, my eyes absorbing every inch. I wanted this moment to last. Even if we just sit here and stare, it's a lot better than being attacked by sharks or being set on fire.
"...something bothering you?"

Esmeralda
How did he do that? How did he know? I really have to get better at hiding my emotions.
But wait. Didn't I just resolve to let him in?
...
I slowly, carefully brushed my mind to his, giving him the option to push me away if his wanted.
"I... Love you," I whispered, letting my emotions spill forward for him to see. I couldn't... say them. But I wanted him to understand the desire. The lonely, fiery, needy desire.
Maybe he could make sense of it.

Griffin

I blinked a few times, feeling a light, familiar tug on my mind. I nodded once in understanding, opening my mind to her as well, showing her everything except for my darkest thoughts and memories.
my eyes widened just a margin at the feeling of desire I received from her. So alone, so almost... desperate.
"I love you, too." I thought, knowing she would hear it. I let all of my annoying emotions drain out to her. All the guilt and anger at myself, all the joy and happiness for her, all of the confusion.

Esmeralda
I took in his emotions, not judging just... observing.
Wet, annoying things fell from my eyes and down my face and I clung to him. I clung to him and to his thoughts because I realized he was the antidote to all this pain, my loneliness, everything. And he has been all along.
I couldn't go on denying this anymore.

I didn't say anything. I just tightened my grip on him, begging him to fill the emptiness as I tries to sooth his own emotional conflictions.

Griffin

I watched her carefully, noticing every tear that slid down her face. Had I done something wrong? Was she hurt? I felt a sudden concern, then pulled away, lifting her chin close to my face.
"Es. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I thought to her, kissing away every tear before it had a chance to drop off her cheek.
I wondered if it was my emotions that made her cry, so I forced my emotions to dissipate, all except for a sweet, pure love.

Esmeralda
I snorted, feeling silly. What was wrong? Nothing, absolutely nothing. The tears were tears of happiness. Happiness he was here, that I was lucky enough to have him, that I wasn't alone.
It all seemed too good to be true.
And then the love he sent through, it left me a blubbering idiot.
I kissed him, sobbing and laughing at myself all at once as I allowed my confusing emotions to spill over to him.
Happy, I was happy,
God, I such a girl.

The Note

Griffin,
I don’t know how we’ve been fooling ourselves. But this… Us… It’s not working.
We can’t fight fate. And the more we do… the more danger we’re putting each other in.
I love you. So much. But I won’t have you die for me. I can’t… I’d rather never see you again, I rather marry /him/, and you live. Than love you, and you die.
We’ve been such fools. We’ve been trying to carve ourselves a new future together where no future lies. Not one without death.
Orion won’t hurt you if you never see me again. There’ll be no price on my head and no reason for you to die.
Mason won’t kill me if I give in. There’ll be no chasing, no running.
No more death.
So, I’m going back to him. If you come for me he’ll see through my lies. They will kill us both, so please… see that this is the best, and only way.
I’m doing this for us… I love you…
Es

More Update because we are terrible at sticking to this deviation thingy...I blame boredom

Okay. Now. Uhm. Heh…. we really have a bad habit of straying from the
deviation. And a lot of crazy junk has gone down. As you can see in the post above, Es pretty much left him. But that little part got brain bleached, cause raven and Es wanted to kill Orion. Previously, Griffin and Es had raided a fancy store, because Esmeralda wanted to see him in a tux, and Griffin wanted to see her in a dress. Let’s just say it wasn’t long before the fast forward button had to come out, and some random forest floor was purged of all its innocence. So they decided to get a bed since floors kinda hurt, and Esmeralda took on a few jobs. To say the least, Ella is evil. So Es ended up having to do laundry and drug testings for money. …o3o
Anyways. Orion was killed. I don’t feel like typing it all out, so I’ll just get a quick little review.

Esmeralda: *walking ‘round in her short little dress and fancy schmancy high heels*

Orion: O-O *OMG HAWT GIRL LET’S GO…DO STUFF*

Es: *noooooooo* *insultinsultinsult*

Orion: *…ahem…pervyness…pretty much threw her on the ground and ripped that dress*

Raven: *does his shadowy crap, resulting in Orion getting pinned*

Orion: >:o *njdkslangjfkdnfjkgnfgHULKMAD*

Esmeralda: *starts stabbing, so plenty of satisfying squish noises and…is that ketchup? No. Don’t be stupid. That’s…BLOOD! LOTSA BLOOD! I bet you can never look at ketchup the same way again…hehe…*

Orion: *rawr* *plenty of, like, weird animal noises* *stabbed moar, and then dies*

Raven: 9.9 *lights Orion’s dead bod on fire, LIKE A BOSS* *then kicks the ashes around, cause he can*

And…yeah. There’s the rundown. That was fun. So. Since Orion died, now Falco is in charge of The Order. He basically unnerved Es and Raven(not actually sure if he unnerved Raven…is Raven even unnervable? Makes me wonder.) by letting them know that now that he’s in charge… he has control over Dove and Griffin, who he called by their real names, Nastasia and Jonathan. He was all, “I know your weaknesses, I hold you loved ones… this is my game now…MWAHAHAHA.” Except without the evil laugh.

Raven and Es skipped off into the sunset, and went back to the base.

Meanwhile Dove and Grif were being experimented on, Cerberus was having a major migraine, deekan was being…Deekan, Rose was chillin’ in the basement with George the alligator, and Orion’s body ashes were being spread throughout the lovely oxygen.~

Anyhoo. Deekan let Esmeralda and Raven in, and they talked for a while. Then Raven poofed and Es went out on the porch, both of them waiting for Grif and Dove to make their way back.
Griffin eventually made his way back, and he was talking all weird because of druggy stuffs, and he was carrying Dove on his back. There was some more talking that I don’t feel like getting into, and they ended up in the basement. Griffin was holding Esmeralda under the blankets all night, and Dove and Raven were passed out, also holding each other.

Poor Rose was probably wondering why the basement suddenly became a cuddle den.

Cerberus also eventually came back, and he was pretty much insane since Falco is trying to take over his brain. Cerby was locked in a cage, almost tore Rose’s arm off, and then was machete’d in the stomach and hit with Grif’s daggers. He passed out…I guess that’s what a freaking MACHETE to the stomach does to a person.
So yeah. Dove and Raven are still in their cuddle corner. Esmeralda is patching up Rose’s arm. Griffin is all ‘._.’. Cerberus is all crazy and ‘xP’. And Deekan is…not talking for once. He’s just sorta sitting in the corner and hiding his face. THEN I HAD TO POOF, SO THE DRAMAS WERE PAUSED.

Griffin

I stared up at the ceiling of my little room, laying on the stiff mat The Order made me sleep on. I hardly ever slept on this thing, though. Best sleep I have ever gotten was with Esmeralda. Yet here I was, in a room barely even bigger than a closet, staring into the pitch black. I wasn’t with Es. Which, quite frankly…sucks. I don’t like not knowing where she is, or what she’s doing. For all I know, she can be off prancing around with the cult, or getting drugged again. She’s always on my mind. It’s like she dug a hole into my brain, crawled into it, and refuses to come out.

…Sometimes I even think that Orion is right. She is a distraction. When I’m on missions, I get hurt more often. All I can think of is her, and the lingering thoughts of, “Where is she? Is she all right? Is she being stupid again?”

I suppose you could say that I have abandoned all worry for my own life, and now strive to keep her alive, even if it gets me killed. And then, after a shitty, long day… I see her. Get to hold her, smell her, just look at her. In those small moments that I am with her, everything seems like it’ll actually be fine. Then I go back to The Order, and the day starts all over again.

I frowned as I thought these things through, and then pushed myself into a sitting position. Might as well get up, right? Dove and I have made a deal to do at least one mission a day, if possible. Freedom’s gonna cost a lot, and it’s not like we’ll get out of here any faster if we just sit around. I stood and slipped my dark cloak on, then put my mask up, covering my lips and nose. The mask was handy. If I smirked around Orion, he would probably kick my ass. So yeah… the mask. Very useful, even if Es doesn’t like it.

I opened the creaky door, and then shut it tightly behind me. It was only 6:30 in the morning, but the halls were already being filled with others getting out of their rooms. The people around me walked with a slouch, their expressions worried and depressed, but also… determined. I only recognized a few of them. Most of us Order agents prefer not to socialize with others. Socializing turns to friendships, friendships turn to feelings and dependency. And you never know when one of us will drop dead. So almost everyone ignores each other, all too afraid to make connections, too terrified that they will end up broken. None of us want to give The Order that satisfaction.

I walked away from my room, and went to the opposite side, where the girls rooms were. Dove’s room was across from mine and down a narrow hallway. I knocked on her door waited a small while, and then opened it. “Dove. Time to go.”

Dove was in the darkest corner, curled up with her knees to her chest. Her thin blonde hair and striking blue-green eyes matched my own, and she carefully looked away from the shadows, then up at me.

The shadows. …Raven. I don’t trust him. Most likely never will. Too many people have hurt my sister because of her pretty face, and she deserves better than that. I suppose Raven seems like he cares about her, but I still remain cautious. He is dangerous. That…’Gift’ he has is not natural.
Though, I can see the flicker of love in her eyes when she stares into the shadows. I see that, despite her many flinches and stern attitude, she would gladly protect him if she had to. Which worries me. If Raven were to die, how would Dove react?

She stood and put her hood and mask up, covering her face and hair. We just nodded to each other and stepped out of the room, then turned out of the hallway and down the long, old stairs. We didn’t say anything to each other; didn’t need to. We have a mutual understanding. We almost never speak to one another, and mostly stick to using signals. If we get too attached to one another missions will become difficult, and we wouldn’t be able to focus. So we are more like casual friends than actual siblings.

We made it to the first floor after some time. This floor is where all the training happens, and where the teacher quarters are. The staircase led straight to the lobby area, where Corvus was sitting, surrounded by papers and bottles of liquor.

Corvus glanced up at us, his feet propped up on the table and a stupid expression on his face. The man was clearly drunk. His reddish brown hair was strewn around his forehead, and his green eyes flickered over us, then back to the papers. “’Ello Dove, ‘ello Grif. I assume yer ‘ere to git the ol’ contract, eh?” he sputtered, stumbling over his words. “Got quite a nice paper stuffs ‘ere, plent’ o’ choices.” He giggled and grabbed a few papers, then waved them around.

I glanced at Dove, smirking a bit when I see her eyes faintly twitch. She despises Corvus, can’t really blame her.

I walked up to his desk and carefully looked at the papers, then picked one up. Some old guy named Garret, the price on his head being thirty thousand dollars. I sighed and showed the paper to Dove, then raised a questioning eyebrow. She nodded, still glaring at Corvus.

I signed the contract, and Dove slowly walked over and also signed it, her handwriting sharp and precise.

“Whoopdy doo. Ya got tha old man, eh? Good pull, good pull…nuthin’ wrong with cappin’ ya old geezer,” taunted Corvus, taking another swig of some foul smelling liquid. “I see ya pullin’ it easy today. So..best o’ luck to ya.” He then turned his chair away from us, and continued babbling.

I frowned, trying to keep my hand from curling into a tight fist. Corvus acted as if killing these people was perfectly fine. These people have families. Loved ones. People they hold dear. And… it’s my job to ruin that. I kill innocent people for my own gain; for my freedom. I guess you can say it’s incredibly selfish of me. It is. Probably one of the most selfish things a person can do. But I do it anyway, just for the hope that maybe there’s a chance I’ll get out of here.

I glanced at the paper and memorized where Garret’s home is, then nodded to Dove and headed out the front door. We stepped out into the humid air, the buzzing city humming around us. The Order building is hidden, and the only way to get to it is through many twisting alleys, so there was no one close enough to see us.

As soon as we stepped out Dove tugged her hood further down, then turned to face me. “…location?” She asked, her voice its usual sternness, but also seeming tired.

“Actually not that far. Couple blocks away, on Grand Street.” Was my steady reply, and I started walking forward, also pulling my hood down.
I could feel Dove’s eyes linger on me as she also started walking, stepping into place next to me. She didn’t say anything else, but I could tell what she was thinking. Why choose such an easy job? An old man, not too far away. The bounty on his head is not too shabby, but why not choose someone who will get us more cash?

The answer is simple. Esmeralda. She had been acting very odd the last time I saw her, as if she had something up her sleeve. That look she gave me… it was the look of someone who knew they were about to do something dangerous. So I figured we might as well take a simple job and get it over with as quickly as possible, that way I can see her. Make sure she’s all right, and not dead in some ditch.

I ignored Dove’s look and just kept walking, passing by some people and turning onto Grand Street. When we arrived at the correct address I turned to Dove, tone serious. “Okay. Here we are. He lives alone, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. You create a distraction.” She nodded and then walked past me, right up to the house. I heard her knock on the door as I slipped around to the back of the house, looking for windows. One window, a simple lock. Garret must not know The Order’s after him. I shuffled through my belt and pulled out a small, sharp dagger, then quickly picked the lock and pushed the window up. I managed to squeeze in, but it was a pretty tight fit. Maybe I should have had Dove do this…

I stepped into an old, simple house. I was in the main bedroom. There was one large bed and a nightstand, the floor carpeted and the wallpaper peeling off. On the nightstand I noticed a picture. It was a family. A young couple and a tiny baby, standing around and…smiling. Laughing, even. I couldn’t help a small, sad smile of my own, and then stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room.

“Are you certain, Sir? It’s a limited time offer.” Was what I heard, and I realized it to be Dove’s voice.

“Yes, I’m sure. But thank you. Would you like a cookie before you go?” I heard Garret say, with the slightest hint of a smile in his voice.

I peeked around the corner and saw Dove in the front doorway, Garret holding the door for her to come in. She seemed taken aback by his proposal, and hesitated before continuing. “Uhm…sure. I’d love one.” I blinked a few times, a hand over my dagger. Dove and I… neither of us has had a cookie since our childhood. And she looked so surprised that the old man had offered something like that. He had a genuine air of kindness around him.

…won’t stop me from doing what I came here for. This guy needs to die.
Before he could turn around Dove flicked her wrist, a dagger shooting out of her palm and hitting the lightbulb, surprising Garret and submerging us into darkness. I quickly ran up to him and grabbed him from behind. “I am sorry.” I muttered into his ear, and then, with one, fluid motion…I slit his throat.

Dove didn’t even look at the body as she stepped in to retrieve her dagger, then went into the kitchen and came back, stuffing a cookie into one of her pockets and glancing around the place. “Let’s go.”

I nodded. “You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you.” She looked at me for a moment and then stepped out of the house, shutting the front door behind her.

I crouched down by Garret, closing my eyes and setting my hand on his forehead. He did not deserve this death. He should have been able to wait until his time was right, but instead, life was ripped away from him. I know it is my job. But… that still does not make this easy. I said a simple prayer under my breath, a prayer that I say to every innocent person I kill. “May you rest in peace. May your be treated well. And may God’s favor rest upon you.”

Then, without another word, I stood and walked out. Dove was waiting for me, her mask down and a cookie hanging out of her mouth. She stared at me for a while and then started walking, not looking to see if I would follow.
I stepped into place behind her, and we didn’t speak the way back to The Order, didn’t even look each other in the eye.

When we stepped into the lobby, I could automatically tell that something was wrong. Corvus was sober. His feet were off the table. And he was looking straight at us, as if we had stolen his booze. I raised an eyebrow.
“’ello again. We got news. Seems Orion ‘as died, and Falco ‘as taken ‘is place. Speakin’ o’ which, the new leader wants ta see ya two in ‘is office. Ya better ‘urry.” Said Corvus, eyeing us steadily.

Dove tensed and backed up, her back hitting the wall. I frowned, also stiffening. “What does he want.”

Orion…dead? I was partially relieved, partially terrified. Orion is gone, which means no more beatings. Yet Falco is now the one in charge. Order is his to command. This…this is very bad. Orion kept us in line by beatings, and rape for the females. Falco would do even worse. He would experiment on us, or stab us with needles until we break.

“’e wouldn’t say. Jus’ told me ta tell ya two to git to ‘is office when ya return. So go on.” Corvus paused, his voice actually seeming to turn sympathetic. “….good luck.”

I turned and looked at Dove to see what she thought. She wouldn’t meet my gaze, she just stood there, body trembling and eyes on the ground. I can’t imagine what this must be like for her. Orion had tormented her for so long. So has Falco. But now that Orion is dead, there’s no one stopping Falco from doing whatever he wants with us.

“Let’s go, Dove. Get it over with.” I said softly, searching her face for any answers.

She shivered more and shook her head. “No…I…I cannot….” She mumbled. And for once, she sounded weak, and helpless. She then looked up at me, and I could swear that her eyes were brimming with tears. Dove? Crying? … I have never seen her do that before.

“Brother. Raven. Raven is gone. I… cannot feel his presence. He has left me… and now…” she gulped, quickly wiping her eyes and stepping away from the wall. “Now we must face Falco. Even if… Raven is not here to prevent things from happening.”

I watched her warily. Dove has been through a lot, but she rarely shows any moment of weakness. And Raven. That bastard. Out of all the times for him to leave, he chose the worst. I don’t like Raven. But Dove seems horrified without him.

I nodded and slowly took her hand in mine, then gave it a slight squeeze. She looked surprised by the action, but did not pull her hand away, and let me lead her through more hallways and to Falco’s office.

When we got to the door we both took a moment to brace ourselves, then slowly opened it, together.

We didn’t even have time to look around. A dark blob fell away from the ceiling. I saw a flashy grin, a pitch black cloak, and then fell backwards, everything going black as I felt a thin needle being shoved into my left arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then I woke up. I couldn’t see anything clearly for a while, and had to blink away the blurriness. It took me a while to register, but it seemed that I was half naked, and strapped to a cold metal table. I frowned and looked down at myself. My left arm was sort of oozing, and several small puncture wounds were there, suggesting plenty of needles. I felt…sick. Poisoned. The frown deepened as I saw deep gashes along my legs, and I took a sharp intake of breath as my body registered the pain. It hurt. Like hell. Almost as if someone had cut me, threw salt on the cut, then rubbed it all in.

Then I looked over at Dove, who seemed even worse. She was laying on her stomach, and she was only in her underclothes. I blinked several times, a bit shocked at what I was seeing. Her back. It wasn’t… a human back. She had two large flaps of skin attached to her. I squinted, realizing that those weren’t just flaps of skin. They were…wings. Bat like wings, looking skeletal, and thin. Her back was oozing just like my arm was, a mixture of blood and some odd green liquid. I had never seen Dove like this. She is always so covered up, I hadn’t even seen her without a cloak. Her body was covered in bruises and puncture marks, bruises probably from Orion, marks most likely from Falco. But what really caught my attention were her wrists. There were multiple, thin cuts on her wrists. Some of them were fading scars, but most seemed new. …I had no clue. No idea that my own sister was a cutter. She always seems calm and collected, only showing weakness when someone tries to touch her.

“…Dove?” I whispered, my voice coming out cracked and faded. It was hard to talk, I almost couldn’t even focus on saying it correctly. What the hell did Falco do to us…

Dove made a small whimper noise, but did not do anything other than that.
I frowned once more, then stared up at the ceiling, legs and left arm stinging. We layed there for some time, I cannot remember how long. Then my restraints suddenly slackened, allowing me to sit up. I shakily got to my feet, and glanced around the lab nervously.

There were needles and test tubes, many chemicals I couldn’t name, even a few limbs hanging from the ceiling, all different sizes. I felt the heat drain from my face as a tiny dismembered hand skittered through the room, and out the door. I quickly found my clothes and slipped them on, then managed to get Dove into her clothes. I put a second cloak on her to cover those grotesque wings.

This all unnerved me. Yeah, I guess you could say I felt pretty damn scared. What if Falco got to Esmeralda? What would I do then? …where is Falco anyway? As soon as I thought the last question a deep, eerie chuckle bounced all around me, seeming to reverberate against the walls. I backed up, my eyes grazing over every inch of the place, trying to find him.

“…Falco. What do you want.” I slowly said, banishing all the fear from my slurred voice. The chuckles just kept going, then suddenly faded away, as if they were not there to begin with. I stood my ground, and probably stayed frozen on that spot for ten minutes. He did not come. Nobody came. I picked Dove up and carried her on my back, then grabbed her arms and put them around my neck. Gotta get out of here. Gotta get away. Don’t care where I go, I just need some fresh air, and need to figure out what’s wrong with Dove.

The base. Yes, that place is safest. Hopefully Esmeralda will be there. So I took Dove and walked out of that room, trying my best not to just bolt out of there as fast as I could.

A few assassins gave me a curious glance, probably wondering why I was carrying a bundle on my back, but I didn’t stop long enough for them to question it. I quickly went down the stairs and shoved myself out the front door, ignoring Corvus as he called out to me. My legs almost gave out from the cuts and the extra weight, but I just kept walking, never stopping.
Dove would groan or moan, but she did not wake up, and I felt the arms around my neck tighten. Good. She’s not dead.

Eventually I made it to the base, and saw Esmeralda start running toward me. I couldn’t help feeling relieved. She looked perfectly fine, maybe a little pale. My lips twitched up in a smile, as Dove clutched to my back.

“….ya miss me?”






^^^Random thing I suddenly felt like writing. Pretty much what was happening when Orion was being viciously murdered.

"^^^Random thing I suddenly felt like writing. Pretty much what was happening when Orion was being viciously murdered."

Es just gave a really big smirk at the last part there >.>

UPDATE OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS! OKAY, NOT REALLY BIBLICAL, CAUSE THAT'S HOLY...BUT....CLOSE ENOUGH!

*does a barrel roll for the sake of doing a barrel roll* HELLO! WELCOME, TO THA UPDATEROONI. Ahem.

All righty. Now. All the assassins were pretty much being depressing for a while, all curled up in that basement and eating strawberries. Fun times.
Dove made Raven leave, Cerberus was all "Meerrrh I'm craaazy give me blooood." Deekan was having brain barf about the plan,(brain barf is worse than a brain fart, cause it gets EVERYWHERE. AND HAS CHUNKS. Have fun with that mental image. You are welcome.) Grif and Es were being cuddly. Eventually one of Deekan's siblings, AJ, came and offered to help with the plan, and that basically went like this:

AJ: "I'mma here, lemme in."

Deekan: "NUOOOO CAUSE I'M PARANOID!"

AJ: 9.9 "Lemme in or I turn in all ya'lls and all ya'lls children of your children's childrens."

Deekan: "BUT THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE, UNLESS YOU HAVE A TARDIS."

....maybe I'm, getting a little off subject. Ahem.

AJ: *some taunts and stuff, basically saying, "Let me help or I will ruin your entire plan, cause I'm selfish like that."*

Deekan: *eventually opened the door and tackled AJ, all ragey and whatnot*

Griffin: ._. *was pretty quiet, but I can swear that his inner cheerleader was rooting for Deekan. That's right. Griffin has an inner cheerleader. O-O*

Dove: *comes up and suddenly becomes some badass, then threw AJ ON THE GROUND!*

Rose: *nomnomnomstrawberries*

Raven: ... ._.

AND THEN AJ WAS THROWN INTO A CELL! TA DA!

Anywho. Raven and Dove got back together and everything went shitty and depressing again.

Then Valentine's Day came, and things got dirty.

Es and Griffin had some special time in their forest, which probably made a bunch of baby animals be purged of their little innocent baby animal ways. After a few conversations and stuff, Griffin decided to be a moment ruiner and tell Es that Emmeline was pregnant.
(Meanwhile, Ella and I were all "*3* dramas~" and we were honestly enjoying watching our characters be in pain. at least I was. I'm sadistic like that sometimes...)
Esmeralda freaked, Griffin was all rbehkrtjaghkr. Then Es asked him if he ever cheated on her. Weeeeeeelllllllllllluuhhhhmmmmheh...hehe....AHAHAHA!

He totes did.

Kinda complicated, though. After Esmeralda died that one time from that one chick who was Esmeraldatastic, Ella got Grif drunk and then threw Emmeline at him. Remember that? I sure do. Things got naughty back then. Course, Grif did wake up and leave immediatly afterwards, but Esmeralda was still all betrayed after hearing that he got down to Chinatown with Em while she was in the void of dead people. (okay, they didn't go to Chinatown. But they sure did get down.)

Es ran away, Griffin dramatically ran after her. There was yelling and fighting and screaming and crying. Then mind possessing. Moar yelling. Some sadness and brain talkness. Grif went back to the base, Es crumpled to the floor like a bag of brown suga.

Then Es came back to the base. Course, griffin was outta there and off killing people. She yelled at Rose, Rose yelled at Es, there were cuss words and possibly a small catfight. Cerberus was all himself and hugged Esmeralda and gave her some of his weird advice, then she ran off. Eventually Talon was sent away. Es gave said Talon a letter, said Talon swooped away in raven glory, and Grif met Es at le naughty smooch den.

There was moar talking and brain stuffs, which led to them getting back together. Fast forward through a good tenish minutes of sucking face, and they fell asleep.

Then Esmeralda had a dream about Griffin's ladies, demon babies, and one armed mutants. Don't ask.

She woke up and Griffin calmed her down, then she fell asleep again. Then all was good with the world.

...wait. Scratch out that last sentence. All is NOT good in their world. Falco is being insane, Grif possibly got a chick preggers, Rose is all sad and such, Cerberus needs an exorcist or something, and on top of all that, Raven won't eat any strawberries. What's wrong with that guy? STRAWBERRIES ARE DELICIOUS, RAVEN! DELICIOUS!

.....So all is not right with their world. But it's close enough to right than it was before, which I guess is acceptable. Le fin.

DEEKAN'S PLAN OF PLANTASTICNESS.

Okay. So...plans. this might be hard to understand for any of you dear lurkers, cause it was spawned from my brain and my brain is just all wonky right now.

So The Order is kinda like a warehouse on the outside. A large building with two floors and a basement. The entrance leads to a small lobby where Corvus is, at the receptionist desk. Then you turn to the right and there are stairs. The stairs leading down go to the basement, where it's just a veeery large room. Here is where all the torture stuff is held, and prison cells are to the left, with storage on the right.

The first floor is where all the training happens, and where the assassin teacher's rooms are. There are three training rooms, all for different things. Weapons class and the art of poison is taught by Ursa, an old teacher who also makes all the assassins weapons. Interrogation, pain tolerance, and awareness training, taught by Aquila. Martial Arts, defense, and dodging taught by Corvus.Then outside survival, ranged weapons, and first aid, taught by Willow. The first floor also hosts the dirty cafeteria, a small library, and Orion's study, which is now Falco's.

The second floor is the barracks, where all the assassins sleep. Their rooms are basically no larger than a closet, only holding enough room for a floor mat and maybe a small chest to keep valuables in. There is also the hospital wing and Falco's huge laboratory.

Anyway. That was just the description of the place, here is the actual plan.

First of all, Deekan needs to get rid of the trackers. None of the other assassins know about the gps trackers in them...only Deekan does. He says that whenever they went to the base they would activate a small electronic device, making the trackers glitch and think that they were somewhere else, and that is how no one has found them out yet. Deekan has not told everyone about this before because he did not want to freak them out, or make The Order suspicious by him removing them. Then Roxanne must inject everyone with some sort of medicine thing, that will make it so that if Falco injects any of them with something while they are fighting, it will have no effect.

So Roxanne is going to remove everyone's tracker, and attach them to pigeons, that way Falco will not be certain where they are. .Oh, and Deekan will give everyone little microphones and earbuds. Just like in the movies, where he can talk to them in their ear and hear everything that goes on. Then Esmeralda is going to stay behind at the base with Medea, Rose, Deekan, and Roxanne.

Raven, Griffin, Dove, Vulture, AJ, and maybe Jackdaw are the ones heading in. AJ will lead them to a tunnel that she apparently built in her free time. They will go into said tunnel and come out at the basement. Deekan figured this would be better than going straight through the front door. Oh, and they will be doing this at three in the morning. That way no normal assassins get in their way.

So they go through the tunnel...~ Griffin is ordered to go after Willow, and Dove is ordered to go after Ursa, and AJ is ordered to go after Corvus. Aquila is fine though, she won't protest to The Order getting attacked. The reason Grif and Dove are going to be seperated from the others is because Deekan believes that Raven and Es would be too distracted with them around, and wouldn't be able to focus on the plan. Dove and Griffin are said to go straight to Falco's lab after they have done their jobs.

Nooooow for Esmeralda. When Deekan gives the word, she is to inflict as much mental pain on Cerberus as she can. falco and Cerby's minds are connected, and by doing this she can make Falco a bit groggy from a major headache, even though it will really hurt Cerby too. Deekan's willing to take the chance.

Now. As soon as Es is done doing that, Raven will use his shadow stuff to come back and get Es, then bring her to The Order. Vulture, Raven, and Es will run into Falco's lab and start fighting. Deekan explains to Es that Falco has a power, which is rare and stuff because some people in my canon have powers, but not many. falco's power is the ability to make clones of himself. That's where Esmeralda's mind stuff comes in. When Falco gets desperate and uses his power, Esmeralda needs to use her mind to find the real Falco. He will most likely have the most twisted, effed up head.

Course...Becca will be there. Deekan will order everyone to be careful of what is in Falco's backpack, but he will also say DO NOT KILL IT. WE MIGHT NEED IT IF THINGS GO BAD. So be careful about what's in the backpack.

By the time Grif and Dove are done, Dove is ordered to hold Griffin and use her wings to fly him up, so they crash through the window in Falco's laboratory. (Dove is not very strong, but her wings are badass. If Griffin holds on to her tightly this should work out fine.) Then they will help in the fight with Falco.

And Jackdaw. Deekan doesn't particularly like Jackdaw. So his orders to him are, "I DON'T CARE WHAT THE FUCK YOU DO, JUST DON'T RUIN THE PLAN."