Ash's Hideout

[Red Gypsy]

This is a very cleverly hidden household in an abandoned part of the Sandman base. Very few live here, but those that do leave this particular house alone. There are a few people who live here, namely a human or two and a shifter or two. But no vampires.

This is where Ash has taken his twins to live for now, where they'll be safe. He only shows up in one of the extra rooms, moving in the Demonic manner so that no one will connect him to this house in any way.

The inside is the purest of luxuries, his servants and children wanting for nothing. Outside, the place looks like it's about to fall down at any second. Just one of the mysteries of Demonic magic that Ash has never tried to figure out, and one that Alice had dearly loved...

He still wasn't over her loss yet. But he had a promise to keep. Add to that the fact that Alice had split his heart in two and given them to the twins meant that he was still bound here and couldn't leave to join her until they were old enough to release him.

That meant that he'd do everything in his power to protect them until they were old enough to become the heirs Grann had made them, old enough to protect themselves... Old enough to be without him...

Until that time, he'd stay here whenever he could, cementing his bond with the twins and teaching them whatever he could, protecting them while he lead the Council on the goose chase from hell....  

[TheHelmsman13]

Crowley

Appearing in a plume of blue smoke, Crow knocked on the front door of Ash's house in a manner that suited the situation. Namely, half kicking the door down. The Demigod forced his way inside the house and found a table to set Sebastet down on.

"Ash! Get down here you Demon! Bast needs help!" He bellowed, filling the house with his voice. The Incubus would likely appear momentarily, with little idea as to why there was an intruder in his house. The only clue was the nickname Crowley used for Sebastet, which only he had ever been known to use often. The Demigod was being a smidge impatient, but he thought it good reason why he was so forceful with his entrance and orders.


Enter from Dark Woods

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

TheHelmsman13

Ash walked into the dining room from the kitchen wiping his hands on a towel and took in the scene easily before turning his head slightly to the side, "Sara, take the boys upstairs and settle them with their snack. I'll be up to read to them at bedtime. On your way, ask Keneth to put some water on to boil and collect the aid kit from my room," he ordered simply then approached the table where Sebastet was now resting restlessly.

He frowned down at her and gave a heavy sigh as he simply reached over and eased her onto her side so that he could see her injuries, easily noting the cause. He let her back down onto her back and checked her lips briefly then gave a simple nod as he turned to a cabinet against one wall and pulled two bottles from it along with three glasses.

He poured a deep amber liquid into two of them and offered Crowley one then put a small amount of a powder into the third and poured the amber liquid over it and stirred it. He moved to ease Sebastet up a bit and got some of the third glass down her then stepped back to sip at his own before finally raising his dark eyes to the demigod.

"So... What brings you back from the dead?" he asked simply, not bothering with his usual banter as he waited for the supplies to arrive.  

[TheHelmsman13]

Crowley

Taking the glass, Crowley pulled a chair close to the table and sat down on Sebastet's right side. The look on his face must've conveyed some of what he was feeling, but the Trickster didn't say anything.

Finally, he took a sip of the amber drink and looked up to Ash. Looking back to Bast and then into his glass, Crow slowly spoke.

"A blast of Devastating energy and death. I felt the vibrations through the world of it's detonation and the subsequent emanations of death. I went to the site and found little but ash and fragile bones. From there, I was headed here, but found Bast in the Dark Woods, passed out from Exhaustion." He paused and took another sip of the liquid. The Demigod's eyed strayed back to Sebastet, unfamiliar emotions playing in his eyes.

"I protected her from the sun until nightfall, then we were headed back here. We were attacked by four men in black with silver weapons. The Council ordered the assassination in light of Grann's death. The Old Codgers have overstepped their station!" His last words carried anger and resentment, as well as disappointment. Crowley was not the kind of man who takes his friends being attacked lightly, despite his mischievous and cynical attitude.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

TheHelmsman13

Ash said nothing as the supplies he'd asked for were delivered and immediately started on taking care of his oldest friend. Steeping herbs, making a poultice, stitching and bandaging, then forcing a vile tea down a barely protesting Sebastet who settled right back down after it was over.

All of that done, he simply gestured for Crow to pick her up and follow him upstairs to a spare room, "You two can stay here until she's up and about but no more coming in through the door. Use your abilities to do it instead. Once she's healed, you two can take on the Council. I'll help you where I can but I have got to protect my children. They're Grann's heirs and at the most risk. I've lost just as much as she did, maybe more, maybe less. I think it's just as much... But now I'm Bound, she isn't. Make of it what you will," he told him as he lead the way.

Once upstairs, he opened the door to a bedroom with a huge bed and all the luxuries they could both want, "Keep her in bed as much as you can. I'll change her bandages with the poultice in the morning. She'll do alot of sweating and maybe some talking in her sleep. Just do your best," he added as he gestured to the bed then left them alone.  

[TheHelmsman13]

Crowley

Gently picking Sebastet off of the table, Crowley followed Ash upstairs.

"Very well, as you wish." Was all the Demigod said in response to Ash's words. He brought Bast upstairs and into the bedroom Ash opened for him.

Setting her down softly, Crowley went and closed the door as Ash left. Returning to her side, the Demigod knelt beside the bed and cupped her hand in his. Wondering how much of what he'd said that she'd remember, Crowley began speaking.

He spoke of everything he found beautiful about her, everything that annoyed him and everything that he'd missed about her. He told her about how he'd loved her from the day he met her, maybe not at first sight but once he'd spent time with her. Crowley told her why he'd never told her this before, that he was scared of changing the friendship they had, which he cherished above everything else.

Crowley confessed everything that he'd kept from Sebastet in over two hundred years of friendship. He only hoped that she couldn't hear him, that his confessions would be said, but not remembered. The Demigod, never known to have feared anything in the world, was frightened of losing his oldest, and possibly only, friend.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

TheHelmsman13

Thankfully, for Crowley, Sebastet didn't fully wake up again until after he'd gone silent. She made a pained sound before opening her eyes to blink at the room around her, frowning at the sight as she continued to blink here and there.

"Am I seeing things or is that curtain really flaming red? Gods, tell me I'm seeing things cause that has to be the worst color ever for curtains..." she said softly, her eyes seemingly focused on entirely on that one detail.

Then she shivered again, though nowhere as bad as she had when the silver first started moving through her, "Oh crap... Silver-fever... I hate it... Being allergic to silver sucks..." she murmured then closed her eyes as some more shivering went through her.

After a few more moments, she blinked her eyes open again but frowned, "Crow? But you're dead... Everyone's dead now... Since you're dead, guess I can tell you..." her voice faded a bit at that point, but her words proved that she wasn't entirely lucid on this round, "I almost kissed you once... Didn't cause I didn't want you to guess that I was starting to like you..." she told him in a whisper before her eyes closed again.

Apparently, it was going to be a long night like that. She might remember this part of it when she was over the silver-fever or she might not....  

[TheHelmsman13]

Crowley

Crowley jolted from his chair as Sebastet woke. He'd moved to the chair near the bed to make his vigil. The Demigod knelt beside the bed and listened to the Hylarr. She definitely wasn't lucid, but he heard something that surprised him.

The revelation, lucid or not, that she'd almost kissed him once made Crowley swallow dryly. He knew that whatever she said was most likely the product of a feverish mind, but he held some hope for it to be true.

The night was definitely a long night, and by the time the sun had risen Crowley was asleep kneeling beside Bast's bed. He held her hand in his with his head resting on the covers. If the silver-fever had passed, Sebastet would likely wake before the Demigod.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

TheHelmsman13

A few hours into the morning and Sebastet opened her eyes with a frowning glare as she looked around the room. Though the frown turned into a look of questioning curiosity when she saw Crow beside the bed. The way he was holding her hand told her that he'd helped her through the worst of of this batch of silver-fever. If he'd done himself this bad this time, he probably wouldn't survive it if she had a bad one...

But as she looked at him, she admitted that he didn't look too comfortable where he was. That left her using the shadows to shift him to the bed in such a way that he wouldn't wake up from it. Once he was there, she eased herself up to the edge of the bed and considered a moment before shrugging the situation off.

No sense in worrying about it now, she guessed.

She got to her feet but used the bedpost to steady herself before starting for the attached bathroom. Along the way, her fighting leathers hit the ground. She'd done enough sweating that she now had powdered silver between her fur and skin and it was itching like crazy.

If Crow had any problem seeing her without clothing, he'd have to get over it fast. She had to have a shower now...

She got into the bathroom and started the water in the shower but had to pause before getting inside thanks to a dizzy spell that left her swearing colorfully under her breath...  

[TheHelmsman13]

Crowley

Crowley would still be asleep when Sebastet returned from her shower. He'd been up until just a few minutes before the Hylarr had awoken. Thus the Demigod was immensely tired and needed sleep, particularly to heal his own wounds which he'd not even noticed once he'd seen the shape Sebastet had been in.

A few minutes after she returned from the shower, Crow stirred slightly and grimaced. Small wisps of blue-green smoke were rising from his wounds, signalling that he was healing of his own accord. Once his few injuries had completely healed over the course of roughly ten minutes, the room was dusky with the remnants of the magical smoke, which smells of fresh mountain water mixed with blood.

Crowley was still asleep, showing his intense weariness. Sebastet might remember that Demigods slept very little, usually only when they'd been wounded or roughly every nine years. The Trickster would likely be out cold for a few more hours at least.

Red Gypsy

 

[Red Gypsy]

TheHelmsman13

Sebastet managed the shower and came back out with a towel in her hand to pause beside the bed, silently using her ability with fire to dry out her fur and hair. She stared at him for a long moment, silently wishing she knew what she might have said during the fever. But she couldn't remember it and wouldn't remember any of it.

Which could be a problem for her.

She'd never wanted to ruin their friendship back when it was still a young one so she hadn't said anything about her growing feelings at the time. Then he'd 'died' and she'd mourned it where no one could see her. After that, she found Grann again, her old crush from before she'd been Turned...

Now he was back and she had no idea what to feel.

She did admit that he looked good as he laid there, though she did wave a hand in front of her face in an effort to alleviate the scents in the room. Particularly that of his blood... She really didn't need her instincts going off right now.

She considered leaving the room but hesitated since she now had assassins after her and had no idea where he'd brought her. She guessed they were at Ash's but couldn't remember anything to confirm it. That left her staying here with him laying there like temptation incarnate, physically as well as the scent of his blood.

She finally shook her head and did her best to move on from her instincts even though it was always right in the end. Instead of giving in, she collected a spare sheet from the end of the bed and laid back down on her belly since she couldn't re-bandage herself, pulling the sheet over herself, forcing herself to go to sleep. She managed a light sleep, one she'd be able to wake easily to, just in case they'd been tracked to wherever this was...  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Anna
Anna appeared in the shadows near Ash. She had been absent from the battle that had cost so many lives, including the lives of the other Reapers. When she had found out what happened, she had taken some time to deal with the loss and then made her way to the Sandman base. With the Reapers gone, Anna needed a new purpose, and joining the Sandman seemed like the best plan. But once she figured out what was going on with the Council, she decided that her best option would be to find Ash and offer her skills to him. Finding him had been tricky, but she had managed to do it. And after making sure that no one else was close to finding the hideout, she had immediately headed there. She examined Ash for a moment and then cleared her throat to alert him to her presence.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Ash gave a heavy sigh at the sound and turned with a frown to stare at her in silence for a moment. The moment passed and he moved over to set his glass down on the table. Thankfully, they were in the dining room and he'd finished cleaning up after setting Sebastet up.

"I do hope you made sure no one knew you were headed here... You could have been followed..." he stated a bit coldly, not caring what he looked like for the moment or how he was treating a guest.

He had the future of the Sandmen to protect, after all, and he didn't care who he offended in the process. He moved to the liqueur cabinet and collected the bottle he was drinking from then returned to refill his glass without looking at her again. Thankfully, the twins were in bed sleeping by now, so they had nothing to disturb them.

"I hope you have good reason for coming here assassin... And it had better have nothing to do with taking Sebastet or myself out, or the twins... You'd wind up wishing for your own death, if that were the case..." he told her simply, knowing he could take her out if he had to....  

[Dameon Black]

Red Gypsy

Anna
"I did not come here to harm you or anyone else," Anna said. "And I was very careful not to be followed. No one knew that I was ever at the base at all, much less that I was coming here, and I made sure to leave no trail. I came here to offer my skills to you. The Reapers are gone, which leaves me with nothing. I have no purpose now. But I have always chosen to ally with the Sandman, so I decided to come here. When I heard about what the Council was doing, I decided that my skills would be better used in your service, if you'll allow it."

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black

Now he turned to face her with those dark eyes of his carrying a hint of red to them, a hint of warning as he silently assessed her for a moment. Everything about the male was pure walking seduction and he never bothered to apologize for the broken hearts he'd left in his wake. It was what it was and there was nothing he could do about it. He was a demon, after all.

After that tense silence, he lowered his eyes to his drink as he leaned his hips back against the sturdy table, "I need security on the twins assessed. I need to know all the holes and how to plug them. Start with that then we'll see where things go. I can only offer you room and board right now but money will be headed your way once they've reached an age where they can protect themselves. Once they're big enough, fighting lessons will be included as part of your duties if you stay. They're my priority, nothing else," he offered simply.

He gave a slightly bleak image of what his life was for now but it was what it was and he wasn't about to change it while he was still mourning Alice. And he saw her in his mind every time he saw their children...