Heros and Villains and-What the Heck?! (Anaeria and Dublin)

[Anaeria]

Cities. Sucked. Big time. Those were pretty much the only things that Isanya MacAllistair was thinking as she pulled her open-backed forest green jeep into the driveway of her newest home. The building was tall, old and clearly rather rundown, but there was a beautiful ivy network that wove and wandered it's way up two of the four walls of the building, the yard wasn't mowed or pesticide-ridden to within an inch of it's life and there were three fruit trees in the seventy foot yard, which were in full fruit now that it was the middle of summer.

Turning off the engine of her vehicle, which she'd had expensively reconstructed to use canola oil instead of gasoline, Isanya leaned back in the chair to just look up at the slightly imposing structure. There were better buildings all over the neighbourhood, but the six foot tall redhead wouldn't have any of them. Skin paler than flour, eyes a vivid, nearly poisonous green and flaming hair down to her butt that was tied back into an efficient braid to keep the unruly curls tamed, the woman climbed out of the vehicle and stood up after a moment of inner contemplation.

Dressed in a pale blue-white sundress that set off her hair and fair skin, the garment ended just over her knees and the same coloured high heels that ticked against the broken concrete of the driveway were spotless. The dress was fluid around her body as she bent over, leaning into the jeep to pull out an old fashioned sunhat, white with a light blue ribbon around it which in turn held a beautiful deep blue rose. The plant was alive, and a faint sweet scent could be smelled if one leaned close enough.

It had been nearly six months since her accident, when her previous jeep had flown off of a cliff face, successfully killing her deep in the Amazon Jungle land where she'd been doing research on a newly discovered type of bird that had the oddest ability to mimic it's surroundings simply by fluttering it's feathers. The paramedics hadn't shown up at all, but a tribe of indigenous peoples had....and they'd saved her. In so many ways she was newly reborn, and she knew her goals in life had changed considerably when she'd awakened a month after the accident to discover she was no longer human. It was during her next five months that she learned her new purpose and for the first time since then she was back in human society. If one could call it that. She knew what real societies were supposed to be like, and they were NOTHING like this cesspool of humanity.

It had been a shock when she'd first arrived at the airport of San Anroen and seen the televisions where supernatural people had come out of the closet and were now celebrities, protectors and whatnot of human kind. She'd rather quickly gotten used to it though by killing one of the least known villians who'd tried holding up the damned airport just as her plane had arrived. He'd been a complete idiot, following her when she'd told him she'd give him something 'good' if she followed him with his explosives strapped to his chest and his nasty physical deformity that made him non-human.

Who cared if the man was part chimp? She was worse, and had much more cruel plans for the world of humans than the idiot had. Turning away from the jeep, her heels ticked against the uneven cement as the redhead struck out for her new front door, too deep in thought to notice any of her surroundings, or the way that the tallest plants in the lawn and in the pretty stone plant-containers that ran all the way up the walkway on both sides, leaned in towards her as she passed, several browning ones turning green if they touched her skin. Just because she had legs now, didn't mean that they were her real ones. In the accident she'd been cut literally in half from the hips down, her legs amputated messily and fast. It had taken quite a long time for the shamans of the tribe to give her back a new set of movement-oriented limbs, and to embed the magic within her that would allow her to have legs or a tail if she so desired. She'd been turned cold-blooded as well, which meant she'd have to figure out a way to be able to go outside when it was winter without falling into a deadly comatose sleep so well known to her kind.

The movers had already taken care of her things, including unpacking her dozens of exotic plants, and the renovators had worked double time to prepare her new home on the inside, she couldn't wait to finally get settled, to figure out her first plan of attack on one of the biggest cities in the world. And to finally exact the 'cleaning' that she knew Mother Earth so desperately needed.

 

[Dublin]

Isolation. He'd always considered it something of a good thing. A chance to train without being interrupted, a chance to listen to his master's teachings without being distracted. To be alone, to him, was the second most important thing of his life. But now? Well, the comforting silence was all that he had. His master was dead, the purpose he had followed for so long having quickly followed. There was nothing else but the quiet, but the relative peace.

His home had grown disheveled over the last few months; cloths littered the floor, dirty plates had been piled up in the sink. The servants his master had hired were all quick to leave when word of his death reached them. It would be depressing, they had claimed. They would be reminded to often of their beloved employer. And yet, the young man very much doubted their claims, though had never bothered to voice his concerns. Indeed, he very much preferred for them to leave. They had always viewed him with scorn, hadn't they? The quiet little boy, unable to hold even a half-decent conversation. They had always looked at him with a certain level of contempt, their eyes always glistening with annoyance that they could only just barely hide. Yes...yes it was best that they were gone. It was best that he was left to his own devices. To his own thoughts.

The couch squeaked a bit beneath him as he learned forward, icy blue eyes staring out through the dusty glass. He twiddled his fingers at he bit at his lip, only just barely paying to the events outside. A new face apparently had decided to take up residence in one of the local vacant houses. He'd walked past it before. An unruly mess, vines choking at the foundation. Not like it mattered to him, but to your average house hunter...? They'd most likely turn down their noses.

Brushing a strand of sweaty black hair from his eyes, he let his gaze travel down to the carpet for a brief moment. He'd been doing this for a couple of days now. Getting up, working out, taking a quick shower, eating a small breakfast, and then plopping his butt right on this couch, not even budging an inch for hours on end. How long would this happen? How long would he be stuck in this stupor? It was like, with his master gone, someone had flipped an off switch in his brain. There was nothing left inside him. Well, mostly. He was just an empty shell mostly, with only one desire floating about.

Revenge.

His palms curled up into fists as the word traveled through his mind, body trembling a bit as those traces of anger began to grow. The one who had done it, the one who had killed his master. Just thought of tearing him limb from limb brought forth a sensation that was so wrong and yet at the same time brought a small little smile to his otherwise stony features.

Oh, he would enjoy it so much. Whoever had done it, he would make sure that they'd beg. That they'd get on their hands and knees and plead for him to offer mercy. And would he? He couldn't help but chuckle slighty at the thought, the smile of his only growing.

No, no he wouldn't. He make them suffer, he'd make them sob in pain again and again and again and again and again and again-

He was nearly bouncing up and down, his whole body tingling.

-and again and again and again and again and again-

The blood was rushing through his veins, the adrenaline almost too much.

-and again an-

"...!" He froze, features slacking and form relaxing. He'd nearly lost control there...that was...

I need some fresh air...

With another couple squeaks he pulled him up from the couch, rubbing the sweat off his forehead before quickly (almost too quickly) making out of the living room and towards the door.

A walk will be good...

With a creak, the door was yanked open. A flood of light was the first thing that greeted him, the young man wincing just a bit as it burned at his eyes. Raising a pale hand, he held it over his eyes as he emerged into the daylight, shutting the door behind him before moving out onto the sidewalk. He'd dressed pretty normally, nothing too out of place. A simple, black flannel shirt was accompanied by a pair of slacks and tennis shoes. Hardly appropriate for a fight, but he had no plans on getting into one. At least...yet.

As he made his way down the sidewalk, the young man couldn't help but let his gaze wander for just a brief second. Settling upon the house from just before, he took note of the home's new owner. A red-headed woman, roughly around his age give or take. A normal human probably wouldn't take note of her beauty, of her brilliant hair or fair skin. And yet, to the young man, not a thing went through his mind.

Hm...

 

[Anaeria]

After finally setting her bags and the like into the entryway to the house, Isanya stretched and slipped off her shoes, wiggling her toes lightly to get them unpinched from the pretty, but extremely useless shoes. She preferred to go barefoot most of the time, and the calm, cool expression on her face was one that was generally seen as her being unfriendly, though children and those with 'pure souls' as her teacher had taught her, saw her as a beauty. To be honest, her human form was annoying, now that she was so used to her legless form, it was as though her body had been born as a naga, not as the human woman who'd died in the car accident so deep in the jungle.

Stretching her lean limbs over her head once she'd tossed her hat into the house which was caught by a vine and held gently out of sight, Isanya glided back down the stairs and began to tend to her garden. It had been very badly overrun with plants in the past, the dandelions and ragweed running wild and untamed. Now however, it looked more tamed, the ragweed remaining only in a far corner of the garden, since she couldn't bear to kill it off entirely. The dandelions made a pretty border along the wrought iron fencing that stood waist high. Already there were rumours in the neighbourhood about a small gang of thieves who'd tried to get into the house when it became obvious someone was moving in, disappeared mysteriously.

The ivy along the walls of the building were quiet, their leaves not rustling even in the breezes that blew through, and they held many more secrets than the stupid humans could even begin to fathom. They also had a taste for human flesh, as did the vibrantly coloured roses which bordered the house itself. Stepping down onto grass which upon her arrival had been scraggly, but was now lush and green, Isanya spotted several humans peering out of windows at her curiously, one walking a small ratty looking dog staring at her in amazement so hard he ran into a pole. The sounds of the city were muted in her little patch of home, but the squeak of a door opening next door had cool green eyes peering over there as the dog walker rubbed his forehead and cursed. A large bird, the size of a medium dog in fact, shifted on the balcony railing and blinked enormous gold coloured eyes. It had been there the whole time, sleeping comfortably and so still that it had seemed to be a statue while it awaited Isanya's arrival.

The bird itself was a mottled russet colouring, like drying blood, and the wicked beak and talons it displayed were meant for ripping and tearing into food. It turned its head as well to peer in the direction of the dark haired young mans house as he stopped in the doorway, obviously to allow his eyes to adjust. The redhead tilted her head curiously at the dishevelled human who stepped outside, then blinked once and looked down to see a morning glory in one of the planter pots wrapping itself about her wrist in a bid for attention, which effectively distracted her. The bird however, kept a very close watch the on the human male.

 

[Dublin]

His eyes met with the woman's own for a brief moment, a rather odd shiver running through his spine. He was quick to break contact, letting his gaze refocus upon the street ahead as he began to continue on his way. Pursing his lips, he couldn't help but still take note of the vine-covered house from the corner of his eyes. It still seemed quite odd that anyone would choose to live in such a dwelling, and there was that woman as well. Though he had only gotten a couple-second glance, there was something...something rather off about her. He'd always been the observant sort, his gut never proving wrong. There was that bird as well. Even now he could feel her companion's eyes on him. He would have to keep an eye on her. Bu-

"Oi, Deschain!"


Great.

Rolling his eyes just slightly, the young man whirled about to greet the source of the voice. He saw them almost immediately. It was a small group, actually. About five men, strutting towards him in an idiotic attempt at looking threatening. Their tattered jackets blew in the afternoon breeze, the smoke from their cigarettes clinging to the air. Their leader, the one who'd gone ahead and addressed him, had a smug little smile planted upon his face.

"..." The young man's features didn't even flinch as they drew closer, the leader getting even closer. The young man's eyes traveled a bit, taking in the leader's greasy hair...his dirt-stained teeth. And then there was that rancid smell tainting his breath.

"...I see that haven't changed, York," He suddenly found himself getting an even closer look as the man lashed out, grabbing the neck of his shirt and pulling him in just a bit. The leader smirked, his plaque-ridden smile growing all the more.

"...I've been looking for you, Leon. I think we've got somethin' to settle,"

Things were about to heat up.

 

[Anaeria]

They're eyes having met for a moment, Isanya blinked, memorizing the slightly glassy eyed look to the humans' eyes and expression. He seemed...stunned. In shock perhaps. An odd thing, yes, but not unexpected for one who lived in this neighbourhood apparently. She was busy dealing with the morning glory however, and failed to note the arrival of the small gang of bigger, tougher looking human men until their raucous noise had her feathered friend twitching slightly in irritation, his beak snapping open, then shut in annoyance with an audible 'SNAP'.

Apparently, the noise was loud enough to catch the attention of one of the sickly-er looking henchmen of the fellow who had ahold of her new neighbours' shirt. The sallow faced fool didn't even seem to see the bird which had made the noise, instead focusing on the red haired woman in her yard, dealing with a batch of 'weeds'. One of his boney elbows jabbed into the side of another for a moment and the two exchanged grins before breaking away from the group. They weren't quite ballsy enough to set foot on the grass, knowing the rumours that had begun to spread about the house, though they knew nothing about it's newest inhabitant. The sickly looking male, who couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen, and cocky as hell as most boys that age were, leaned against the fence and proceeded to air hump it, leering and sending a shrill, shaky and very pathetic wolf whistle Isanya's way.

The Naga had been attempting to ignore the foolishness of the humans in the road, but that whistle, and the obvious motions that the human was doing to her fence was just disgusting. Her eyes changing slightly to the colour of brittle green glass, the Isanya straightened up and glared at the boy with an expression set to 'annihilate'. The guy paused, but was either too drugged out or was just plain stupid, as he jerked his hips more wildly, his buddy egging him on with a loud, donkey-like laugh.

Isanya headed for the fence, her gait deceptively quick considering she barely seemed to move at all. She was in front of the little beast within moments, and her hand had lashed out in a resounding slap that echoed rather loudly, slammed the boys head sideways and had him nearly spinning with the force of the hit. The guys' friend staggered back a bit in shock, then flushed red in anger as the first fellow blinked to get his watering eyes under control, a set of four livid fingernail prints beginning to leak blood from where Isanya's nails had caught him. To add to the attack, her bird, named Methrelin(Vengeance) spread his wings on the balcony...and shrieked. The sound was loud, fierce and more than a little pissed off. A perfect mimic to the red heads' emotions, though her quiet "Get the Fuck off away from my property you filthy little brats." After the shriek was filled with enough venom that she nearly spat it. Not that she actually could of course, only her lower half was a snake after all, she wasn't one of the more venomous breeds.

 

[Dublin]

The man had lurched forward, grabbing the collar of the boy's shirt and pulling him forward just a bit. Deschain could feel the punk's rancid breath washing over his face, his nose wrinkling just a bit as he listened to the man bark out his toothless threats. "Now that the old man is gone, we've been lookin' into taking that house of yours boy," A slight chuckle escaped his lips as he spoke, eyes alight with a sadistic delight. He honestly thought he stood a chance? How cute.

"...after all, your just one person, aren't ya?" That grin of his only widened, his grip tightening, "You don't need that whole place to yourself anyhow, we-huh?"

His attention was broken as the woman's words caught his ear. His turned away almost immediately, eyes narrowing as he saw one of his goons stumbling back from the fence, clutching the side of his face.

"Oi!" His grip on Deschain loosened just a bit as he looked over at the chick, grimy teeth bared. "...what the hell do you think your doing!?" The fact that this woman had the audacity to not only talk back, but to actually attack one of his men was obviously making the gang leader all that happy. It was to the point where he had nearly forgotten about Deschain, both eyes set firmly upon the woman behind the fence.

Big mistake.

The young man only needed that brief moment of distraction to get an edge over the punk, quickly bringing his knee up and slamming it right on into the asshole's stomach. He barely even had a chance to react, only able to let out a weeze before stumbling back. He didn't get a chance to recover, as Deschain was quick to move in. He grabbed the man's hair, and once more brought his knee up, letting it collide with the thug's jaw.

He was out cold.

The others had begun to sprint towards the attacker, eager to avenge their unconscious boss.

"Get away from here," He called out to the woman before letting his full attention fall upon the attackers. Alright then...

 

[Anaeria]

'Awww how sweet...if a little medieval.' Isanya raised an eyebrow at the guy who'd warned her to get away. The guys were going after him now and to be honest, the Naga had no use for the human police to be running around in front of her house if things got even more out of hand. She would step in if there was stupidity involved. The two guys who'd come over to her were easy to bring down, with a little help from a Chokevine that was growing up the sides of the wrought iron fence. A quick snatch about their ankles had their heads clunking together, then the plant pulled back and returned to it's normal position on the fence as the humans slid to the ground. And she stood there to watch, cool green eyes assessing the humans in front of her.

To be honest again, the redhead was beginning to become interested in the hollow-eyed young man getting prepared to deal with the gang of bigger, nastier smelling men. The winds that had kicked up brought the scent and taste of the rather rauchier smelling guys, and the slightly cleaner taste/scent of her neighbour. From where she was standing, the yard was greener already, denser and somehow darker, to match her mood of quiet watchfulness. Methrelin mantled again, then took to the air and landed on her shoulder, their gazes the same predatory expression as they stood silently. A lone tendril of Chokevine reached out towards her, touching her dress for a moment before coiling back to the fence and promptly allowing the whole vine to produce some rather wicked thorns.

The human struggle, to Isanya, was one that was going to be futile eventually. She knew of trees and species which had been around billions of years before mankind was so much as a thought in the universe, it would end eventually. As would this brief skirmish.

 

[Dublin]

It was almost to easy. To the young man, it was as though they were moving in slow motion. Their punches he could see coming from a mile away, their kicks barely even making it halfway up before he himself was able to counter. The sickening crunch of bone could heard throughout the local area as he dealt with one after another, the young man barely even breaking a sweat as he slowly become surrounded by the crumpled forms of the gang. Hmph, it was almost a shame he had to go ahead and knock out York so quickly. It would've done the hotheaded punk a bit of good to see his little group reduced to a bunch of screaming little kids.

He grabbed the last one by the arm, yanking the brutish man forward without even a bit of strain before bringing his own head back, slamming it right into his opponent's own. Deschain barely even felt a thing, though the same couldn't be said for his opponent. The man hit the ground without a noise, as silent as a mouse.

Brushing off his hands he gave a quick glance over his broken foes before letting his attention refocus upon the red-headed woman. She was sti-wait...

"What in the-hm?" He didn't get a chance to finish. His keen ears had picked up the slight little click, and he barely had time to turn about before there was a loud CRACK followed by a searing pain rushed through his belly. He fell back, blood blossoming over his shirt as he collided with the concrete.

"Ha...ha...ha..." A weak little chuckle reached his ears, and through blurry he could make out the figure of York. The man's face was caked in blood, his next words barely even audible.

"Yoush...gosh...nuthin osh me..." He slurred, the pain from his half-broken jaw apparent. "...little brash..." His finger fell upon the trigger, "...gonnsha teash you a leshon..."

 

[Anaeria]

The fight was short, swift and brutal compared to many she had seen before, and Isanya was mildly disappointed....until the leader of the gang pulled out a gun. Foolish human. She expected her neighbour to notice that weapon immediately, but apparently that was too much to ask from the younger male, who ended up getting the bullet directly through his gut. The redhead shook her head in mild disappointment before he hit the ground, the iron tint of blood in the air hitting her tongue and tasting rather lovely to her predatory senses.

The bigger human, the one with the gun, she'd mentally call him Stupid One, was slurring something at the shorter male, his finger sliding back to the trigger. Methrelin shrieked at that, though he'd kept silent during the first shot that had hurt his sensitive ears, covered in feathers though they were. Mantling his wings once again, the enormous bird hit the air like a shot, taking off from Isanya's arm like an arrow. He went for the human with the gun at the same time that a mild flick of her fingers sent the Chokevine to do what it did best to the human man. It hit his hands and fingers the same time the bird hit his face, three-inch long talons gouging out both eyes and raking up a decent amount of flesh from his cheeks. At the same time, the Chokevine had ahold of his fingers and was constricting them, as well as bending them backwards, ten short, sharp popping sounds indication of dislocated digits, plus the humans shrill shrieks of agony as Methrelin dealt with his face, had the guy successfully dealt with. And Isanya hadn't even had to move beyond her fingers directing the plants, which very sucessfully bound and held the humans who had attempted to bully her new neighbour.

Already there were sirens coming up the street however, and Isanya sighed, knowing she'd have to put on a tremblingly feminine face and make up a story about her plants or some such thing once the police arrived, her emerald eyes turned to the human who was her neighbour, taking in the sight of the blood and that rather obvious scent of a near-mortal wound in a still living animal. Methrelin returned to his balcony, tactfully wiping his talons on a bit of cloth she had set out for him earlier, as he was finicky about his eating habits, having learned from her...and the taste of human was not on any of his menus of food. "....Do I save you boy....or would you prefer to die in the road like a cur?" Cultured, sweet and yet with a hidden steel to it, Isanya spoke to her neighbour with a single intensity that exlcuded any and everything but the question.

 

[Dublin]

He was half-unconscious by the time the woman reached him, the boy just barely able to pick out her words through the thick haze clouding his mind. And despite the pain, despite the foggyness of it all, his stubborness remained. He blinked, trying to clear his mind as he gingerly pressed both of his palms into the crimson-stained street.

"I'll live,"

His entire body screamed as he slowly, very slowly, began to pull himself. It felt like he'd swallowed broken glass, his stomach on fire. And yet, despite the undescribable agony cursing his form, the boy continued to slowly pull himself. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, it wouldn't take. By the time he managed to get upon his feet his body decided to give out, and with only a slight gasp he stumbled forward, hitting the ground thump. Another flash of pain coursed through him, and for a moment he thought he was going to bite off his tongue.

"..." His master had taught him to ignore pain, of the inconveniences it brought, and yet here he in such a sorry state. How irritating. The bullet was probably still in him as well...

"Dammit, I..." He blinked, glancing up at the woman through pained eyes, "...fine,"

 

[Anaeria]

"You're a horrendous liar boy." Her lips quirking slightly as the human attempted to get to his feet. And failed, rather spectacularly. Leaning down to the boy, the red headed woman slid her arms underneath his arms and lifted his weight with a deceptive easiness compared to her relatively slight frame. "Seems I have a new stray." Murmuring that quietly, she headed for the house, ignoring the sirens that threatened just up the street.

Entering her house was like stepping into the jungle; warm, humid and very, very green. Enormous plants grew from floor to ceiling, and the walls had been taken out for the most part from the first and basement floors, leaving the basement section nothing but thick dirt which filled that space up to the first floor, so she had but to step across the threshold of the front door to feel her feet sink into soft, damp earth. There main and second floor of the house, as well as the third, though not the attic itself, was all floorless space, meant for the enormous plants and vines which covered the pillars set to hold up the outward exterior of the house and the windows themselves were all one-way glass, set to keep the outside from seeing the inside of her home.

The glass was also shatter proofed, which was helpful as several plants had taken to climbing up some of them. In the center of the large room, there was a tree growing, small compared to it's much larger siblings in the jungle of course. It's roots shifted visibly for her as she approached, changing to form a moss covered 'couch' of sorts, while several small birds fluttered over to investigate the human that she set down. A snake, a beautiful yellow boa constrictor also slithered out from the tree branches to hang in the air at face-level. She knew he would probably not notice much, if anything, of all that, his wound obviously painful and probably taking most of his attention.

The sirens had finally hit the scene as well, and an ambulance was there as well now, outside of her home. Methrelin was indoors now as well, having come inside on silent wings when she brought in the human male, he was perched on a thick stand of vines, preening himself. The cops were already swarming the scene as well and the leader of the gang was the first to be taken away by ambulance and she expected to have her doorbell rung any moment as she set about finding the correct plants for the humans' body. Hopefully she wouldn't require him going to the hospitals, her plants were unique in the aspect that they had rudimentary minds of their own when it came to things like injury and such, so they would help...but he probably wouldn't like it. At all.

 

[Dublin]

"..." If it wasn't for the gaping hole in his stomach Deschain would have perhaps had a more of mind to struggle as the woman pulled him into the home. Unfortunately for the boy, however, the only thing he found himself capable of was staring upwards at the ceiling...watching as the blurry scenery passed on by. Within the home he was bombarded by hot, humid air almost immediately, lungs panicking for a brief moment before he was able to catch his breath. His mind was something of a mess at the moment, the pain had done a solid job breaking things up. However, at the very least, he was able to realize that there was something very wrong with the home she had brought him into. He could feel the dirt beneath his limp hands, could just barely make out the vines that clung to the walls around him. It felt like he'd been pulled into a jungle instead of just some random house.

Just who was this woman...?

He didn't get a chance to dwell on that thought as another bolt of pain ran through his abdomen. He winced as he felt her lift him up, setting him down upon what seemed like a couch. He was a chalky white now, and through narrowed eyes he could see the small trail of blood he'd brought with him. Dammit...

"...where..." His voice was weak, was hoarse. "...where am I...?"

 

[Anaeria]

"My house of course. Now relax while my children deal with that rather nasty wound of yours while I deal with the humans outside." Getting to her feet and shedding her sundress in the same motion, completely uncaring that she was nude beneath the garment in front of the male human, the Naga headed for the front door, snagging another dress that was offered to her by a trailing plant as she moved. Pulling the new dress over her head, this one a deep black to hide the spatters of blood on her body from his wound, Isanya stood in the doorway and seemed to become mroe meek, leaning on the doorframe, shading her eyes with one hand that trembled -just- enough to show weakness, but not illness, as an officer came up the walkway.

While she was distracted, her 'children' began to move. The birds took flight while two thin, flat tendrils of vine slid down the trunk of the tree, easily moving towards the wound in the boys' stomach. They were perfectly gentle in beginning to probe the wound, not trying to cause more pain. As they moved, they secreted a slight gel, like ointment, that was aimed to dull pain, to numb the areas of flesh that it touched, without the horror of such things as needles, which were entirely foreign and not meant to aid the body as much. Everything the plants did, or secreted or used, was entirely natural. After all, less than twenty percent of the worlds jungles had been documented, and plants and species were being discovered every day by 'scientists' and those with 'knowledge of the unknown world'. What a joke.

 

[Dublin]

The officer was a middle-aged man, his gaunt face seemingly unfazed by the blood that had been shed outside. Indeed, judging from that narrowed look in his eyes one could assume that annoyance was the chief emotion he was feeling at the moment. He gave the womanonly a quick little look, before reaching into his pocket, withdrawing a pad of paper. Without a word, he began to scribble some things down. Blah, yet another piece of scum laying in a pool of their own blood. He'd seen those gentlemen about before, bunch of drunks who probably hadn't done one good thing in their life. And while he knew that it wasn't the greatest to be speaking ill of the dead, he was honestly almost glad that at their boss wouldn't be bothering the townsfolk anymore.

"Right then," He glanced up at the woman, "...what's your name miss? And mind telling me if you saw what happened down there?" Ugh, if it was up to him he would've just left that punk to rot. Hell, if he knew who it was that did all that crap he probably would've bought them a drink. Course, looking at how much the young man's face was cut up perhaps meeting them face to face wasn't the best idea.

 

[Anaeria]

Isanya launched into a perfectly coordinated mini tirade about how the bullies had shown up out of nowhere while she was in the garden outside, having just arrived in town herself after all, dealing with her husbands funeral and such in another town where she'd lived before. "....I couldn't stand to be in the same town as his grave, so I moved here thinking it would be quieter, less violence you know?"

Wrapping her arms about her waist and shaking her head, appearing close to tears, yet not being able to fully force them in her acting, the redhead recited the features of the 'men' who had shown up out of nowehere when the gang had begun to make nuisances of themselves towards her, giving her a 'greeting' more or less. They'd worn masks and one had used the chokevines in her yard to bind several of the gang members after knocking them out. One of the 'heroes' had cut up the gang leader, she verbally said she hoped he'd die from his wounds, not knowing he already had. True, Methrelin's talons were long and very sharp, but he'd tried not to cause too much damage beyond gouging and taking the others' eyesight.

Meanwhile, out of sight of the short hallway in the front door, which was screened off by a latticework of vines to give secrecy to the rest of the house, the vines beginning to treat her neighbours wound had secreted the necessary amount of pain killer, and had begun to extract the bullet, another vine offering a thick branch coated with a thin layer of honey for him to bite down onto, to both keep him quiet and to keep him from biting his tongue off in order to do so. No use in ending up with a mute for a neighbour after all, Isanya did appreciate the spoken languages, when they were spoken well after all.

 

[Dublin]

The man feature's barely even flinched as he listened to the woman's little story, shaking his head with a hint of annoyance as she described the vigilantes who committed the little act. More of those hero freaks, thinking that they were hot stuff for spilling blood all over the city. He gave a slight sigh as he glanced over his shoulder, letting his gaze fall upon the fallen figure of the gang leader. The paramedics had already begun to surround it, and the rest of his men were pushing away the civvies who were getting too curious for their own good. The captain wasn't going to let him off this case easily, was he? Great.

"Masked men...vigilante acts...hm..." He would soon finish writing, slapping down the final period with a slight tap. "Very well, ma'am, thanks for the assistance. Call us if you have anymore questions,"

He turned his back to her, and was just preparing to make his way back when something made him freeze in mid-step. His eyes narrowed, the officer slowly turning about to let his attention refocus upon the woman. His eyes traveled upwards, glancing over her shoulder and into the house. He'd...hm, he'd heard something. It was muffled, but...

"...did you just hear a scream?" He inquired, taking a slight step forward, "...ma'am, mind if I step inside for a moment?"

 

[Anaeria]

Isanya tried hard not to groan as she heard her neighbour cry out in what had to be agony. When the officer, who was obviously one of those hard-asses she'd heard about, not at all interested in feminine charms or the like. "....A scream?" Blinking her eyes once, the redhead looked behind her and thought hard to figure out an answer...then smiled.

"Oh that, fortunately it's not a human scream, I raise exotic birds, and some of them tend to pick up sounds from outside and mimick them." Raising her hand lightly when she heard a flutter of wings, a streak of crimson and violet landed on her hand and the small bird which tilted it's head at the officer, blinked tiny, bright eyes then chinged at him, the sound of a bicycle bell perfectly imitated. And loud. "I have five of these little ones, I can't tell which of them can mimick those screams from outside though.....want me to bring them out? I can if it would help the investigation, but I can't allow strangers into the house, even if they are the police I'm afraid..." Her eyes calm and cool, Isanya offered another smile, then pretended to jump in surprise when the bird on her hand let out that strangled sounding scream of pain 'again'. "....Well. I suppose there might be more than one who knows that sound...do you have any idea how long it's going to take me to train that out of them? Ugh."

The vine was quick, working faster once the bullet was out, secreting a thicker, light green gel into the wound, a stronger pain killer mixed with antiseptic. A thick leaf, the exact size and length of the wound, drifted out of the tree and the vine grabbed it, setting it over the wound lightly, before it finally slid underneath the human and around to secure itself and the leaf over the wound to keep the gel in place. It didn't sew him up, to be honest there was no need, and the probing showed that the bullet hadn't hit any vital organs, though it had come dangerously close to nicking an artery. The gel would seal off the wound itself, prevent him from losing any more blood, and the medicinal properties in it, both the antiseptic, antibacterial and a few other nice little ingredients, would keep the wound safe from infection, both internal and external....so long as he remained still long enough to allow it to form a seal over his skin, the leaf was there to help it remin in place until it did so. There were close to a dozen animals around him now, brids of various sizes, snakes and lizards, a rather large, vibrantly coloured spider, a small oppossum and more than a few dogs and cats as well, the latter two types having arrived only recently to the new 'sanctuary' from the city itself.

 

[Dublin]

Crazy lady...

The man would only give her a small smile and nod, giving the little bird only a brief glance before tucking the pad beneath his arm. "...very well, that'll be all, please call the department if you have any information for us," And then, with not even a goodbye, the good officer would turn his back to the red-haired lady and make his way back on down the moss-covered steps. To be honest, he was rather glad that the woman actually had given him something of an excuse for that little noise. Today was already enough of a hassle and he really didn't want to go stumbling about this chick's jungle of a home. Hell, for all he knew she could've been the killer.

Eh, nah. She may have been weird, but a murderer...? Psh, was like something out of a comic book.

Then again...

--

"Ugh..." Through reddened eyes the boy blinked, a slight cough escaping his dry throat as he glanced around at the blurry scenery. The pain had done a decent job at messing with his mind, the most he could remember being the aftermath of that little fight. He could recall the bones crunching beneath his fists, the cries of the men as he shattered their egos as well. And then...

"...dammit," His hand swept downward, a slight wince crossing his features as it just barely brushed his bandaged wound. Right...that bastard had decided to take him by surprise. There was that sickening pain, and then...well...

He blinked again, the area around him clearing up just a bit. He took note of the couple dozen sets of eyes upon him almost immediately, his form tensing as he let his gaze travel to each of them. Animals...seemingly more curious than out for blood. Didn't make him any less tense.

Raising his bare shoulders, his blood-stained shirt having been removed, he kept quiet...slowly scanning the room for any sign of human life. Where was he...?

 

[Anaeria]

Shutting the door finally, Isanya let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, then shook her head and stretched, moving around the vines that had covered the front entryway lightly in a screen that hid the large tree out of sight of the officer. The little bird on her hand took flight as well, soaring up into the branches and chirping a light welcome to the boy down below. The other animals as well turned to peer at the Naga woman as she came into view once more. One of the dogs, what appeared to be a coyote mixed with either fox or terrier, got to three paws, one held off the ground and obviously having been gnawed on by something meaner than he was.

The redhead spared just a glance for the human before kneeling on the ground and motioning for the dog to aproach, several vines looping down about her shoulders, a smallish one plucking at the straps of her black sun dress in question before settling when she tapped it lightly with a finger. She didn't care if she went about naked, but humans tended to find nudity, even in ones own home, to be something horrible, something strange and unnatural. As if things like polyester were natural. Good grief. Treating the dogs' paw was simple really, a matter of using some of the water from one of the other plants' wide leaves to cleanse it, a bit of silk from a silk worm, and a gob of spider web from the pretty, large spider that was still watching everyone from her limb of the tree.

To see the woman with vibrant red hair and a black dress sitting on the thick grass and moss floor of the house, with what, for this part of the world could be considered enormous, a spider, and a dog that was obviously feral, calmly tending to the dogs' wounds and not being bitten by the spider, one would think that she was a witch. Or a sorceress. Once the dog was tended to, she let him go to join the smallish pack that was ringed about the tree, protecting her, and watching the human intruder that she had brought in.

Once the dog was dealt with, and a cat which had brought a sickly kitten to her before vanishing into the house somewhere else, she stood up, kitten in her arms, and approached the human, green eyes calm and gentle....but distant. "You will live. Do you remember what had happened?" Methrelin mantled slightly at the memory, his enormous form silent until he moved, the wicked beak working at removing the blood from his breast feathers intent, though his large predators' eyes watched the two two-legged beings down below.

 

[Dublin]

"..." Even though this woman had helped him out with the bullet wound, the boy could still not help but regard her with a hint of apprehension. His own gaze echoed that distant look of her own, body still rigid as he gave her a quick look over. She obviously was not normal human, and he had a feeling that she wasn't a simple tree-hugger either. So, did that mean she was one of them? His instincts flared as that mere thought passed through his noggin, and he had to force himself to leap up. Even with what his master had taught him the young man realized that, if he were to attack her now, he'd be downed within an instant. That was, if what he thought was true. He would have to continue playing the wounded innocent, at least until he could find out the threat that this red-haired maiden posed.

Clearing his mind, the boy would blink at her...silent for another few seconds as he tried to think up at least something to say. He could only just barely recall the fight, and the aftermath was still a blur. Pain certainly had its way of messing with the memory, didn't it?

"...somewhat," His words were weighed down by a slight hint of weakness, a slight grimace running over his face as another bolt of pain shot through his stomach. "...I recall the fight, and I'm also quite aware of the fact that I was shot," He hesitated for a moment, before continuing, "...thank you, by the way. You didn't need to risk yourself, however. It wasn't too serious of a wo-gr," As though lashing out against those words, another slight bit of pain ran through his gut...eyes growing a bit watery for a second.

"...it...it wasn't too serious of a wound,"

 

[Anaeria]

Isanya paused at his words, strangled with pain though they were. Her lips trembled for a moment before she started to laugh. Not so much at him, as at his determination to try and fake being fine when it was more than obvious he wasn't. Immediately her whole demeanor changed, his actions reminded her of a wild coyote she'd seen to recently, who'd been hit by a car, was much more vicious looking than he was in actual life. The kid was obvious dangerous but....he was still, only human.

She laughed, the sound rich and throaty, startling the animals enough to make them jerk, then relax at the noise. It was a pleasant sound, reassuring in a way that was soft and gentle, velvetty. Calming down after a moment or three, she wiped her eyes lightly with her hand then shook her head. "Truly you are an amazing species. So weak, yet too stubborn to admit it. Sit down before you collapse again. Have some fruit, it will make you feel better, since you look like you haven't eaten in months." In response to her words, a tree branch sank down to his level, offering a perfectly ripe mango if he wished, with another fruit, an apple, on the same branch.

 

[Dublin]

His face turned a slight shade of red as that throaty laugh escaped her lips, the color in his cheeks only deepening as he heard the next couple of words that followed. She was barely taking him seriously, wasn't she? Telling him that he needed to eat? Telling him to calm down? This was the way a mother would speak to a child, a 'normal' person. He could feel his eyes narrowing a tad bit as he regarded the red-headed figure with a hint of dis contempt, his gaze wandering to the side for a brief moment to watch as one of the plants moved upon its own...some fruit laying upon its leafy surface. He hesitated for a brief moment, tempted to reach forward and settle that growling hunger that sat in the pit of his stomach. But he refused. Turning away, his eyes fell back upon his 'savior'.

"...I will be fine," He murmured,

Seemingly having ignored the young lady's advice, he once again tried to move...pressing an arm down onto the 'bed' and gingerly trying to pull himself up into a sitting position. He wanted to get out of this...this place as soon as he could. Not only because of the woman's own condescension, but there was the fact that it was so very obvious that she was one of them. There was going to a catch...a price that, most likely, he could not pay. He needed to escape before she could give him the terms...

Through a mixture of sheer grit and just a dash of stupidity the young man had somehow had managed to rise into a sitting position. His breaths were short and shallow as he gripped the edge of the bed with a trembling arm, the young man closing his eyes for a brief moment to try to deal with the agonizing pain that ran through his stomach. He had half a mind to activate the brand...at the very least his master's gift would keep the pain away until he could get home.

No...

It was a trump card, something that he could not even show to civilian let alone this woman. He would have to...

"Son of a..."

...he would have to tough it out. Besides, hadn't he...

He pressed both hands onto the bed, features locked in a grimace as he pulled himself up into a standing position...a hand upon his bandaged abdomen as he forced himself forward...no longer paying attention to the woman. Any normal person would've probably been dead by now, and yet this boy was still able to force himself up.

 

[Anaeria]

His actions, and the sheer stubbornness in him, had Isanya finally shaking her head. "....You do realize that if you step foot outside of the house, the cops will see you correct? It's a possible murder investigation outside after all, right in the streets. They haven't left just yet, still waiting for their crime scene photographer to whatever to arrive." Placing her hands on her hips, the redhead narrowed her eyes slightly at her stubborn neighbour...then shook her head again. "Do whatever you wish of course, I can see you are perfectly in your own right mind." The last was sarcasm at it's best of course, and truth be told she was surprised he'd managed to stand up on his own.

"Oh...just to let you know, if you get jostled or hit anywhere near your wound? You'll die. The bullet was very close to one of the arteries in your gut, any movement not of the norm will tear the vessel and you will bleed out internally. I'd suggest, as a doctor to you currently, that you sit your ass right back down there and rest at least for a while before doing anything else that would be stupid. Like stand up." One of the other dogs, a lab mix with only one eye and a rough scar across her muzzle, growled at the human lightly before butting her head at his knees in an attempt to get him to sit back down. A much bigger dog, an all black great dane with odd coloured white-blue eyes, stepped out from the side of the tree and rumbled as well in response to the female labs' growl, his own much deeper....and more menacing. ".....Rook suggests you sit your ass down before he makes you sit down. I'm going to make some tea up either way. Want some?"

 

[Dublin]

"Ugh," Like a bag of bricks he fell back into a couch, letting his head fall back down onto the arm of it. As much as he hated to admit this woman did have a point...dammit all, what a pain. Closing his eyes a moment, letting the pain slowly (very slowly) subside he gave a slight nod of the head in reply to her offer for tea, his mind skipping a beat for a moment. His master would've scolded him for such recklessness, after all it was quite possible the drink would be poisoned. These creatures were always devious, weren't they? And yet, a measure of common sense told him that he'd be fine. After all, he was already sitting here with a gigantic hole in his stomach...if she really wanted to kill him right now she most likely would've already done so...right?

And besides, he wasn't exactly harmless just yet. He'd stand a chance if she tried anything. Maybe.

"...interesting home," He murmured through parched lips, eyes now half open as he took in the pseudo-jungle. "...how long did this even take you?"

 

[Anaeria]

"...About a week, give or take the time it took for the roots of the plants to settle firmly into the bedrock and such." Shaking her head as she set things up to make tea, Isanya smiled slightly as her neighbour settled back into the 'couch' like a ton of bricks, resisting the urge to wince at how abruptly he did so. A lemonbalm and a peppermint plant neatly settled into two planter pots by the window offered a few of the choicest leaves to add to the tea mix she already had, and within minutes it was ready, smelling wonderful in two fired clay mugs she'd made herself.

"So how come you look as though you've been on a drinking bender for the last month or so? You're obviously malnurished, you're skin is too pale and you apparently have some issues with people who have abilities, even though mine are pretty basic considering some of those out there." Since she was still in her human form, Isanya felt no need to inform him that she wasn't human, but one of those 'mythical' creatures of legends, a Naga. There were plenty of tales out there, to excuse the pun, about the snake-women and men who had no legs but a long, supremely strong tail of a serpent. Her own body was like that of a white tigeress however, one of the rarest, and no tales of her kind existed in this world anymore. Her human form was beginning to itch with just the thought of her real form, wanting to revert, though she settled it back with a sip of her tea, setting her patients' cup down on the root beside him, which adjusted itself so he wouldn't have to reach far for it.