After putting the bruised female to sleep and setting her on the bed, Lucien had flashed some of the other Lords here, along with Anya and the Harpies. That way, if Hunters happened to attack the place, she wouldn't be alone and unprotected. Could sleep in peace. Now, Maddox and Reyes were in the living room, watching through the sheer white curtains to the front yard. Sabin stood in the kitchen, watching out the back windows which unfortunately had no curtains or blinds. The garage doors were closed and latched, but Strider stood in the Laundry room, facing the door that led in from that way. Just in case. Lucien himself stood in the hall, waiting for Anya and the Harpies to come back out from the room where he'd put the Oriental-looking woman to bed.

When that door finally did open, he looked over to a frowning Anya, who was leading Kaia, Bianka, and Taliyah out. Gwen, apparently, was staying in the room. He looked at the Harpies' blanked expressions before raising a brow and looking to Anya, wrapping his arms around her and tugging his oddly upset-looking woman close. "Well?"

"She's a Thunderaven. Vais Thunderaven, to be exact. Her mother…was not favored. One of her parents had been human, and that weaker blood mixture earned Tabitha's disregard." Tabitha was a Skyhawk, the mother of the four Harpies that had been taking up residence in Budapest. "Her mother then bore a child to a nameless god, and then a second before aforementioned god came and decided to use her in his fireplace. For giggles. The rest of the Thunderavens are dead or incarcerated within Tartarus, making her the last known of her clan. Especially since her younger sister was confirmed to be dead a year ago."

"Oh, Flowers, we have to keep the little bird! She's all alone out here." Anya sniffled, nuzzling into his neck, and he squeezed her, unsure if she was being dramatic or genuinely upset. He would have bet his immortality that the goddess also wanted another Harpy to party with, since she was as equally mischievous as they were and liked to use the phrase, "the more the merrier" when it came to a Harpy.

"I already proposed the idea of working together before bringing you all here. Now, we're just waiting for her to get some rest before we go." He turned and began to walk down the hall with the goddess of Anarchy in tow, looking to each of the Lords stationed in the house, who shook their head. Nothing suspicious, then. Even so, he phased into the spiritual realm with Anya at his side and wandered outside the house, looking for anyone who happened to be pressing rather close to the perimeter of the ranch house property. While wandering the fields, he couldn't help but notice all the traps that had been set up. Trip wires, pits, land mines, carefully concealed cacti, bear traps, and much more. Vais apparently was as equally careful about her home as the Lords. It was like a Texan version of the Budapest fortress. Surrounded by traps, filled with immortal warriors, Harpies, and a goddess, just waiting for some stupid Hunter to come wandering up.

Vais wandered across the fields on which her ranch house sat. It was wonderfully hot, the sun shining bright, hardly any clouds in the sky. A warm breeze kissed her skin where her pale sundress didn't cover, sifted through her black hair, which was half up and half down. The grass was an amazing, brilliant green, practically glowing with its own internal light, every last patch lush and perfect, each blade the same height, and not a spot of dirt could be seen through it. It was a wonderfully plush, soft carpet under her feet. With each breath, she caught the scent of grass, the odor of bluebonnets stung her nose, the soft scent of roses made it better, and occasionally a new, strange scent filled her nose. For instance, something sweet, like a candy of some kind. Once, the smell of sandalwood invaded her nose.

A lot of odd, foreign scents assaulted her, but she disregarded them after a while. They were oddly pleasant, anyway, even if she didn't understand them. The smell of grass, sure. The smell of Indian Paintbrushes, yeah. Bluebonnets, most definitely. But not thunderstorm, or honey, or any of the other odd things she kept scenting briefly.

Wiping them from her mind, she turned her gaze on the trees on her property. Tall, proud, beautiful, swaying with the breeze. They had that same surreal glow that the grass carried.

"Vais!" She turned to the sweet, young voice, and saw a little girl of about eleven running at her. Large blue eyes, face dotted with freckles, dimples showing as she grinned. Her auburn curls were up in ponytails held in place by blue ribbons, the pretty light blue sundress dancing around her as she ran across the fields, clutching a teddy bear to her. That adorable sing-song voice called her name again, before she giggled and spun, landing on the grass. Then, as though too restless as she always was, she hopped to her feet again and started running, hugging her little bear. She glowed, too.

Vais stood smiling as she watched little Lyrisine frolic. It was a beautiful day. Joy bubbled within the older sister, and she spun, laughing before running out over the fields alongside the girl. Something was off, but she couldn't place a finger on it. Didn't want to. Just wanted to stay here, with her sister, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. Something dark filled the breeze, and she slowed.

The lance of pain as something sharp dug at the soles of her feet had her stumbling, slowing, eyes widening. Hard, pointy rocks had replaced the grass, the air had turned cold. It was dark, and she was stumbling through a stone corridor, over rocks and dirt, breathing in dust… Doors lined each side, some closed, others open, some broken partially off their hinges so that there was a dark gap between them and their frames. A spider had taken advantage of this in one, weaving a web from which it now gazed back at her. That web, that gaze…they gave her chills.

A baby's wailing echoed up ahead, and drew her attention. Heart pounding in her chest, she broke into a run again. Not the joyful, relaxed run she'd been performing a minute ago, but a stressed, terrified, speedy run. A quiet one. That wailing never sounded closer, and the hall stretched endlessly in front of her. Cackling began to sound from behind the doors, and hands snapped out from any openings as she passed, reaching for her. One caught her sundress and tugged, ripping the fabric. She yelped and kept going. Heart pounding, gasping, panting…

The scene faded and another, no less grim one appeared. Her sister, strapped to a gurney, laying in a pool of her own blood. Her chest was still, her mouth and eyes open in an expression of absolute terror and pain. She was pale, her lips blue, wrists and neck painted with bruises. Her skin was coated with dirt, her hair matted with blood and dust. That baby's wailing had never faded, resounding ceaselessly around her, echoing in her ears, the source never discernable. The smell of dust and copper filled her nose. The too-familiar, putrid scent of death…

Vais's heart nearly stopped when she saw Lyrisine. Little Lyre, cold and dead. Her blood flowed over the sides of the gurney, dripped down the legs, coalesced on the grimy stone floor. Dirt and hair floated in the dark red. She stood frozen, unable to move another step. Afraid to. Rage filled her, but sorrow drowned out the emotion. Her gaze went infrared, but she stayed still. She just couldn't move. Vai was aware of the presences of others within this dark nightmare, others who meant nothing good. They moved as shadows at the edge of her vision, cloaked in darkness, menacing gazes clearly locked on her. She was tense, knowing she should run, attack, do something. All she wanted to do was scream, rail on anything and everything she touched. Of course, she couldn't. She was frozen, even as the sounds of dark male laughter rang in her ears, seeming right next to her, though when she twisted they were still as far away as the room's walls would allow.

She heard something shift and turned her attention back to the gurney in front of her, but Lyre was no longer there. The gurney was bare, though still coated in blood, sweat, and…she didn't want to imagine what else. Traces of her little sister's matted hair still floated in it, held in place by the clumps of mud that had surely caked the locks prior to being pulled out, likely from the very roots. She spun, and her sister was there, looking up at her, eyes flat and dead yet still somehow glaring at her all the time. Filled with hate… The little girl's mouth opened as though she meant to speak, but blood poured from her lips and she doubled over.

"NO!" Vais jolted upright and then fought off the strange thing covering her, struggling violently for freedom, shredding the pathetically weak material with her claws and jumping to her feet before spinning and taking stock. Sliding mirror doors that covered the entrance of a walk-in closet, a mahogany dresser with a silver vanity mirror right beside it, stool in front for one to sit and gaze at the reflection. Ornately carved and well polished wooden jewelry box on the dresser, hairbrush next to it…pale lilac walls with white trim, photographs of herself and her family in white frames…White carpet floor with a decorative purple rug in a corner, where an assortment of cushions rested near a bookshelf. A china cabinet, the white door….

Her bed with her shredded purple sheets on it, and the window with equally shredded purple drapes hanging down. The shears had been completely torn off. Just then, she felt ridiculous. 'I attacked my own room…' Vais thought to herself and shook her head before slipping into her neat, tiled bathroom and starting a shower. She spent a good hour in there, shaving, scrubbing and lathering herself until she squeaked and her hair shimmered even wet, tangles completely eliminated. At least for now. Scented candles burned, even though that reduced her ability to tolerate the highly misty air. It was too hot, suffocating, and the smoke didn't help, even if it helped relax her muscles and raw nerves while washing away her…dream.

When she finally stepped out, she toweled off and crouched on the floor, glaring ahead at nothing in particular before she finally straightened, put on a robe, and walked from the bathroom. She plopped back down on her bed and contemplated who to steal a new bed set from. Then her stomach finally growled and sent her headed for the kitchen, but she stopped dead before ever even reaching the place. There were men here. Not just any men, but the Lords of the godsdamned Underworld. Like, immortal warriors created by the Greeks fully formed to protect them from anything before they decided to steal Pandora's Box (or, the dimOuniak), a mythical item crafted from the bones of the dying goddess of Oppression named Kadence, which housed demons so absolutely vile that even Hell could not contain them. Not that this particular harpy believed for even a MILLISECOND that either Hades or Lucifer had even made an attempt to hold the creatures at bay.

But, shortened long explanation aside, these men were all demon-possessed warriors, centuries old and highly experienced…right here, in Vais's house. Under her roof, watching television, loitering in the kitchen, and/or bantering and rough-housing like…well, children. It brought a tear to her eye to note such a display. Sex-God Paris, a beautiful man possessed by the High Lord demon of Promiscuity, Aeron, the ex-keeper of Wrath…Gideon, punked out with pierced ears and hair dyed the exact same electric blue as his eyes…many more, all deliciously muscled, war-hardened, and in solid black uniforms. Armed to the teeth too under all that cloth, if she was to believe what she'd been told.

Still no match for her though, even by herself. As a harpy, she could single-handedly chew through an army for no more reason than boredom. They all had powers as their own, sure, though they tended to portray those abilities as weaknesses. They were all amazing. And as she stepped forward with her chin raised and looking down her nose at the men (though they were all easily taller than she was), clearly declaring her dominance in this….situation, the jabs and horseplay died down as they followed Vais with their eyes, silence reigning even after she disappeared into the kitchen, two walls between them and herself.

Remaining proud, she poured a bowl of cereal and ate in silence, glaring up at the phosphorescent light humming above the kitchen sink. That buzzing sound was just so…annoying. Honestly. She huffed and finished her food quickly, contemplating throwing the emptied-out bowl at it before setting it down in the sink and walking back out in view of them. They stared at her and moved out of the woman's way, allowing for Vais to plop down on the couch and steal the remote from Strider with a smirk before flipping the channel. Strider, keeper of Defeat…one who could not lose a challenge without experiencing debilitating pain would be amazingly fun to toy with.

He growled but backed off, scooting over to the other side of the couch, clearly in fear of retaliation from a Harpy. Smart man, though she somehow doubted his demon was as cowed and afraid of the coming pain a challenge from her would bring. And yes, there would be pain, because she would not give up the remote. As petty as it would have been for him to challenge her for it, she half expected him to do so, wanted him to try and take the remote. That he had not…that was rather disappointing.

As she took a bite of Frosted Flakes and watched the news, she heard whispering. Sure, Vais had excellent hearing and could have listened in if she'd really wanted, but she chose not to. And so, when the very intense and scarred Lucien appeared before her eyes and blocked her view of the television, she was taken completely by surprise. With a hiss at the sudden intrusion, she flicked her now-empty bowl at his head before jumping over the back of the couch. He had flashed, and the porcelain dish shattered against the TV. Lucien was now seven feet to her left and fast approaching, and with a snarl she picked up her couch and hurled it at him before actually realizing that it was just another Lord she was going on the defensive from.

"It's called a door." Vais hissed at him as he once again flashed to avoid her projectiles, though the couch (and Strider, who'd kinda-sorta still been sitting on it) crashed into the keeper of Lies. She almost felt bad for Gideon…almost. "You might try it sometime, Lucy."

He stopped and gaped at her, almost as though in shock over the fact she knew who he was. Again the room fell silent, and she took it as her chance to take off. With a dismissive nod, she walked back down the hall, slipping into a black shirt and a pair of faded denim jeans before putting on a pair of tennis shoes and flashing right out of the room. Ending in Chinatown where she would be surrounded by people with midnight black hair and up tilted eyes just like hers, she smiled and walked to a small sushi restaurant to sit down.

It didn't take long before Lucien and his blonde stunner of a goddess joined Vais, and she raised a thin brow at the pair. Anya opened her mouth to speak, and she held up her hand for a moment before flashing to China. The real China, and not the imitation town that the United States kept (and ridiculed privately). It wasn't that she really even liked the Chinese; Vais personally was more into the whole idea of personal freedom and religious, ethnic, social, and gender equalities. None of that really existed here in China, where they tried to regulate everything all the way down to how many children one had. A couple may only have one…well, that was the original orders, anyway. According to rumors, the government had finally realized that there wouldn't be enough people to fill the workforce when the current workers retired or died out. In other words? They'd go from a high population to hardly any, and the economy would more than plummet. It'd be like an airplane with a nuclear bomb had just done a nosedive into their country, crashed, and burned.

'Figuratively, of course…' She thought, annoyed at the swirl of her power as a natural-born creator of disasters. The last thing she needed was to cause the destruction of a country, especially while she was in it. It dissipated, but not without seeming to pout like a child that was denied its favorite toy. Jeez, having abilities like this really wasn't any better than being demon-possessed. Actually, considering that aside from the occasional needed outlet, a god could only use their power in response to something someone else did, either to anger or please them, it was probably worse. Being demon-possessed didn't seem to have an if statement involved, and sacrifices weren't needed in order for them to work their magic.

Of course, demons could only destroy. The Lords of the Underworld could work all they liked to redeem themselves in the eyes of the world and the gods (not that they gave a damn about the gods anymore), but in the end, at the very base of their powers is chaos. Pure dark and destructive force, just waiting to rip the world apart. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing of course, because not a single one of them have willingly used them to do so. They harnessed that destructive power to protect the things they held dear from fanatics, kept it in check in the presence of those who did not deserve their wrath, and poured money into Budapest's economy. They could easily terrify anyone, but chose not to.

Glancing back, she spotted Lucien trailing her through the crowds with his one blue eye swirling, and caught a flash of snowy blonde hair. The keeper of Death and his friends certainly were correctly dubbed as angels, though her kind preferred to speak of how ruthless they were in their many gruesome battles. Hell, Vais herself rather enjoyed every last juicy detail of them…and by the way, why were they even still following her? She hadn't really wondered why they were in her house, given the kind of people they were, especially since they were clearly on guard even with their jesting.

Did they…dare to think she still required protection? Slamming to a halt and being rewarded with someone smacking into her from behind, that person now yelling Mandarin into her ears, she ground her teeth together. The person's breath trekked over her face, and she could tell he had just eaten at least two egg rolls. Also that this person had not brushed his teeth in three days, and his breath was leaving a rather disgusting layer of filth on her skin. She reached back, grabbed his shirt, and used it to wipe her face off before shoving him back.

Vais Thunderaven then stepped over the sputtering man in what appeared to be a business suit on her way back towards Lucien. Having witnessed the small scene, most people backed away from her and gave her dirty looks. She could see two police officers exiting a nearby building and shouldering through the crowd towards her. Vai, of course, would have no part of that, and kept the peoples' attention so that they wouldn't clear a path for the pair as she moved for Lucien.

He grabbed her by the elbow and tugged her into the crowd, elbowing through them as well with Anya right on their heels, they turned a few corners, ran through a shop and out the back, ending in an alley where they flashed-

And were alone in the Budapest fortress. He pushed her down on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning into Anya as she wrapped her arms around him. Vais crossed her own arms and crossed her left leg over her right, leaning back and looking up at him. "Thanks for looking out for me while I…rested, but I'm fine now." 'I don't need any more protection.' She mentally screamed at him.

"You are welcome-" Lucien began, but Anya cut him off by pressing two fingers to her lips and then pressing them to his before stepping forward with a pinkie wave, eyes shining with the mischief she practically radiated. She was grinning down at Vais, and she found herself…shocked, by her raw beauty.

"We were going to ask if you'd like to work with us, since you were on your own out there. We have a few other Harpies here, and I just figured it'd just be the more the merrier! We'll go shopping and maybe find some Hunters to fry." Anya stepped over to the couch and plopped down right next to Vais, hair settling prettily over her shoulders as she struck a similar position of relaxation. Lucien clearly didn't like her being so close to an unfamiliar Harpy, but was holding his tongue. Vais considered for a moment before shrugging.

"And paint our nails with the blood? I don't mind as long as I get to pick and decorate my own room. So hey, I love the décor." Vais grinned and popped up to look at all the vases, the pool table, and the many naked portraits (with one that looked a lot like Strider).