The Witch and The Wolf: Mindscape (4/?)
Author: RahneWolfe and ShadowDrake
Xavier Institute -
"She was about to shape shift," Jean explained running one hand through her shoulder length hair. "She was fine up 'til that point, complaining about going shopping. Other than that she seemed all right."
"Did you sense anything out of the ordinary?" Charles Xavier asked, frowning a bit as his eyes darted to the once again unconscious and restrained shape shifter that lay on a nearby bed.
A brief pause, where Jean seemed to turn her attention inward, "NO... there was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was a crowded area... I don't let my shields down much in public," she explained with a lopsided smile, knowing the Professor understood her comment all to well. Being able to read people's minds and being in large crowds was never a good thing. Too many minds bombarding her mental shields trying to drive her crazy with their constant chatter. Little did people realize that being a telepath had nothing to do with reading a person's mind... it was not reading minds that was the trick, to get a little peace and quiet for yourself without losing your mind in a sea of meaningless noise from everyone around you.
With an absent nod to Jean, Xavier turned his attention back to one of his youngest students, 'What the devil is going on?' he questioned himself, his chin rested on his clasped hands with his elbows propped up on the armrests of his wheelchair. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed as Rahne suddenly jerked awake, moving from telepathic induced sleep to full wakefulness in blinding speed; something she should not have been able to do.
Growling lowly, Rahne arched against the restraints, shape shifting as she did so. Her instincts screamed at her that she must get away from this place, find her mate and leave. Eyes nearly glowing with rage she fought the bands holding her down, her human self still lost in its enforced slumber. 'NO,' the wolf raged struggling with the bonds holding her, she didn't know how she got here; the scents were confusing, familiar and yet not.
{SLEEP} The command sounded in her mind, sending the wolf back into unconsciousness just as she had gotten one arm free and taken a swing at the being nearest her.
As Rahne collapsed back on the bed, still in her transitional form, Scott Summers raised his hand to his chest to keep his heart from pounding its way out. Closing his eyes momentarily, he took a slow calming breath, glad that he didn't feel any blood on his now sliced opened shirt. Thankfully her swing only made limited contact with the fabric and it had been baggy enough not to be anywhere near his skin. He wasn't a fool; he had a very good idea how destructive Rahne Sinclair's claws could be if they made full contact with something soft, like any of his body parts. It also helped that Rogue now had a death grip on the back of his shirt and had pulled him out of the way in time. "Thanks," he said in a weak voice turning to the Goth X-Men with a wry grin, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have liked getting hit with those claws."
Smirking a bit as she let go of the back of his shirt, Rogue turned her attention to her friend once more. "Okay... this is getting annoying," she said, "what the hell is going on here? First, Rahney collapses, burns with fever for days, and now she's trying to wolf-out in public and taking swings at Cyclops!"
"That is a valid question," Xavier replied, frowning thoughtfully at his unconscious student. 'Strange... it was like she wasn't completely awake,' he thought, 'I could only sense her wolf-half but not her human-half. How can her conscious be so divided? It never has been before.' He thought knowing that while Rahne did tend to look at the world as a wolf, and much of her thought processes were animal-like in nature, she did not have a duel conscious. Her mind was whole for the most part, her human and wolf halves sharing equal control as it were, she did not have a separate 'human' and 'wolf' persona warring for dominance. 'Or at least it wasn't until now.' The thought troubled him, as his eyes narrowed even more, 'no it can't be in order for that to happen she would have undergone a severe emotional or mental trauma I would have notice such a thing.' He dismissed the thought firmly.
Letting out a tired sigh he ran a hand across his jaw, coming to a decision; he would enter his student's mind and do a deep telepathic scan. Something he had been reluctant to do since Rahne first fell into her mysterious fever. It went against his morals to enter his students... his children's minds without their knowledge or permission; however, due to Rahne's clear signs of mental distress he saw no other option. 'I have to know what is going on,' he told himself moving his wheelchair closer to Rahne's bed, 'forgive me child... I have no other choice.'
"Professor?" Scott questioned unsure if it was wise to let his teacher get near Rahne. Even if she were unconscious she was still in her transitional form, and she had already displayed a rather alarming habit of snapping awake without warning and taking blind swings at people.
{I'm fine Scott} The Professor's voice sounded in all of his students' minds, {I am about to scan Rahne's mind... under no circumstances am I to be interrupted. Jean you will act as my anchor line... I need you to be ready to keep Rahne on the bed if she should awaken again... and to act as my outside focus if there is trouble.}
Jean, Scott and Rogue looked at each other in disbelief, the Professor never talked about scanning people, he always went out of his way not to pear into his students' minds or give them any reason to think he had done such a thing. And yet here he was telling them he was about to go against his own rules, scan one of his students without permission. It was almost heartbreaking hearing the distaste in his telepathic voice as he explained what he was about to do; it was like he was about to do something he found morally offensive and degrading.
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Rahne's Mindscape -
The russet coloured wolf prowled the meadow stalking the much-hated yellow flutters that dared to trespass into 'her' territory. Crouching low to the ground, her tail absently swaying back and forth as she watched a particularly annoying flutter land on a flower, the predator's eyes narrowed, a cool wet tongue slipping out of its mouth to lick its chops, as the wolf slowly inched forward toward the hated interloper.
This was how Charles Xavier found his student as his astral form materialized in Rahne Sinclair's mind, a large playful wolf out stalking butterflies. Arching an eyebrow as he watched her, he noted that she did the same thing in the 'real world' - usually on lazy sunny days -much to the chagrin of the Institute's other students. He never realized that she actually dreamed about chasing butterflies, that some primal part of her insisted that they needed to be chased in the first place. A soft laugh brought him out of his silent musings, turning he saw a figure sitting in the shade of a large tree watching the wolf at play.
The figure under the tree smiled at the Professor, seemingly unconcerned that there was a rather large predator stalking butterflies right in front of her. Charles didn't think the person, a young woman he noted, as he got closer to her, was a part of Rahne's psyche. She seemed to be a separate being, much like himself who was 'visiting' Rahne Sinclair's dreamscape. 'Is she the cause of Rahne's erratic behaviour?' he wondered.
"You shouldn't disturb Rahney while she is defending her territory from the butterfly hordes," the young woman said with a bright smile. "She gets rather caught up in her work and could mistake you for a giant 'flutter beast' that must be expelled," the woman said with a laugh, "Please sit Professor... I've been waiting for you," she said offering him a seat on her blanket. "You are late you know? I was certain you would have been here much sooner."
Sitting down the Professor regarded the woman thoughtfully; while he did not sense anything evil or malicious about the woman, he still wondered what she was doing here. She appeared to be a small woman even seated, clad in a flowing white robe of some type that left one shoulder and arm bare, golden intricately designed bracers at each wrist, wavy dark hair cascading down and around her face and shoulders, with calm golden eyes regarding him in return. "You are worried about my little one there," the woman said with a calm smile, indicating the frolicking wolf with a nod of her head. "Which is good... you are a good man Charles Francis Xavier." She caused the Professor to jump a bit as she addressed him by his full name.
Xavier stared at the woman for a long moment as she smiled secretively at him, as if amused by his confusion. Only to be brought out of his stupor by the wolf who apparently had grown tired of stalking butterflies and wanted to see what all the fuss was about under the tree. Charles absently scratched the russet coloured wolf behind the ears as she settled down at his side, her head resting on one of his legs as she closed her eyes. "She sees you as an elder of the pack, you know?" the woman said conversationally. "She knows that you and your other children are not a 'normal' pack... all of you are too human at times. So she's not always sure how all of you are going to react to her; but she's figured out that you are an elder. To be respected of your great age and wisdom, you can teach a lot to the younger cubs." She commented dryly, her eyes twinkling as she talked of Xavier's 'great age'.
Charles nodded slightly, choosing to ignore the 'great age' comment, 'maybe that is how the children see me,' he reasoned absently continuing his petting of the wolf, only to stop as the wolf suddenly raised her head and looked off to one side, her tail wagging happily before pushing herself up and going to greet the newcomer with a playful yelp. Turning his own head, Xavier felt his heart skip a beat as he found himself looking at a human Rahne approaching the little gathering. 'What? How?' he thought his mind racing, knowing that what he was seeing shouldn't be there, 'her mind cannot be fragmented in such a fashion.'
The human Rahne stopped not far away from the little group under the tree, making no more to join them, instead waiting for the wolf to leave the group and join her. Smiling softly at the Professor the human and wolf Rahnes slowly turned and wandered off together, as if what was happening under the tree was none of their concern.
"You are concerned for her," the woman's voice brought Xavier's attention back to her, "you are correct... her mind should not be fragmented in such a fashion... and yet something is deliberately trying to separate her personas."
"But you are not the cause," Xavier said thoughtfully, sensing a great power in the woman that both troubled and comforted him. He didn't think she was the cause of Rahne's current condition; like him she was merely trying to help the young shape shifter. "Who are you?" he asked, sensing that the honest, straightforward approach when dealing with this being would be the most productive.
The woman cocked her head to the side to look at him for a long moment, a serene smile tucking at the corner of her lips. "I am called many names, Charles Xavier, by many people... lets just say I am Rahne's mother for the time being and leave it at that," she said with that calm serene smile of hers that made people just want to listen to her and do what she instructed.
"Rahne's mother died giving birth to her," Xavier noted with an arched eyebrow.
"Her human birth mother yes... a shame about that really, Abigail could not shake the poison in her system, although Moira tried so hard to counter it," the woman went on, a sad light in her eyes. "I regret not being there to help ease Abigail's suffering, the birth was most difficult and unattended by the fae but such things could not be helped...Earth has become the realm of man and interference from the fairy-folk would not have been welcomed." She paused for a moment as if removing herself from painful past memories. "Tell me Charles Xavier... have you guessed who I am? And more importantly what Rahne Sinclair is?" The woman said before disappearing before his eyes, leaving the telepath sitting on a blanket alone under a large tree.
"Don worry sir... ya figure it out sooner or later." Rahne's voice startled the Professor, causing him to look up sharply to see that the human and wolf had returned to the shade of the tree. The young girl and wolf settled down in front of him the two staring intently at him for a long moment, "we - me sister here and I," she began indicating the wolf with a nod of her head, "know ya here fer our other self... the one that is a mix of us. We do want ta help ya... only we don know what ta tell ya." The child went on her brow furrowing in thought as she carefully thought over her words, "we arena used ta outsiders here... this is our mindscape after all... where we are supreme... or we should be. But something out there... in the 'real world' I guess ya call it - is offsetting things... trying ta unbalance us as it were."
"Do you have any idea why?" The Professor asked noting the thought patterns of both beings before him; one with a completely human mind, the other with a wolf mind primal in nature yet highly intelligent all the same.
"None," the human said after a sharing a look with her 'sister'. The two astral projections of Rahne's key personas were just as willing to find out what was happening so they could be merged back into the one being they were suppose to be. "We only know that one day something tore us apart... this isna natural fer us, we arena meant to be separated in such a fashion. Its beginning ta take its toll... we kenna go on like this sir. Our 'instincts' are trying ta compensate fer the loss of our 'oneness' as it were...without much success. We kenna keep holding this mindscape tagether if the balance isna restored soon."
****************************
Elsewhere -
"Master... the telepath knows of our efforts to destroy the changeling," a hooded-robed figure reported kneeling in reverence before a stone alter, "even now he walks her mindscape, aiding her split personas in becoming whole once more." The servant remained in his position of submission, head bowed and low to the ground, unworthy of being in the presence of his ancient master. "Further there are whispers that the Mother herself has taken an interest in the changeling's plight. Some among the Lesser Masters are concerned that the Tuatha Dé Danann has grown weary of their exile to Avalon and plot their return to the mortal realm. Their minions in the city are growing impatient... they want action taken against the changeling and the witch before they can bond." A loud rumble filled the room, causing the robed figure to cringe in fear; "these are the words of inferior dark masters... ones that have grown weak over the centuries preferring to live among humans. They do not speak for your true followers my Lord... nor will they ever, your chosen ones are still loyal to you and eagerly await your command in all things." The robed figure spoke in a meek submissive voice, carefully choosing his words, knowing his Master had little patience for those who have forgotten their place. One final rumble filled the room causing a slow evil smile to begin to tug at the corner of the robed figure's mouth, "I hear and obey Master, the changeling and witch must not be allowed to bond... their blood will quench your thirst for revenge... on this I vow."
****************************
The Brotherhood House -
Agatha Harkness looked up from her meditation with a frown, feeling the after affects of something bouncing off one of her wards. 'Hmmm,' she thought, her brows furrowing a bit 'so that is how they want to play this? Very well... you want confrontation... you will have confrontation and may the gods have mercy on your souls... for I shall not.' She thought darkly, her grime expression disappearing as the front door opened and Wanda and Pietro entered the room still a bit damp from the mishap at the mall with the fire suppression system.
End Part 4.
Side Note: In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the goddess Danu") are the Irish race of gods, founded by the goddess Danu.
Author: RahneWolfe and ShadowDrake
Xavier Institute -
"She was about to shape shift," Jean explained running one hand through her shoulder length hair. "She was fine up 'til that point, complaining about going shopping. Other than that she seemed all right."
"Did you sense anything out of the ordinary?" Charles Xavier asked, frowning a bit as his eyes darted to the once again unconscious and restrained shape shifter that lay on a nearby bed.
A brief pause, where Jean seemed to turn her attention inward, "NO... there was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was a crowded area... I don't let my shields down much in public," she explained with a lopsided smile, knowing the Professor understood her comment all to well. Being able to read people's minds and being in large crowds was never a good thing. Too many minds bombarding her mental shields trying to drive her crazy with their constant chatter. Little did people realize that being a telepath had nothing to do with reading a person's mind... it was not reading minds that was the trick, to get a little peace and quiet for yourself without losing your mind in a sea of meaningless noise from everyone around you.
With an absent nod to Jean, Xavier turned his attention back to one of his youngest students, 'What the devil is going on?' he questioned himself, his chin rested on his clasped hands with his elbows propped up on the armrests of his wheelchair. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed as Rahne suddenly jerked awake, moving from telepathic induced sleep to full wakefulness in blinding speed; something she should not have been able to do.
Growling lowly, Rahne arched against the restraints, shape shifting as she did so. Her instincts screamed at her that she must get away from this place, find her mate and leave. Eyes nearly glowing with rage she fought the bands holding her down, her human self still lost in its enforced slumber. 'NO,' the wolf raged struggling with the bonds holding her, she didn't know how she got here; the scents were confusing, familiar and yet not.
{SLEEP} The command sounded in her mind, sending the wolf back into unconsciousness just as she had gotten one arm free and taken a swing at the being nearest her.
As Rahne collapsed back on the bed, still in her transitional form, Scott Summers raised his hand to his chest to keep his heart from pounding its way out. Closing his eyes momentarily, he took a slow calming breath, glad that he didn't feel any blood on his now sliced opened shirt. Thankfully her swing only made limited contact with the fabric and it had been baggy enough not to be anywhere near his skin. He wasn't a fool; he had a very good idea how destructive Rahne Sinclair's claws could be if they made full contact with something soft, like any of his body parts. It also helped that Rogue now had a death grip on the back of his shirt and had pulled him out of the way in time. "Thanks," he said in a weak voice turning to the Goth X-Men with a wry grin, "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have liked getting hit with those claws."
Smirking a bit as she let go of the back of his shirt, Rogue turned her attention to her friend once more. "Okay... this is getting annoying," she said, "what the hell is going on here? First, Rahney collapses, burns with fever for days, and now she's trying to wolf-out in public and taking swings at Cyclops!"
"That is a valid question," Xavier replied, frowning thoughtfully at his unconscious student. 'Strange... it was like she wasn't completely awake,' he thought, 'I could only sense her wolf-half but not her human-half. How can her conscious be so divided? It never has been before.' He thought knowing that while Rahne did tend to look at the world as a wolf, and much of her thought processes were animal-like in nature, she did not have a duel conscious. Her mind was whole for the most part, her human and wolf halves sharing equal control as it were, she did not have a separate 'human' and 'wolf' persona warring for dominance. 'Or at least it wasn't until now.' The thought troubled him, as his eyes narrowed even more, 'no it can't be in order for that to happen she would have undergone a severe emotional or mental trauma I would have notice such a thing.' He dismissed the thought firmly.
Letting out a tired sigh he ran a hand across his jaw, coming to a decision; he would enter his student's mind and do a deep telepathic scan. Something he had been reluctant to do since Rahne first fell into her mysterious fever. It went against his morals to enter his students... his children's minds without their knowledge or permission; however, due to Rahne's clear signs of mental distress he saw no other option. 'I have to know what is going on,' he told himself moving his wheelchair closer to Rahne's bed, 'forgive me child... I have no other choice.'
"Professor?" Scott questioned unsure if it was wise to let his teacher get near Rahne. Even if she were unconscious she was still in her transitional form, and she had already displayed a rather alarming habit of snapping awake without warning and taking blind swings at people.
{I'm fine Scott} The Professor's voice sounded in all of his students' minds, {I am about to scan Rahne's mind... under no circumstances am I to be interrupted. Jean you will act as my anchor line... I need you to be ready to keep Rahne on the bed if she should awaken again... and to act as my outside focus if there is trouble.}
Jean, Scott and Rogue looked at each other in disbelief, the Professor never talked about scanning people, he always went out of his way not to pear into his students' minds or give them any reason to think he had done such a thing. And yet here he was telling them he was about to go against his own rules, scan one of his students without permission. It was almost heartbreaking hearing the distaste in his telepathic voice as he explained what he was about to do; it was like he was about to do something he found morally offensive and degrading.
**************************
Rahne's Mindscape -
The russet coloured wolf prowled the meadow stalking the much-hated yellow flutters that dared to trespass into 'her' territory. Crouching low to the ground, her tail absently swaying back and forth as she watched a particularly annoying flutter land on a flower, the predator's eyes narrowed, a cool wet tongue slipping out of its mouth to lick its chops, as the wolf slowly inched forward toward the hated interloper.
This was how Charles Xavier found his student as his astral form materialized in Rahne Sinclair's mind, a large playful wolf out stalking butterflies. Arching an eyebrow as he watched her, he noted that she did the same thing in the 'real world' - usually on lazy sunny days -much to the chagrin of the Institute's other students. He never realized that she actually dreamed about chasing butterflies, that some primal part of her insisted that they needed to be chased in the first place. A soft laugh brought him out of his silent musings, turning he saw a figure sitting in the shade of a large tree watching the wolf at play.
The figure under the tree smiled at the Professor, seemingly unconcerned that there was a rather large predator stalking butterflies right in front of her. Charles didn't think the person, a young woman he noted, as he got closer to her, was a part of Rahne's psyche. She seemed to be a separate being, much like himself who was 'visiting' Rahne Sinclair's dreamscape. 'Is she the cause of Rahne's erratic behaviour?' he wondered.
"You shouldn't disturb Rahney while she is defending her territory from the butterfly hordes," the young woman said with a bright smile. "She gets rather caught up in her work and could mistake you for a giant 'flutter beast' that must be expelled," the woman said with a laugh, "Please sit Professor... I've been waiting for you," she said offering him a seat on her blanket. "You are late you know? I was certain you would have been here much sooner."
Sitting down the Professor regarded the woman thoughtfully; while he did not sense anything evil or malicious about the woman, he still wondered what she was doing here. She appeared to be a small woman even seated, clad in a flowing white robe of some type that left one shoulder and arm bare, golden intricately designed bracers at each wrist, wavy dark hair cascading down and around her face and shoulders, with calm golden eyes regarding him in return. "You are worried about my little one there," the woman said with a calm smile, indicating the frolicking wolf with a nod of her head. "Which is good... you are a good man Charles Francis Xavier." She caused the Professor to jump a bit as she addressed him by his full name.
Xavier stared at the woman for a long moment as she smiled secretively at him, as if amused by his confusion. Only to be brought out of his stupor by the wolf who apparently had grown tired of stalking butterflies and wanted to see what all the fuss was about under the tree. Charles absently scratched the russet coloured wolf behind the ears as she settled down at his side, her head resting on one of his legs as she closed her eyes. "She sees you as an elder of the pack, you know?" the woman said conversationally. "She knows that you and your other children are not a 'normal' pack... all of you are too human at times. So she's not always sure how all of you are going to react to her; but she's figured out that you are an elder. To be respected of your great age and wisdom, you can teach a lot to the younger cubs." She commented dryly, her eyes twinkling as she talked of Xavier's 'great age'.
Charles nodded slightly, choosing to ignore the 'great age' comment, 'maybe that is how the children see me,' he reasoned absently continuing his petting of the wolf, only to stop as the wolf suddenly raised her head and looked off to one side, her tail wagging happily before pushing herself up and going to greet the newcomer with a playful yelp. Turning his own head, Xavier felt his heart skip a beat as he found himself looking at a human Rahne approaching the little gathering. 'What? How?' he thought his mind racing, knowing that what he was seeing shouldn't be there, 'her mind cannot be fragmented in such a fashion.'
The human Rahne stopped not far away from the little group under the tree, making no more to join them, instead waiting for the wolf to leave the group and join her. Smiling softly at the Professor the human and wolf Rahnes slowly turned and wandered off together, as if what was happening under the tree was none of their concern.
"You are concerned for her," the woman's voice brought Xavier's attention back to her, "you are correct... her mind should not be fragmented in such a fashion... and yet something is deliberately trying to separate her personas."
"But you are not the cause," Xavier said thoughtfully, sensing a great power in the woman that both troubled and comforted him. He didn't think she was the cause of Rahne's current condition; like him she was merely trying to help the young shape shifter. "Who are you?" he asked, sensing that the honest, straightforward approach when dealing with this being would be the most productive.
The woman cocked her head to the side to look at him for a long moment, a serene smile tucking at the corner of her lips. "I am called many names, Charles Xavier, by many people... lets just say I am Rahne's mother for the time being and leave it at that," she said with that calm serene smile of hers that made people just want to listen to her and do what she instructed.
"Rahne's mother died giving birth to her," Xavier noted with an arched eyebrow.
"Her human birth mother yes... a shame about that really, Abigail could not shake the poison in her system, although Moira tried so hard to counter it," the woman went on, a sad light in her eyes. "I regret not being there to help ease Abigail's suffering, the birth was most difficult and unattended by the fae but such things could not be helped...Earth has become the realm of man and interference from the fairy-folk would not have been welcomed." She paused for a moment as if removing herself from painful past memories. "Tell me Charles Xavier... have you guessed who I am? And more importantly what Rahne Sinclair is?" The woman said before disappearing before his eyes, leaving the telepath sitting on a blanket alone under a large tree.
"Don worry sir... ya figure it out sooner or later." Rahne's voice startled the Professor, causing him to look up sharply to see that the human and wolf had returned to the shade of the tree. The young girl and wolf settled down in front of him the two staring intently at him for a long moment, "we - me sister here and I," she began indicating the wolf with a nod of her head, "know ya here fer our other self... the one that is a mix of us. We do want ta help ya... only we don know what ta tell ya." The child went on her brow furrowing in thought as she carefully thought over her words, "we arena used ta outsiders here... this is our mindscape after all... where we are supreme... or we should be. But something out there... in the 'real world' I guess ya call it - is offsetting things... trying ta unbalance us as it were."
"Do you have any idea why?" The Professor asked noting the thought patterns of both beings before him; one with a completely human mind, the other with a wolf mind primal in nature yet highly intelligent all the same.
"None," the human said after a sharing a look with her 'sister'. The two astral projections of Rahne's key personas were just as willing to find out what was happening so they could be merged back into the one being they were suppose to be. "We only know that one day something tore us apart... this isna natural fer us, we arena meant to be separated in such a fashion. Its beginning ta take its toll... we kenna go on like this sir. Our 'instincts' are trying ta compensate fer the loss of our 'oneness' as it were...without much success. We kenna keep holding this mindscape tagether if the balance isna restored soon."
****************************
Elsewhere -
"Master... the telepath knows of our efforts to destroy the changeling," a hooded-robed figure reported kneeling in reverence before a stone alter, "even now he walks her mindscape, aiding her split personas in becoming whole once more." The servant remained in his position of submission, head bowed and low to the ground, unworthy of being in the presence of his ancient master. "Further there are whispers that the Mother herself has taken an interest in the changeling's plight. Some among the Lesser Masters are concerned that the Tuatha Dé Danann has grown weary of their exile to Avalon and plot their return to the mortal realm. Their minions in the city are growing impatient... they want action taken against the changeling and the witch before they can bond." A loud rumble filled the room, causing the robed figure to cringe in fear; "these are the words of inferior dark masters... ones that have grown weak over the centuries preferring to live among humans. They do not speak for your true followers my Lord... nor will they ever, your chosen ones are still loyal to you and eagerly await your command in all things." The robed figure spoke in a meek submissive voice, carefully choosing his words, knowing his Master had little patience for those who have forgotten their place. One final rumble filled the room causing a slow evil smile to begin to tug at the corner of the robed figure's mouth, "I hear and obey Master, the changeling and witch must not be allowed to bond... their blood will quench your thirst for revenge... on this I vow."
****************************
The Brotherhood House -
Agatha Harkness looked up from her meditation with a frown, feeling the after affects of something bouncing off one of her wards. 'Hmmm,' she thought, her brows furrowing a bit 'so that is how they want to play this? Very well... you want confrontation... you will have confrontation and may the gods have mercy on your souls... for I shall not.' She thought darkly, her grime expression disappearing as the front door opened and Wanda and Pietro entered the room still a bit damp from the mishap at the mall with the fire suppression system.
End Part 4.
Side Note: In Irish-Celtic mythology, the Tuatha Dé Danann ("People of the goddess Danu") are the Irish race of gods, founded by the goddess Danu.