For Better or For Worse

[Audrey]

This week had just been utterly awful for Afterburn. First she had that occasion where Hephaestus pushed her to her physical limit right in front of Batgirl, then she wound up learning about how it felt to be a living doll and got tons of nightmare fuel in the process, and now she had missed her bus home leaving her to have to walk the entire way. As per her typical while amongst the common folk, she was her grey-haired 'Rebecca' persona. As she strolled down the street, she walked fussedly with her hands dejectedly shoved into her jacket pockets. As if things couldn't get any worse, a car whizzing by proceeded to throw a puddle that had gathered in the gutter right at her, completely drenching her. Simply having had enough, she let out a frustrated yell causing several people to look at her. She didn't care though.

She sighed and tucked into an alleyway in order to fix herself up. There wasn't much she could do about her skirt, but she could try to dry out her jacket. She removed the article, revealing the dress shirt and miniature tie underneath. With a heave, she shook out the jacket in an attempt to get the rain off of it. Unfortunately, the flopping seemed to do nothing to it's soaked state. With an even more pained grumble, she tied the jacket around her waist and was about to leave the alley when she saw a book abandoned on the ground.

She usually didn't pick up random objects abandoned in alleyways, but something about this book enticed Afterburn. Like it was calling to her to take it. Seeing no harm in some extra reading material, Afterburn snagged the book and gave a look at the inner cover seeing as the outer was just white with a circle on it. It appeared to be a diary or spellbook of some kind; the author being one Rorek of Nol. Interesting. She proceeded to slip the book under her arm that wasn't facing the street and slipped back into the open.

After an unfortunate two hour walk to her home at the very edge of the city, she tossed her jacket into her laundry hamper and changed into a pair of pajamas. She began to tuck into bed, prepared to go to sleep, only to catch her eyes on the diary of Rorek. She was awful sleepy, but once again the book was calling to her. Like a zombie, she sat up and placed the book on her lap and began to read it.

She was almost aghast at the tale. The arrogant Rorek abused his magical prowess in order to provoke the normally peaceful dragon Malchior into attacking a village, just so that he could defeat the dragon and claim himself a hero. In some ways, she connected with the dragon, Hephaestus being much like Rorek to her. She hadn't even realized how much time had passed by the time she was done with the book. She found herself simply depressed though knowing the end of the diary was so disappointing. Seeing nothong else to do, she rolled over to sleep, only to feel a hand on her shoulder. "Go to sleep, it's alright," a voice eased her surprise, and soon she found she did not have the will to look behind herself, and simply drifted to sleep.

[Deleted]

It was early when Lang got the call. After taking a glance outside his new apartments window to see that the street lamps were still on, he decided that it was still way too early for evil to be bothering with anything. He took a moment to stare out at how the bulbs turned the mist orange like the caution vest of a road worker. Giving a small sigh and a longing glance at the pillow he picked up his red flashing communicator. At least he got three hours of sleep this time.

Pushing a black strand of hair out of his eyes he gave a bit of a sigh. "Osiyo, this is Ghostdance speakin'. Please tell me the reason you're calling is that there is an over-abundance of hashbrowns and you need help disposing of them?" Placing his feet on the floor he sighed morosely. It was never hashbrowns. "Alright. I'll be there in a bit. Lemme get prepared. Does Raven know?" he asks with a bit of worry edging on his voice. When someone saves your life there was a bond that formed between them. And while Lang wasn't sure if could truly call it a friendship, the was undeniably a sense of concern he felt for her. He could only imagine how it must have felt to be betrayed like that. If she was anything like him all this would do is stir all those feelings back up.

"I'll hurry." Lang said as he got on his feet, making his back pop like a log in a fire. "See you in a bit." he grunted as he flicked the communicator closed. Digging through his drawers he pulled out his uniform and scratched at his tanned chest. "Uwelugv" Lang said in a whisper that seemed to echo in the air around him. In the mirror he say his eyes light up in an almost bio-luminescent amber. A blue and white flame burst from his heart and pulsed outwards until it covered his entire body. A thin tendril of light pushed out from his rear before a second pulse resounded, plumping up into a full thick tail. As this was happening face pushed outward and reshaped into a boxy muzzle like it was made of off-brand playdoh. Upon the second pulse the muzzle burst open and his teeth turned to dagger fangs. The nails on his lengthening arms turned to claws and the toes on his paws-like feet did the same. What seemed to be hair pushed out from his skin when the third pulse pushed outward from his heart. His body was water and someone tossed a rock into it. The fire-like energy enveloped the now largely canine body, leaving a fully formed pelt in its place. The transformation complete, the energy dissipated into a sea of dancing sparks.

Three heartbeats was all it took for him. And in three heartbeats there was a familiar stranger in the mirror.

Scratching lazily at his chest he tossed on his pants, his brown leather medicine belt, and his blue hoodie with chainmail hidden between the fabric. Pulling his hood up, he silently cursed himself for choosing a costume with short sleeves. Sliding open his window he landed in a roll in the alley and made his way towards the tower.

[Audrey]

Around 2 am, Afterburn arose from her slumber. She didn't exactly know why she woke given she had only 4 hours of sleep, and her abode was practically silent. Perhaps it was the sensing of the presence in her home. The recognition that something that had yet to happen so far in her time here in Jump was suddenly happening. She had a guest. All things she considered, she got up rather slowly. She pushed up against her pillow and rubbed her yellow eyes until they awoken and pierced the darkness with their unusually bright coloring. From there, she first caught the glimpse of someone sitting at the table provided for her in this living space.

Oddly enough, she didn't react with alarm as most people would when seeing a complete stranger in their home. Instead, her emotions were more curiosity. Something about this newcomer was welcoming. Instantly she felt at peace with them. That they meant no harm to her. Like the feeling planet pheromones give you. Intoxicating almost. After blinking a couple times, she finally managed to speak "Who are you?" she asked holding her knees in close to herself, huddling for all the warmth her bed could provide.
"A friend, fahdon. Or really, someone who would like to be your friend," the stranger replied. As her eyes adjusted, Afterburn could see the stranger was not in fact human. They were humanoid simply, but their body was formed from paper scraps layered on top of one another into a recognizable shape. How very interesting.

"I feel like I both know and don't know you," Afterburn said, entirely comfortable with the stranger's notion of friendship.
"Vahzah, we have not met, nuz though you hon of me. You know me in your tongue as Malchior," the stranger responded, relishing in the words of their foreign tongue like they hadn't spoken it in years and were reviving a dead language. She couldn't tell what the words met, but based on the enunciation and phonetics, she could tell it was dragon... Why in the world did she know DRAGON phonetics? Another question arises of her missing past. Though, this did mean the stranger was likely telling the truth. Afterburn was in awe.
"You're the dragon from the book! The one sealed away by the wizard, Rorek," she said, reaching for the book and opening it, only to realize the paper scraps were in fact from out of the book, causing her to realize the gravity of the situation. "You're... you're sealed to this very book..."
"Vahzah young kiir, rinik." he answered in a melancholy tone, burying his face into the table.
"I'm so sorry. I understand your pain. More than you realize," Afterburn answered as she rose from her bed and placed a spare blanket over Malchior's shoulders.
"I do realize though, it has what brought me to you, young kiir," Malchior answered, accepting the blanket. "I nid longer hind wah kos alone."
"Don't worry. You do not have to be alone. Nor do I," Afterburn spoke as she returned to her bed and drifted back to sleep.
"I am glad young kiir," he answered looking to her. "Ever so glad."

(A BRIEF GUIDE TO DOVAH

vahzah - True
fahdon - Friend
nuz - however
hon - know/heard
kiir - child
rinik - very true
nid - no
hind - desire
wah kos - to be)

[Bry]

Raven knew.

The news of Malchior's return had made her head spin so badly she'd leaned against her dresser for support. She hadn't thought of the dragon for quite some time, hadn't thought about those dark days that she'd felt cast out of the team or the stabbing pain Malchior had left her with when he'd attacked the Tower. She'd gotten over it and moved on; Raven didn't hold grudges.

But that didn't mean the old wound couldn't flare.

She hurried about her room now, quietly getting dressed and ready in the early hours of the morning and trying to simultaneously lock away any ounce of love she'd ever felt for the dragon. Robin had informed her a few mere minutes ago that he'd made an appearance again, and she'd agreed in an instant to help, regardless of the past. Old feelings would not cripple her abilities as a Titan. She would take Malchior down once more, just like she would any villain who threatened her home, friends, and family.

Spinning her cloak around her shoulders in a swirl of rustling fabric, Raven fastened the gem to hold it in place and grabbed her Communicator off of her dresser. She was ready and she headed promptly out the door, leaving her room just as silent as it'd been when she was there.

Ghostdance was supposed to meet her in the common room, according to Robin, and so it was there that she went to wait. Perhaps some black tea would do to wake her up the rest of the way while she waited for her companion.

GD was a kindred spirit of Raven's. His knowledge of magic and literature alike made him a favourite on her list, and the fact that his personality meshed well just helped seal the deal. She was confident in his abilities, or what little she'd seen of them in action, and felt quite content with the idea of him going on this mission by her side. Robin's decision was a good one.

Turning to glare at the teapot as it shrieked for her attention, Raven moved it off the stove and poured the water into a mug, breathing in the tea's scent when she was finally able to get her hands around it. The sky outside was perfectly dark and still and Raven stood just the same at the common room window waiting for Ghostdance to arrive.

[Deleted]

Ghostdance didn't make much of a show about returning to the tower. He wasn't that kinda person and it just wasn't the time for that. What he did do was let himself in quietly and shake off once he was in the room. "Gutiha." He said in a soft voice, seeing Raven out of the corner of his eye. "It is snowing." he clarified with a bit of a shake dry, though flecks of white that dusted his midnight blue fur and large white paws that more resembled used snowshoes were now melting.

Pulling his hood down Lang offered a smile attempt at a comforting smile. "How you feeling?" Though his eyes were bestial and yellow, there was a genuine soft kindness behind them. "If you don't wanna talk about it that's cool too. I get that. If it was me in your place I'd probably be a big steaming pile of anger. Well, I'd probably be lighting up like a fireworks factory more than steaming." He said trying to give a joke.

"I.." he began before pausing and rethinking the situation. "I want you to know I'm here for you if you ever need help. Not just with stupid ex's either. In general." Lang said, sliding his hands in his pockets and leaning on his heels. "I owe you for saving my life anyways..." he said, trying to brush off his feelings of kinship towards the empath as a side effect of duty.

Flickering his ears and hunching his shoulders and passively kicked at the living room couch. "So how about we get this taken car of and do something fun. I live above this cool traditional medicine shop in Chinatown now. We could do that." he suggested hopefully. "Or we could to to a bookshop or something."

"But first." Land took a cool white stone that had a lead chain and sharp weighted point of iron on the other end. The iron was shiny and made the chain go out straight like it was an anchor. "We find the book. I've found a talent for dowsing. We can do it the quick way or the more accurate one. Either way I'm gonna need to know what the book looks like. Exactly. I've never seen that part of the tower. Restricted and all that. Care to help?" he said as he pendulum spun from gravity between his black claws.

[Audrey]

The sheer quiet was interrupted by a ding from a timer, the source being a military egg timer as plain as possibly imaginable. When leaving Afterburn with the complex, Hephaestus had spared every expense when planning the place out. If there was a corner to be cut, they took it. Most of the stuff in the building was recycled, broken, or just simply to drawl for public use. Even the lights didn't work half the time which is why the room was illuminated by candlelight. It gave a nice mood to the place. Made things feel sombre and nostalgic like a Charles Dickens novel. With a stride, Afterburn crossed the room still dressed in her pajamas and placed a cooking mitt on her hand. With a stroke, she pulled down the oven door and removed a pan of... sort of cooked cooked. They weren't necessary half-baked... more like three fourths baked.

Sitting nearby was the page assembled entity of Malchior. At Afterburn's seemingly joyful response to seeing she had successfully baked cookies, he smiled. "I've never had anyone to make Christmas cookies with before. This is so exhilarating!" she proclaimed, hardly able to stay in place at all.
"Ni orin, not even for yourself young kiir?" he questioned, standing up to place his hands proudly on her shoulders.
"Well I can't eat food really. There's never been a point to it exactly. I suppose I could... taste test them, but I'd have to spit them out afterwards or I'll get sick," she answered, sinking into Malchior and relishing the touch of another living being... even if they were made of book scraps.
"... Mu aal lost aan falaas. We may have a problem," Malchior spoke deeply, getting quiet. Afterburn turned to him and concerned and looked into his simulated sense of eye structure.
"What's wrong Malchior? Is there a problem?" she spoke with concern, a tone unheard of from her by just about anyone in this city. Malchior paused for a moment before responding.
"I cannot eat either," he finally spoke with a conniving smirk. Seeing the concern was merely a prank, Afterburn burst out laughing and fell into his chest, sinking into him like a lover.
"Oh, you are awful! You had me completely going there that like the Ghostbusters were going to show up and nail you with a proto-gun or something," Afterburn chastised playfully whilst fake hitting Malchior's chest. The hits soon turned into an emotional embrace. With little hesitation, Malchior returned the hug, holding Afterburn close.

"I guess I got what I wanted for Christmas," Afterburn sighed, letting her warm inner core account for the lack of heat coming from Malchior.
"Dez los aan mul zaan do fin Dovah. Fate governs those of the Dragon and we believe in it's power. Our meeting is no accident young kiir," Malchior added, caressing Afterburn's unlit grey hair. Asit moved through, little strands burst to life around it, extinguishing when his papery fingers left their touch.
"I feel like I can live again finally. For the first time, I feel like I can stop Hephaestus and find out who I was before. In just the three hours since you woke me, you completely turned my life around Mal. I..." her words faltered at that point. The next phrase she wanted to utter had incredible weight and the the weight had collapsed her emotions under it. She recovered after a breath. "I think I love you."
"Young kiir, you must know that I love you as well," Malchior responded seamlessly with emotional perfection. Hearing the words, Afterburn pulled away from their embrace to look into Malchior's eyes. It was like a fantasy romance movie. Trembling, she edged her head forward and shut her eyes. Right on the catch, Malchior spiked forward and met her lips where his mouth would be. As her hands spasmed about unsure of what she was experiencing, the two shared the closest thing to a kiss that a mess of paper and revenant could have.

[Bry]

Ghostdance made his arrival known with a soft greeting and a weather forecast, just in case the giant window Raven stood before was lying. Looking down into her tea, the empath chuckled softly to herself, even in spite of the thoughts she'd just been entertaining, and then turned to look at Ghostdance.

"I'm fine," she replied, sounding incredibly like her leader. Aiming to soften that a bit, she caught his joke and kept it going. "I'm not about to blow up the Tower," she said. "But don't worry. We have other Titans for that."

As Ghostdance went on speaking, Raven moved away from the window and made her way over to him, sensing his awkwardness as well as seeing it the closer she got. He finished his sentence and rocked back onto his heels and Raven offered him a small but grateful smile.

"Thank you," she said simply, hoping he'd pick up on how much of her appreciation was hidden behind the single word. She had a feeling he would; Ghostdance was intuitive like that. "But you don't owe me a thing. I saved your life because I wanted to. And I had help with that anyway."

She nodded in a non-noticeable way to his offer of something more fun after this, then echoed his change of topic with a soft, "Yes, but first...."

To describe the book, Raven came the rest of the way over, looking down at the ground for a moment with her eyebrows furrowed. She knew the book, front and back, cover to cover, even though it'd been quite a while since she'd actually seen it. Softly, she said, "The book is the colour of ivory, with an empty silver circle upon the cover." Waving a hand into the hair, the empath let a small bit of her soul self escape, taking the form of the book, to scale. She looked at it a minute, and kept speaking. "Half moons clamp all four corners, and a stripe of silver binds the neck." With a dismissive wave, she banished the book once more from sight and met Ghostdance's eyes.

"It's no surprise you haven't been in that part of the Tower; no one has." She paused. "The book was kept in a locked chest in my bedroom. And whoever went in to take it is going to pay dearly."

OoC:
Sorry this took a while, guys. I just happened to get sick right after Christmas. >.<

[Deleted]

Ghostdance threw his backpack on the table unceremoniously. "I thought it was being kept in the evidence locker with the rest of the stuff. I'm still not allowed there with the new security restrictions. But that makes sense." Ghostdance said in a cool tone, starting to center himself. "Though it does raise the startling question of how, doesn't it? Do be honest it's really bothering me. Can you think of anything suspicious as of late? Have the seals on it become weaker?" He asked as he rolled out a big map of Jump City upon the table.

While what Raven gave him was good, it wasn't enough for the quick version of the spell. For that he neeeded, he needed to know exactly what it looked like. Every little detail. What he did have, was hopefully enough. "I'm going to invoke Nataero. Hopefully the gods are feeling cooperative today." The blue furred wolf-man explained. Checking which way was North on a pocket compass, he quickly set to work. The black clawed wolf drew a circle of chalk around the map in a single unbroken stroke, not caring if he messed up the table. Chalk could be washed off. His mind was more concerned in channeling an energy from both above and bellow into the chalk.

"Amethyst or candles?" he asked to no one in particular. "Screw it. Lets have some fun and experiment." he said with a mad scientist grin. Setting the candles at the cardinal points. "Those Romans. They always had a thing for fire in their rituals." He explained. "That and smells. That parts a bit odd though." In the circle itself he held down the maps corners with four irregular chunks of amethyst.

Furrowing his fuzzy brow he pulled out the other supplies he needed for the spell. Paper, a squeeze bottle of honey in the shape of a bear, a calligraphy pen, a container of lambs blood he got from a butchers shop, a special ink ironically called dragons blood, and for lack of a saucer or special goblet, a coffee cup advertising Vegas. Overall it seemed like an odd collection, but every piece had its purpose. "I can do the hard part. What I'm gonna need to to do to write out the name of item in question. Considering it was yours, it'd work better if you did it. Concentrate on your need to find this object. And your belief that I can help."

Ghostdance slide over the calligraphy pen, the plant-based ink, and a neatly cut bit of paper. When he received it back from his fellow wielder of magic he popped the lid off of the Tupperware of lambs blood. The container was not dissimilar to the type used to carry wonton soup from his favorite Chinese food place. Without hesitation he stuck a finger of his left paw into the slightly coagulating liquid. The red sunk into the snow white and black of his paws, only making it stand out more as he smeared it across the paper like it was finger paint. A look of intense concentration and curiosity had sunk on his face as he poured in more of his own will into the ritual. The air grew uneasily still.

After lighting the candles, He took the lighter in his bloodied paw and the paper in the other, bringing the two together, making the paper go up into a flame that danced and swayed like a dancer from a sultans harem. Dropping it in the mug, he watched it crackle and bend inward, turning black and flaked at the edges. The smoke that curled of it was a steel grey that rose up into serpentine coils.

Taking his dowsing pendulum in hand he spoke in a measured steady tone. "Invito nataero. Auxilium tuum petimus potuerimus reperire. Audite hoc sacrificium, preces et mel. Exaudi orationem meam. Nataero ad vocamus, et dextram regat." Then, raising his voice he called out "Clamavi ad te! Clamavi ad te! Clamavi ad te!"

Upon the final utterance he took a deep inhale of the smoke coming off the burning paper and dropping the chain to his pendulum. The flame of the candle only flickered slightly. But the weight stood still like it was being held by a magnet before it stated to pick up and slowly spun in a perfect circle, tracing the direction the chalk circle was drawn in. The wolfmans arm moved swiftly over the map, dragged on it's own accord over the map. The circle seemed to be pulled and stretchered, trying to hover over a point. The entranced wolf had his arm pulled and jerked until he hovered over a street he didn't frequent. The same street that Afterburn lived and slept. "Quod petis hic est." he spoke in an echoing tone that was alien to his mouth. feeling his arm droop Lang panted in a bit of tiredness, a bit of brown having crept into his dowsing paws blue fur. But as quickly as it appeared it was gone.

"I'd call that successful. But we have to move fast. The spell only shows where it is at the moment of casting. Plus it could have been misguided by cloaking or intentional misdirection. The sooner we know the better off we'll be." He said, writing down the intersection it gave him on a second sheet of paper. "Leave the honey as an offering!" he called back at Raven.

OOC:
Sorry This took so long. I had to do research and then try and crappily translate some Latin. The English of the babble I wrote out is below if you're curious.

I invite Nataero. We seek your help to find what we have lost. Please hear our prayers and take this offering of honey. Hear my prayer. We call to Nataero, to guide my hand.

We call to you! We call to you! We call to you!

What you seek is here.

[Audrey]

Afterburn was glad to have some company and all, and it had been fun with Malchior so far making cookies, realizing said cookies had been completely wasted, and oh, that kiss but... As she stared at the Monopoly board where a couple of green houses dotted the board, Felicity was realizing she was really REALLY bored. She was too excited to sleep though. Plus it would completely throw off her schedule. She looked up at the clock and saw the hands approaching 5. Some places... might be opening. Probably restaurants though, which like the cookies would be kind of pointless since Malchior doesn't eat and Afterburn didn't hunger. Why were so many social situations centered around eating?

The silence between the two bored individuals was broken by the sound of something falling outside. Felicity and Malchior looked to the source, and eventually Felicity put her mind back on the board. "This place is slowly rotting apart, some piece of the roof probably just fell off," she sighed as she pushed the dog token on the board. Malchior however was not as eager to continue playing. "Something wrong there Malky?"
"I'm not so sure it was he roof falling off just now. And... don't call me Malky please," he answered standing up as more noises came from outside. Felicity was soon on her feet and keeping her eyes on the source of the noise. Step by step, their eyes followed along the wall until it settled behind the door into the complex. There was a tense moment of silence before their was a knock to the tune of Shave and Haircut minus the last two beats. Confused, Malchior and Afterburn looked at each other for a second before Afterburn nervously approached the door. She gave two knocks against the door, completing Shave and Haircut.

After a second, the door was kicked open from the outside knocking Felicity back onto the coffee table, and revealing a ridiculously looking individual covered in complicated equipment a sword and whip on his belt. "T'IS I! Never fear Edgar Van Helsing is here!" he shouted triumphantly as Felicity looked up from her smashed table and raised an eyebrow. Malchior though however just sighed and covered his eyes with his hand.
"Who the hell are you? And you owe me a new table and a new door," Afterburn said rather annoyed, though a little thankful for the intrusion for some excitement.
"Me Ms. Fire Vampire? I'm your worst nightmare. I am the final bell toll for the forces of evil in the night," he said tensely as he pushed his circular glasses up and ran his hand through his long greasy hair.
"Edgar Van Helsing in his name. He's a monster hunter. He had my book before you do did," Malchior explained, noticeably frustrated with Edgar's appearance.
"And I should've destroyed it while I still had it!" Edgar yelled pointing an accusatory finger at Malchior.
"And why didn't you? You're a monster hunter," Felicity asked, her opinion of Edgar rapidly dropping.
"Well I-" Edgar began, but soon Malchior had come at him in an assault. Edgar though easily overpowered the papier mache-esque form of Malchior.
"Hey let him goooooo-oh no," Afterburn began, only to notice as she stood up that a portion of the table had managed to pierce her through her chest. She groaned annoyed as she collapsed and passed out in order for her body to heal the wound.

[Bry]

"Nothing," Raven mumbled as she watched her friend set himself up to help locate the book. Nothing suspicious, nothing strange. She hadn't even known her spells had been either broken or worked over until she'd seen the lock broken and the chest empty. After Robin had informed her of Malchior's return.

Some of the objects Ghostdance unpacked tickled her memory, and she recalled seeing a list in one of her books similar to the one displayed on the table in front of her. She was grateful GD was here to work through the ritual, though. These magics were not her strong point, if she even considered them a point at all, and she watched, subtly fascinated with every move he made.

He passed her the paper then, and she listened to his instructions before closing her eyes and concentrating solely on the book and the evil within it. If there was ever a need to find something, to contain it before it could harm anyone else, it was now. Pouring this thought into her writing, and trusting completely that Ghostdance could accomplish what he said, Raven wrote the book's title in a strangely modern calligraphy and passed the paper back to him.

What happened next was an intriguing display of Ghostdance's knowledge and power. (For one, he spoke Latin, a talent she could relate to and appreciate in all it's glory). The rest of the ritual left her staring like a child in a toy store.

Or rather, Raven's version of such.

She watched the weight settle over a street and made a mental note to herself of the coordinates just as Ghostdance spoke in a voice she'd never heard from him before. She blinked in mild alarm and caught a glimpse of brown fur infiltrating the blue, but after a second glance his arm was blue once more and Raven put it from her mind. She, too, left the table, following after Ghostdance and leaving the honey uncapped and offered by the circle.

Coming upon the door, remembering GD's comment about the snow, she said, "Hold on, wait." She gazed out at the falling snowflakes a moment, then back at Ghostdance and met his eyes. "Would you prefer to travel the fast way?"

She waited a moment for his answer, then flared her cloak and an all-encompassing darkness covered the both of them, removing the pair from their home dimension and whisking them through countless others before she released her hold and then landed lightly on the very street the dowsing weight had pointed out to them. "Takes a moment to get your land legs back," Raven informed Ghostdance nonchalantly before gazing up at the house with a sense of dread. Even with everything that was about to happen, Raven had one prevailing thought.

She was about to see Malchior again.

She wasn't excited.

[Deleted]

"Quick way?" He asked, looking back over his shoulder at his cloaked friend with one furry brow raised in a look of deep intrigue. Whatever questions he was forming in his limitless dome didn't have much time to piece together however, as he was soon swallowed by a cold and infinite darkness.

He felt weightless for the briefest of moments, his clawed hands reached and grasped for anything in the muffled abyss that extended in all directions. To his relief he found Ravens hand to which he squeezed tightly on, not wanting to get lost in the void. Once his hand was hers, there was a brief reprieve from the shadows. Instead of of the dark he found himself in a place with golden skies. What little Ghostdance could make out of the landscape was filled with old stone towers that std tall on floating islands of rock.

Is this where Raven is from? The shapeshifter asked himself silently. He knew all about Raven and her past. More than the average Titan at least, thanks to a certain loud mouth extradiminsional being. But he never talked to them about it, any of them. It felt invasive and wrong. It wasn't like he was that close to any of them. Raven and Robin were friends enough, or at least close to it. If they were ever gonna talk about it he decided a long time ago he'd let them bring it up.

It looked a lot more tranquil than he expected someone like Raven to come from. He kept that part to himself as well. It just seemed like the smart thing to do.

The Avalonic view of the towers soon disappeared into the dark as he found himself pulled once more between worlds. When the light returned he found himself assaulted by the feeling of cold. A grey light filtered into the room, illuminating the dust that danced in the air. In the distance Ghostdance watched as a girl collapsed, impaled by a wooden stake.

"No!" he snarled, saliva dew on his keen fangs. His beastly eyes flashed in a bit of frustration and rage. The book became a secondary concern as he sped forward, whitish blue spark flecking off his body. He wouldn't let someone die again on his watch. He had enough weighing on his soul, he wasn't going to let this add to it.

This was the type of conflict he was born to handle. He felt that familiar panicked patter of his heart when he entered the combat. With a swallow and a stumble he pushed back his doubt and his fear. There would be time to feel those later. But for know it didn't matter what he felt. What mattered was that people needed help and it was the right thing to do.

"I'll handle these two. You check on the girl!" Ghostdance shouted back. He wasn't much of a healer himself. He knew a bit, that was just smart. But not for something like this. Best leave it to Raven. "I'm giving both one chance to surrender peacefully. One chance. I haven't had breakfast yet and I get grumpy when I'm hungry." he said firmly as he tried to place himself between the crazed hunter and the paper man.

[Audrey]

The sudden sound of an intrusion in her home sparked Afterburn's body back into life after a semi-substantial healing period. Thankfully, healing time was not based on fatality, but how much body tissue was removed from the body. A stab wound to the heart, while very fatal to most was a minor infraction for Burny. In a flash, her wound filled itself in almost like time rewinding on the wound alone, and she sprung up to her feet once more, her skin going grey once more, her pupils vanishing, and her hair lighting up. "The one night I'm entertaining guests, is the one everyone decides to barge in here? What is wrong with everyone?!" She screeched, large flames igniting in her hands and a terrifyingly angry scowl on her face.

The sight of it, along with Ghostdance, sent Edgar reeling away from the group of people and into a corner. "B-b-b-but that table stabbed you right through the heart! That's supposed to kill vampires!" he stuttered as Malchior took a step back away from the scene trying to take advantage of Edgar's distraction to slip away from Raven and Ghostdance.
"I'm not a vampire you moron, I'm a revenant! Vampire's don't light on fire!" Afterburn screamed, hurling a smoking fireball just above Edgar's left shoulder as a warning shot.
"And where did these two come from? Are you... a werewolf? Why are you blue? And why is there a Teen Titan here, I've got this covered!" Edgar nervously asked as he became cornered by everything.
"I'm rather wondering that myself. You're Raven and Ghostdance, I remember you from the fi-... around town. I do vigilante work myself sometimes. What in the world are you doing in my house at this hour? Pretty sure heroes need to sleep too even if you do save the city a lot of the time," Afterburn asked towards the dark manipulator and supernatural canine collectively, calming down a little since Edgar's true colors has been revealed rather easily. Her glance every so often jumped to Malchior, noticing him backing off towards a more open space.