Alfred was exhausted. He had been swimming for what felt like days on end. His clothes were too heavy to float and take a break, and he was beginning to wonder if he should shed his shirt and vest- at least, for it was no longer keeping him warm. He had already gotten rid of his boots and cursed it. That would be the third pair he had lost in the last year. He hadn't even broken them in yet. Francis had just made them for him.

But in all honesty, that had just been a small thought to keep his mind off of the real problem. And it had worked for only a moment, but it had quickly been pushed to the back of his mind. The real problem had come up again.

His shivering was violent and almost detrimental to his swimming. His limbs jerked terribly and his lips were turning blue. But no matter how far in what direction he went, couldn't find a break. He felt he was going to be stuck swimming forever. More than once, he found himself sinking lower, but would force himself above the surface again with what little strength he had left. It was torture, pure and simple. He was freezing, starving to death already, not to mention that he was incredibly sleep deprived. Where was he? Would someone be able to find him? Where was his brother?

"Mat-tie… a-ar-re you h-here?" He whispered, unable to raise his voice. He wondered if he would be dead if not for the internal heat that he already had from his powers. But even then he was sure that it was leaving him with every second. But his worry was still for Matthew and the town. Even if what his captor had said was true, he still worried that Matthew would somehow get captured as well and put here in this pitch black, freezing cold hell-hole. He didn't wish this on anyone.

Maybe.

Matthias had been having a wonderful night. He had been with Peter for almost two hours straight, managing to teach him how to fix many various things with his tools in the shed. He had promised to go and look at the gate that evening and make sure it didn't need reinforcing.

After sending Peter home to his father- how they even had that relationship was beyond Matthias they were so NOT alike- he headed out to outside of the gate. Swinging it shut behind him, he investigated the wood.

"Ehhh… Probably needs some reinforcement around the edges if we don't want animals getting in. The pegs are coming loose… Ber'll have to look at that. He's better with Pegs." He sighed, but paused when a sound happened upon his ears. A faint rustling of the trees not far off. He looked behind him and peered into the growing darkness that came with the sunset. Nothing caught his bright blues though. He shrugged.

"Probably some wind or something." He muttered, going to walk further down the large fence. He looked it up and down with an expert eye and found nothing out of sorts except for a chip and a scratch there, which was normal. It was wood after all.

"I wonder what sort of scuttlebutt had Matthew worried…" He wondered to himself as he rounded to the very back fence, farthest from the gates opening into the town. "Or maybe Alfred talked him into it…"

The sound filled his ears again, but louder and more immediately close. Matthias whipped around and looked right at the trees. Goosebumps formed all over his skin, and he put a hand to his gun, which rested at his side.

"Jig is up…" He whispered to himself, peering around. He wondered briefly if he was just paranoid. It was, after all, dark. And he hated the dark. Nothing good ever happened after dark.

Something shifted in the trees, and he skidded back on his boots, nearly tripping over himself. His eyes shifted around as nervous as a rodent being chased by a bird. Something blue flashed behind him, and he turned on his heel, spinning and nearly hitting his own face with his now drawn gun. His eyes widened.

"I'm no gospel sharp- but you aint of this world, are you?" He asked, voice trembling.

Then all was black.

Matthias felt his consciousness slipping back and forth, from dark to kind of dark. He never really felt wakefulness at any point and his memory was fogged up with all of the pain that exploded in him every time he tried to change that. He heard voices, and after a long while, realized that he was in Arthur's place. He must have been hurt, but how? He couldn't remember. He could feel someone bandaging him up and cleaning wounds that stung horribly and throbbed with each heartbeat.

It felt like he was asleep forever. A hundred years could have passed and he wouldn't have been surprised. He would occasionally try to move, but he would find himself unable to do so from the pain that would explode all over.

Finally he felt himself stirring awake, but it didn't feel like when he would wake up in the morning, or after getting hit in the head and being knocked out or something. No- it felt like some sort of foreign energy was building up in his chest and trying to bust its way out of his rib cage. His whole body felt like it was on fire- and it hurt. It hurt so bad that he wanted to scream.

And without warning to even himself, a horrible cry ripped itself from his lips. It sounded like the howl of a wounded and frightened animal. He writhed as his consciousness came back, along with sensation and taste. He tasted iron on his tongue, and felt pain along every inch of his body. Thrashing, he felt himself falling suddenly, off of the bed that he still could only assume was in Arthur's home.

"Is that a bluff or do you mean real play here?" The voices… was that Matthew?

"Shut your trap and don't move. If we startle him he might have a panic attack." Vladimir? said with a growl.

"Won't he have one regardless!? He just turned himself into a bloody hound!" That was certainly Arthur. But what on earth was he talking about?

"Yes, but if he goes into a panic attack he might let his instincts as a bloody hound take over and he'll attack us! And if he bites any of you, you'll all turn yourselves as well."

"What happens if he bites you?" Matthew asked.

"What happens when any paranormal creature bites another one?" Vladimir growled again. Matthias looked around. Why did he feel so short? And when had he opened his eyes? And what on earth was tied around his wrists and ankles? He looked up at the group in front of him and suddenly felt very alienated.

Matthew was standing in front of Arthur and Allistor, shielding them. If he didn't know any better, which he usually did, he would have thought he was shielding them from him. Vladimir was closer, but looked hesitant to get any closer. Lukas and Berwald were directly in front of him, almost blocking his view of everyone else, but even they looked frightened- which was saying something for both of them. He shook his head again, but then stopped when he saw his paws.

There was a long silence for a long time- or at least a second that seemed to stretch on into forever- when the wolf leaped backwards, skidding to a stop against the table, where he hit his head and yipped as he tumbled forward again and then finally landed on his fluffy tail. He shook his head and stood again, knocking his head once again on the top of the table. Then he barked, freezing as the sound left his mouth.

"Matthias… can you hear me? Just nod if you can." Vladimir said slowly. He approached the blonde wolf, hand outstretched cautiously. Matthias did as told and nodded. "Good… now. We need to figure out how to help you, so I'm going to ask you a few questions, alright?" Matthias nodded slowly again. "Do you remember what attacked you?" He asked, crouching down so that he was eye-level with the wolf.

Matthias whimpered and nodded, then paused and shook his head. He cocked his head to the side and sat down properly, hanging his head. "You don't remember?" Lukas asked, stepping closer as well. Vladimir didn't stop him, but kept on high alert. "You're still hurt… I'm going to look at your injuries, okay?" He said slowly. Matthias looked at him and nodded, standing up to meet him halfway. The Norwegian held his hand out and let Matthias touch his fingers with his nose before he moved closer to brush over the cuts and marks all over his brother's lupine form.

"His injuries are still bleeding." Arthur observed. "I'll go get some bandages." He explained, going to the cabinet.

"How do you always end up in these sort of situations Matthias." Lukas stated more than asked as he slumped down on the floor next to the wolf. Matthias just looked at him with an annoyed gaze and huffed in acknowledgement. "Only you." He shook his head.

"Well, 'e is Matthias." Berwald said. Sitting down on the bed that Matthias had previously occupied. He looked at the blonde with a sigh and shook his head as well, wondering how Matthias really did end up in these situations. Of course, it could be argued that he had never gotten turned into an animal before, but he did seem to attract trouble.

"Why is this town such an attraction to the supernatural, is a better question, I would think." Arthur said, approaching with a small stack of bandages.

"Good point…" Vladimir said, leaning against the wall as if he were to fall asleep any moment. Allistor had sat on the floor again, half-asleep.

"You're one of the problems." Lukas pointed out fairly. "Besides, when the two that run the town are part of the said issue, what do you expect? We've attracted about half of the supernatural figures that I've ever heard of."

"What do'ya mean?" Berwald asked.

"Well, you know very well about Matthew and Alfred being the Riders…" Matthias looked genuinely shocked at this news. "Oh shush you. And then there's Antonio. And Vladimir. We met the Ice breathers, and now a Hell Hound. Did I miss any?"

"I don't think so…?" Arthur sighed, tying off a bandage around Matthias's fore paw. "And if there are any more, I don't want to know about them." He said sternly. "Besides, this all seems to be news to Matthias here, so don't overload him."

What the heck is Antonio?

Matthew suddenly jumped about three feet in the air, effectively hitting his head on the ceiling of the room. He looked at Matthias with wide, wild eyes while he gripped the back of his head.

"Matthew? What the-" Lukas was cut off.

"He talked! I- didn't ya hear him? He-?"

"Are you alright? Nobody said anything…?" Arthur said, standing and walking to the startled deputy. "Maybe you ought to sit down…."

"I- Nah, I'm fine… But Matthias? Didja- talk…to me?"

I don't think so, but you let me know. Matthias's sarcastic tone filled Matthew's head as if the Dane himself were sitting on his brain.

"Oh Lordy." Matthew collapsed into the kitchen chair, hands scrubbing down his face. "I'm in fer the long-haul, aint I?"

Roderich sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. Ever since he had been disturbed that morning, he hadn't been able to settle down again for sleep or any other form of relaxation. He cursed the town's horrible luck and timing, and then calmed himself and silently asked forgiveness. Cursing anything never benefitted anyone, he would know.

He played the piano for a bit, the beauty of its sound coming from the beat of the strings calming and soothing his frazzled nerves. But even then it didn't do much to help.

Finally he settled for going through the pages of books that had been passed down for generations. Some were still in Latin but most were German to demonstrate his roots in Austria. The pages were thin and worn, yellowing with age. The covers were leather bound and tattered, but the words inside were just as readable as they had been when they had been written.

He flipped through one particular book, trying to find the familiar page of words that looked more worn and studied than the rest of the book. Roderich frowned as he poured over the page, looking at the text that practically leapt off the page at him with importance.

Hell Hound.

Church Grims, Kirk Grim, Kyrkogrm or kirkoväki are said to be the attendant spirits of churches and holy buildings, overseeing the welfare of their particular charge. They are said to be the spirits of animals sacrificed by the church at the building of a new church. A completely black dog would be chosen and buried alive on the north side of the grounds of a church, creating the guardian church grim in order to protect the lands from evil. It is said that they enjoy ringing the church bells loudly.

They take the form of black dogs. Usually seen with Black fur and glowing Red or Yellow eyes. Abilities include abnormal strength and speed. Presence is announced by foul odor and sudden heat waves. Has fire based abilities. The beasts may have the ability to speak.

Roderich sighed, snapping the book shut. Obviously, if it was a Grim that they were dealing with, then there would be nothing to worry about, so the town would calm down if it came down to it. Perhaps it would be assumed that those attacked had done something to warrant being attacked by the Grim and everything would smooth over. He smiled, putting the book back on the dusty shelf and turned to the doorway. He glanced at the sky outside and let out a long breath.

It was time to ring the bells again.

WOW WHERE DID I GO FOR SO STANKIN' LONG. (Finals,moving,goinghome,movingagian,beginninganothersemester) Wow. I apologize for the horridly long wait for this update, and I apologize again for not much happening yet. BUT IT WILL I PROMISE! So tell me what you think please! I need the PUSH.

Have a great day as well! You're awesome!