Glaring at the thing with an irritated 'huff', I shifted my gaze from the general direction of the living 'collar' and very slowly started scanning the room: searching every nook and cranny for any sign of a camera or bug, as what I was about to do would compromise everything if anyone got wind of it. Seeing nothing, I spent the better part of ten extra minutes sniffing and using my Sonar at regular intervals: just in case anyone decided to get curious and try to sneak a peek from any hidden crevice that I didn't see before.
Satisfied that I couldn't find or sense anything even close to being near me, I spared the parasite another glance with a disgusted-yet-thoughtful frown on my face. 'Alright, now how to go about this. Would be so much easier if there was a mirror in here.' I thought, not really worried about such a weak and fragile-looking creature being able to actually cause me harm: but because the thing can make noise, the last thing I wanted was for the thing to squeal loud enough to actually get someone's attention. Scowling at it, I decided to throw caution to the wind and grabbed hold of it with the strength of a vice: causing the Cadou to immediately let out a loud, ear-piercing 'screech': thrashing its pale tendrils aggressively and cleverly aimed for my face.
Leaning away from it, I threw my other hand up and put even more effort into pulling it off: only to let out a choking 'gasp' of my own as it fought back surprisingly well, tightening its grip and anchored itself in place. With a choked 'snarl', I fought to get my fingers between it and my neck: only to have my grip slip right off due to the parasite's slimy outer coating. Apparently having enough of my shit, the Cadou decided cutting off my air supply would make me let go, and while doing so didn't really work: it certainly made me stumble backwards and trip over my own feet.
Landing on my tailbone, I couldn't even yelp as the little shit used its tendrils to grab me around the neck, over my shoulders and around my forearms like a demented octopus: doing everything in its power to remain where it was. Parting my jaws open in a frightening snarl, I staggered to my feet and threw my neck into the corner of the wall: hoping the rough and sharp corners would injure the parasite enough to loosen its grip and make a mistake that would allow me to get a handhold on it: only for the Cadou to let out a 'hiss' in a similar pattern as a sort of 'giggle'.
'So, you want to play rough, then? So be it.' I thought, letting go and was held in a chokehold for several more seconds: as if the fucking thing was making sure I knew my place and was warning me to not do that again. Unfortunately for the slimy little bastard: I did NOT tolerate being treated like a pet, and I'd be damned if Miranda or any other creature was going to try and fucking control me, I will not stand for it! "Alright, you slimy fuck: looks like we're doing this the hard way." I snarled, flaring my nostrils and held my breath: preparing myself to get strangled again, ignoring the parasite's angry 'gurgling' as I raised my right arm and bent my elbow: leaving my forearm level with my head.
With a resonating 'growl', I gave my forearm the slightest 'twitch': commanding the virus to consume my right arm and turn it into something…new. And it did not disappoint. What was once a human arm, suddenly became nothing more than a mass of writhing, black-cherry-colored Biomass: furiously shifting and changing until it became a physical manifestation that made me different from regular humans…a Bioweapon. 'As if the glowing clothes, fangs and animal noises weren't clear enough.' I mentally griped, taking in the twisted, nightmarish replacement that had taken the place of my arm.
Eldritch in nature, the Biomass had hardened into a mass of twisting, thorny roots that vaguely resembled the shape of an arm: sparsely-decorated with large spines that would make anyone with sense think twice about trying to grab hold of it. Weaving between the gaps was a glowing core of a clay-like tissue that glowed a brilliant-orange: reminding me of a piece of art freshly born from a Glass-Blower's forge. If the arm itself didn't ward any potential enemies away, the appendages that had taken the place of my fingers certainly would have. Instead of fingers, four lethal blades, each nearly thirty-six inches long: with a twenty-inch one in place of my thumb: were made of a component that rivaled even the strongest metal rested idle: and were more than sharp enough to shave the layers of a sheet of paper with ease.
Flexing my wrist, I watched the dim light of the lantern and firelight of the torches reflect off my 'Claws' with a menacing gleam: thoughts drifting to the many victims that had fallen prey to these two-toned blades, both human and creature alike. Even though I didn't completely hate them anymore, I knew that as long as this virus was a part of me, and it always would be: I would never be treated as anything more than a weapon ever again. With that in mind, I 'flicked' my 'fingers' outwards: unsheathing the lethal blades with a threatening 'shink': the metallic noise echoing ominously throughout the small room, the only warning the parasite would get…before all hell broke loose.
With a low roar of barely-contained rage, I slashed my Claws at the parasite, grabbing it by its bulbous head and sank the tips in deep: causing the thing to let out a high-pitch 'squeal' and lash its tendrils out again. Pulling hard, I let a malicious grin make itself known on my face as the blades tore through the thin flesh: allowing my sensitive nose to catch the scent of what passed for blood in this thing. A moldy scent that nearly made me gag, as it smelled more like fresh tar, rather than the coppery tang of what blood should have been: but as long as this little shit was hurting, what did I care what its blood smelled like? Unfortunately for me, the Cadou was a tenacious little shit: shifting its soft body and managed to rip itself free of my grip, it sank its tiny razor teeth deep in the exposed flesh of my neck.
With a pained cry: I doubled my efforts in tearing it free, only to once-again underestimate the sheer audacity of this fetus-like slug. "You fucking-let GO of me!" I spat in a wheeze, not even caring that my movements were sporadic at this point: this thing was coming off…and it was going to do so right the fuck now. Ignoring the parasite's protests, I sank my Claws in again: pulling it away from me with as much force the reinforced limb was allowed in such a cramped space: only to lose my grip again as the Cadou slipped free with a fresh, thick coating of slime. 'The fuck are you, some kind of mutated hagfish?!' I thought, beyond infuriated that this thing has broken out of my grasp yet again: when such a fragile-looking thing should have been squished like an overly-ripe grape from the very beginning.
Having enough of my shit, the game of 'Tug-o-War' came to a sudden and abrupt end: and not in my favor. With a surprising strength that I didn't even know this weak little thing had, it used its tendrils to aid its misshapen body in constricting my neck and cut off my air supply: choking me to the point where I was actually starting to see black spots in the corners of my vision. Despite my slashing and clawing, the parasite wasn't done: with an enraged, distorted 'screech', the Cadou tightened its grip even further before slithering around the diameter of my neck in a sharp, twisting motion: separating the vertebrae in my neck from the rest of my spine with a sickening 'crack'.
'Well…that would have been an embarrassing way to die. Thanks, healing factor.' I thought sarcastically, coughing and choking on air as I lay sprawled on the cold, damp floor: grimacing at the uncomfortable feeling of the virus putting my snapped neck back together and reset it in its place. Sitting up, I glared hatefully at the parasite: who had the nerve to act far smugger than any expressionless organism had any right to. With a triumphant, contented 'squeak', it settled back down to its original position: acting as if it hadn't just broken my neck in retaliation for trying to remove it. 'Bested by a fucking slimeball…I can't believe this.' I mentally griped, far too prideful to admit to pouting, which turned my already shitty mood to a dangerous one: I wanted nothing more than to flay the skin from something's meat, just so I can watch them writhe and suffer as they slowly bled to death before they died…preferably this little shit hugging my neck.
"You have no idea how lucky you are that I'm too tired for this shit." I snarled, ignoring the borderline-cheerful 'chirp' that came from the parasite as my arm became cloaked in Biomass once again: returning it to normal and erasing any evidence that the Claw had even made an appearance. With a painful roll of my eyes, I rose to my feet and retreated back up the stairs and headed back towards the chamber that Urias had claimed as his own: ducking around the crystals that decided to grow in the most inconvenient spots in the hallway and pushed open the doors with a grinding 'squeal'. Feeling his eyes on me as soon as I stepped through, I glanced up to meet his silhouette as it glowed from the silvery moonlight that streamed in through the cave he had entered from.
Rolling my eyes at the threatening growls, I shifted my gaze and studied the pillars scattered purposefully in pairs around the curvaceous room. "Don't mind me, Heisenberg's orders." I called, not even caring if my boldfaced lie was caught by the Alpha Lycan or not as I decided on the pair of pillars closest to the doors and snug against the wall. As soon as I was within touching distance of the marbled stone, I stretched my hand out and commanded the virus to do my bidding: sending the writhing black-cherry-colored mass climbing up the pillar like 'Devil's Snare' and watched it jump from my pillar to the adjacent one. As soon as both were covered, I watched it weave the bridge in the middle even further: thinning and widening itself until it made the object I had envisioned.
Ignoring Urias' huffing and puffing, I bent my knees and jumped into my new hammock: pleased to find that while the Biomass was an odd combination of rubbery and rough: it was also strong and warm, which, combined with my elevated body temperature: made a comfortable and toasty spot to sleep in this damp and frigid Stronghold. "Anyone chews my boots: I'm turning them into a throw-rug!" I called to Urias, ignoring the heated glare being burned into the side of my head as I kicked off my boots and dropped them to the floor. Glancing down, I was pleased to see that they landed next to one another on their soles: as if I had set them in place intentionally instead of just dropping them.
Nodding in satisfaction, I glanced over at Urias: and while he obviously wasn't pleased to see me in his space, he also wasn't making an effort to come after me or chase me away. Hoping that he was intelligent enough to recognize the compromise, as I didn't have anything else that was even remotely close to passing for a living space: it was pretty much my only option for the moment. 'Didn't even leave me any food…what a 'gracious' host you are, Miranda.' I thought, suddenly feeling bitter over that obvious revelation after the traitorous organ, better known as 'my stomach' decided to kick me in the ribs for the lack of nourishment I had denied it for the better part of the entire day.
"I'll feed you tomorrow. Shut up." I growled, scowling at my stomach before shifting down to get comfortable: ignoring Urias and the parasite around my neck as I tilted my hood down over my face, crossed my arms over my chest and tried my damndest to actually catch a few hours of sleep. However, the sleep I wanted, and the sleep I got were clearly on separate sides of the spectrum: especially when it only felt like I caught maybe twenty minutes of sleep, before the silence of the room was broken by the resonance of a bronze bell as it reverberated off the walls in such a way that it sounded much louder that it should've.
"I swear to God…someone BETTER be dying, or so help me…someone will be." I groaned, pressing the heels of my gloved hands into my eye sockets and tried to rub away the exhaustion that was hovering over me like a fog that refused to go away. Debating on going back to sleep, that idea was ruined as Urias stomped over to my hammock and roughly shoved his forearm into it: nearly knocking the wind out of me as he sent me into the wall. "Yeah yeah, I hear it. Let me get my boots on, you overgrown furball." I said, swatting him away and pretty much flopped onto the floor like a freshly-caught trout: not at all graceful, but I was beyond the point of giving a damn.
'And the next day starts with three hours of sleep…oh, I feel bad for whoever tries what patience I don't have this morning.' I thought, lazily shoving my boots on before stretching my limbs: feeling several satisfying 'cracks' pop from different spots as I threw my hood back and ran my fingers through the long dark-burgundy curls that were normally hidden from view. Growling at the several snarls that made their presence known: I spent the better part of five minutes fighting with them before tucking the thick mane away, much to the annoyance of the Alpha Lycan as he waiting impatiently for me from the platform that served as his 'resting spot'. Jumping up to join him, I let him lead me through the tunnel that served as his exit and realized that he had actually shown me a shortcut that was out of sight of the Village: exactly as Miranda wanted.
Following after the lumbering giant, I let my thoughts drift as I felt my eyes glaze over in a daze: until I was suddenly snapped out of it as Urias roughly nudged me in the ribs, which made it clear to me that because of his size, anything he did would pretty much knock me on my ass if I didn't pay attention. "What?" I questioned, already knowing that the tone of my voice was set in an extra snappish range today: which didn't bode well for my already shot-to-shit nerves. Looking up at the mane of fur, I watched as he threw his head in a specific direction: signaling to me that the path we were on had reached a fork, and he was making it clear that he wanted me to follow the one that was leading to the left.
Biting back a yawn, I trudged through the leaves and did as he wanted: coming within sight of the dilapidated church as soon as I rounded the next bend. Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to enjoy the scents of Autumn and the nearby trees before steeling myself: trying my hardest not to let my shitty mood make things worse: though I couldn't help but wonder how an argument would play out if any of the other infected decided to start some shit with me. 'Actually…I almost wish they would: give me an outlet for at least some of this endless supply of salt.' I thought, feeling slightly better with that notion as I shoved the doors open and stepped inside: only for my previous bad mood to return with a vengeance as the sweet, crisp smells of Autumn were very quickly forgotten as the rancid reek of Salvatore very nearly jumped up my nose.
'And I didn't think to use Biomass to make a mask…why?' I thought, before my sleepy mind caught up with the thought and knew that if I were to do that, Miranda would catch on and would be keeping a much closer eye on me as a result. "Sister! Good morning!" he gurgled happily, snapping me out of my musings as I trudged my way through the doors over to my newly-assigned seat. "Salvatore." I returned, raising my gloved hand up to hide my fangs as I opened my mouth in a bone-cracking yawn, accompanied by tears from both the yawn and Salvatore's horrid stench.
'Enough with the bullshit, he can't help it: no matter how true it is.' I thought, mentally kicking myself and fought to keep the look of disgust from appearing on my face as I regarded him. "Are you always the first one to get here when Miranda calls?" I questioned, mainly to keep the heavy, awkward silence I sensed at bay: but I was also curious if I could get information on Miranda and the others for future reference, and asking the dimwitted one seemed like a good place to start. "Oh yes! Mother loves it when we get here early! She always gives us presents for being good!" he replied, raising my curiosity as I shifted down and made myself comfortable: knowing that just from that answer alone that I would be here for a while, much to my chagrin.
"And what 'presents' are those, exactly?" I questioned again, trying to ignore the foreboding sense of dread that started to form in the pit of my stomach at the thought of what an infected such as Miranda would consider a 'gift': if the experiments she tried to perform on me during our first encounter were any indication of her sadistic mindset. "Oh! She brings us the best of the 'Villagers' to play with! But they don't last long though, the Cadou that we're supposed to give them usually either kills them or makes them make a mess: if they don't turn into more pets for Heisenberg first. He always finds a good use for those." he explained, further solidifying my suspicions of what the purpose of other infected actually was: the question was why.
'Why go through all the trouble to have not one, but four underlings of unknown abilities to do the bidding of one? Is that why she mentioned 'failure' when she tried to experiment on me? Shit. That actually makes me somewhat glad the parasite made itself into a collar: instead of whatever the fuck it was supposed to do, if it makes a mess out of those that it doesn't kill.' I noted, starting to put the pieces together, but it was the reason why and the goal of the 'experiments' that continued to elude me. One thing was for sure, I couldn't let Miranda know that I was starting to figure her out: and I had no intention of playing by her rules, no matter how hard she tried to 'convince' me otherwise.
Before I could open my mouth to respond to that slightly-disturbing explanation, the doors to the church creaked open again, allowing Alcina to duck inside: allowing me to see that she was dressed in the same dress and hat as yesterday, all adjusted to absolute perfection as she took her seat. Sparing me an appraising glance, she curled her lip in disgust as she looked me up and down: obviously finding something about me that she clearly considered distasteful.
"Something wrong, Alcina?" I asked, not caring if my snappish tone made an appearance as she sneered over at me while lighting up a cigarette. "Hrmph. Merely the fact that you choose to appear before Mother Miranda without making yourself presentable: I expected such from Salvatore and Heisenberg, and had hoped you would have some semblance of standing not to follow in their malodorous states of dress, but I suppose I was mistaken. You have been granted a gift despite lacking 'Nobility': yet you dare answer Mother Miranda's call baring such filth?!" she sneered, tapping the ashes of her cigarette on the floor: glaring down her nose at me as if I were nothing but mud on the hem of her oversized dress.
'And that's my fault…how?' I wondered, raising an eyebrow at her with a deadpanned look on my hidden face: not even surprised that someone like her could find the slightest thing wrong and condemn you for it, whether it was your fault or not. "You do remember that she sent me to the Stronghold, don't you? You know, the ruins where the Lycans live? I had to fight my way through three dozen of the rabid mutts just to get inside: never mind through it, and they aren't intelligent enough to give it a proper cleaning and dusting. Not to mention the complete lack of any actual living quarters, so no: I was unable to have an actual bath to make myself 'presentable', I was more concerned with not being flattened like an omelet. Anything else you'd like to bring to my attention that I'm not already aware of, 'Sister'?" I spat back, glaring back at her while fighting to keep myself from baring my teeth or standing up: as I honestly didn't want to come to blows with any of them, but Alcina was making it very difficult to avoid the temptation.
'Now I see why Heisenberg fights with you.' I thought, crossing my arms over my chest and took a minute to control myself: not surprised to figure out that Alcina was the one to goad the others into verbal spats, but the fact that they fought so much like siblings had come as a surprise in itself: despite it being obvious that they hated each other so much that they could easily rival the 'Hatfields' and the 'McCoys'. Clearly not expecting such a sarcastic retort, Alcina remained silent: allowing my mind to drift to the point where I would've dozed off, if my sensitive ears didn't pick up the grinding chatter of Angie as she and Donna made their way up the pathway that led to the church.
'I'm starting to see a pattern here.' I noted, heaving a heavy sigh and steeled myself for my ears to bleed: just as the doors opened and allowed the annoying doll and her ever-silent companion inside. "Ooo! You're still alive! That means you get to play with us next! We'll have LOTS of fun! And guess what?!" Angie squealed, waving her hands and kicking her legs excitedly within Donna's grasp: and while the wraith-like woman had yet to say a word, I could feel her eyes on me from under her veil. Glancing at Salvatore as he let out a particularly-loud giggle to himself, I tilted my head in Donna's direction as I felt Angie's small hands start smacking me on top of my head.
"HEY! I SAID, 'GUESS WHAT'!" she yelled, making sure to angle her dirty face to project her high-pitched voice directly in my ear: making me grit my teeth against the pain of having my eardrums nearly blow out, and despite knowing it was coming, I still couldn't hold back the 'flinch' that jumped through me like an electric shock. "What. Angie?" I growled, not caring that Donna also flinched: though it did make the annoying doll stop hitting me, even though several of the voices in my head demanded I smash her into the wall in retaliation. "When you come to play, you'll never leave! You get to stay and play with us forever!" she cried, seemingly overjoyed by the very idea of something that wasn't going to happen in a million years.
"Good luck with that." I said, making the doll let out a disturbing laugh as Donna quickly picked up on the fact that I wasn't in the mood for further conversation and quickly shuffled her way to her seat: trying her best to hush the doll that had obviously wanted to continue pressing her luck against my rapidly-dwindling patience. 'And then, there was one.' I thought, raising my glove and covered up another yawn as I managed to ignore the others enough to enjoy the quiet: at least, until it was inevitably broken again by some backhanded comment or other.
'Not unlike-no! You shut the fuck up about that, this is NOT the place for that bullshit!' I internally yelled, wanting nothing more than to smack myself upside the head for even allowing that thought to halfway form: as the feelings that came with it always followed behind, and this was definitely not the place for a trip down 'Memory Lane'. Mentally thanking Heisenberg's timing, his repeated, overexaggerated entrance snapped me out of my unpleasant thoughts: which were teetering dangerously into a territory that I did not want to revisit any time soon, if ever.
Ignoring the sudden 'grumbling' of my stomach, I hoped it didn't make its presence known among the other infected as I tilted the beak of my hood down in a silent, polite greeting to the infected in question: who was apparently trying to draw attention to himself and annoy Alcina as much as possible, further cementing the 'sibling dynamic' conclusion I had come to earlier. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that annoying the aristocratic infected wasn't enough to satisfy him this morning…no: there was a new player in the game, and it was clear that the temptation became too much to ignore. Lucky me.
"Look like shit, Red." was the first snide comment: which was enough to make me glance down and take in the dried blood, leaves and dust that coated my body suit like a second skin: however, what Heisenberg didn't know…was that I knew how to play the game, and I knew it very well. Unfortunately, because I was in such a shitty mood: I wasn't able to enjoy it like I normally would've, so I would just have to settle for getting the point across that I wasn't in the mood for any bullshit today. Which was a shame, because watching people die inside from a few simple words was a pastime that I normally enjoyed: but even though none had made an aggressive move towards me, I couldn't afford to let my guard down for a second: never knew when Miranda would get bored and give the order to 'clean up her mess'.
"Look in a mirror lately, Heisenberg?" I returned, unable to help myself: much to the chagrin of Alcina, and the amusement of Angie. Even Heisenberg appeared surprised that not only was I taking the obvious bait: but returned the jab with an equally biting, sarcastic comment. "Least I wouldn't break it, you look like you had a romp with a Lycan: looking like that. How the fuck you didn't scare them off is beyond me." he returned, having the nerve to send a smug grin my way as I glared at him: ignoring Alcina's disgusted 'scoff' as he lit up his own cigar and started obnoxiously blowing rings in my direction.
"Says the one who looks like he took a shower with a pressure washer: what? Did you tie yourself from someone's balcony to air-dry yourself too? You look like you stuck your finger in an electrical outlet." I said snidely, pulling my lip back in a smirk: exposing a fang in triumph as I watched him bite into his cigar as he clearly didn't expect this amount of sass from me. 'Really shouldn't start shit with me, especially when I'm tired: because then the gloves come off.' I thought, holding back a 'wince' as Angie damn-near howled in laughter at the look on Heisenberg's face: and while he was obviously pissed at what I said, I also noticed that it wasn't anywhere near as aggressive as he was whenever Alcina got involved.
Before he could open his mouth to voice his comeback to that, I tore my gaze from his direction and looked up: catching his attention and silencing the room as the hole in the roof suddenly became full of swarming, screaming crows: signaling the arrival of Mother Miranda. 'Great. My mood was just starting to improve…guess I'm doomed to be plagued by angst today.' I thought, heaving another heavy sigh as I shifted positions: settling in and hoped that my virus would behave itself, as I definitely didn't need anything else to piss me off today. Unfortunately…those scales didn't seem to be tilting in my favor: especially when I saw the devious, sinister gleam in Miranda's yellow eyes as she smirked at us.
"Greetings, my children. And to you, Shira: I take it you've been settling into the Stronghold well?" she questioned, not sounding genuine in the slightest, and seemed more curious of how I managed to survive a night in the 'Lycans' Den' and walk away unscathed. And while she may have made the others perk up happily with being personally addressed by her, I didn't miss the way her gaze slid from me to Heisenberg: who visually gave nothing away, but the burning weight of her gaze told me all I needed to know. She knew. "The company was unexpected, but I appreciate the gift, regardless, Mother." I said, bringing her attention back to me as she gave me an appraising look for several, long seconds before she nodded in approval.
'Now we're even.' I thought, keeping my gaze on Miranda, but subtly thanking Heisenberg for getting his 'pets' off my ass: repaying the dept in full, as far as I was concerned. "Excellent. It pleases me to see all my children happy and comfortable, which is why I've called you all this morning." she continued, folding her wings and made us all focus on her with apt attention: while I fought very hard not to imagine how she'd sound as I tore those wings from her body and plucked each feather with savage delight.
"Now. As you all are very well aware: your purpose is to assist me and watch over your assigned 'Houses' as you deem fit. However. You, Shira, are without noble blood, nor a task of your own within the borders of this Village. Therefore, the task I've assigned to you is to assist your fellow Siblings in any task they deem suitable: you are to follow their demands and instructions flawlessly and without argument until I decide otherwise. Do I make myself clear?" she announced, and as she spoke: I felt the air temperature drop fifty degrees as I glared hatefully at her, puffing up my shoulders at the sheer audacity of this overgrown turkey.
Sitting straighter in my seat, I refused to break eye-contact with her: who seemed just as amused as she was annoyed, apparently figuring out that it only took me a minute to realize that this was her 'second test': and I was definitely not amused by her attempt to teach me obedience, of all things. However, I could also feel the stares of the other infected: and knew that making a move now would be an extremely stupid decision on my part, it was called 'patience' for a reason, and it was taking every ounce of self-control that I had to keep any of my abilities from showing Miranda just how I felt about that.
"Hmm…it seems as if a few well-earned lessons are in order. No matter, as a new member of our family: I did not expect you to fully agree and submit to our terms: being as…'free-spirited' as you are. However, I will tolerate this insolent behavior no further: I cannot have you corrupting your Siblings and distracting them from their assigned duties. Which is why you will accompany Alcina to 'House Dimitrescu' once this meeting is adjourned. She will instruct you and will be the first of your Siblings in which you will assist: once your tasks for her have been met, she will decide if you are instructed well enough to assist another. It is clear you have objections, and you will be wise to know your place: my decision is final, and there will be no arguments." she said, turning her back on me and addressed the others: completely ignoring me as I sat in my seat and stewed in my rage: grinding my teeth and clenching my fists: wanting nothing more than to paint the walls and every viable surface with Miranda's innards, and would have definitely made good on that silent promise, if the room was big enough for me to let my 'artistic' side go.
Not even bothering to pay attention to the rest of the meeting, I ignored everything and everyone around me as the rest of the infected finished giving reports of something and requested something or other: eventually leaving as separately as they arrived until only Alcina remained, even Miranda disappeared shortly after Heisenberg did. "Well Sister, let us be off: I do not tolerate tardiness and as long as you are within the walls of my castle, you will act and present yourself as one of us. Once you bathe and are properly dressed, you will be introduced to my daughters: who will certainly be able to find tasks for you in my absence: if their…curiosity doesn't overwhelm you, first. That would certainly be a shame." she said, turning on her heel and ducked through the door: leaving no room for arguments of any kind as I shocked myself back to reality as I suddenly tasted blood in my mouth: biting the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood as I fought to keep my mouth shut.
'So…this is how you want to play, is it? I'll admit that you're tenacious and good at this game: but unfortunately for you, its going to take so much more than that to break me. And you'd better hope that day never comes: because if it does…there will be nothing in the way between you and me, and I do not let grudges go. Consider yourself…marked.' I thought, licking the blood away and stood from my seat: glaring at the hole in the ceiling with all the hate I could muster before turning on my heel and followed after Alcina, hoping that for her and all their sakes that they would have the self-preservation to stay out of my way: because from this moment on, Miranda's days were numbered: what really mattered, was whether or not anyone else was going to end up joining her by the time I lost all fucks to give. Because when it came to grudges, the only thing that was left behind was me and one hell of a mess: and I couldn't wait to see just how vindictive I could get, and if I was being honest with myself, I was truly afraid to find out.