A Warning (Open Thread)

[Ceverus]

The Dinning Hall...a place that was supposed to be used for feeding on whatever it was the inhabitants required to sustain life. It seemed this was also an ideal place to deliver news of any kind. The night outside was a typical night, the moon high in the sky and the shadows hung to the walls and trees that stood against the light of the moon and stars. Prime time for those shadows to hunt.

Meanwhile, inside the Dinning Hall within the coven building a shadow within the corner of the room darkens, starting to shift within its boundaries until a figure takes shape. The figure morphs, taking on the appearance of a human male, young in age. Ceverus' normal method of entry between realms which he would step out from the shadow he had taken form in. Tonight, however, was another story all together. Tonight his body took shape on his hands and knees, battered and bleeding a thick black substance. It had been some time since last he had been in a state such as this. He crawls from the shadow quickly, as though he were running from something...not something that Ceverus was particularly known for. He had to get word out of what had befallen him, why he had been away for so long...why he had taken to hiding among the mortals.

Ceverus had been attempting to regain his strength, lost to him for reasons beyond his control. Living among humans and attempting to blend into society until that moment when he could return home and reclaim what had been taken from him. When that time had finally come he did return to the Shadow Realm only to find that another had stepped through the veil between his realm and the Abyssal Realm, leading a campaign to overtake the Shadow World while it's leader and guardian was absent, and bend it to his desire. Ceverus had returned to place not of darkness, but of smoke and flames, his creatures having been twisted into perverse versions of what they once were. He had fought hard to reach his temple where he could retrieve his scythe, Shadow's Edge, and reclaim his power. Upon reaching the weapon he came face to face with the one who had destroyed his home and his creations. There was a battle...for days they fought, both sides throwing everything in their power at the other. Finally, through a stroke of good fortune, Ceverus managed to place himself within reach of his beloved weapon...but something wasn't right. In the shifting of the land had sapped a great deal of power. It hadn't been completely corrupted and a fraction of Cev's power was restored, but it was not enough to defeat the demon invader, the Archdemon Dolorath. With a measure of power restored, Cev was able to raise a trap to contain the demon long enough to allow time for an escape. He chose to return to the Matashina lands in hopes of finding someone who would agree to assist in the liberation of the Shadow Realm.

Cev rights himself, standing straight but having to rely on his scythe to keep himself upright. He takes a moment to catch his breath before tapping into the shadows of this realm to send out his message. "Please, anyone...I am Ceverus Altare of the Shadow Realm...I need help" The words carry through the shadows, echoing out as a whisper to any who could hear.

[Kitai]

"Looks to me like you had a fun time in the shadows there friend" His tone sarcastic as the expression that showed on his pale lips, his right hand rested lightly on the massive hell hound that was resting at his side, he had been drawn to the odd shift in the shadows, his own domain which would seem like this man was also capable of which interested him so he had strayed closer to this place and now perched on one of the chairs in a lazy fashion, no real intent on actually helping the man, more interested in what was going on as usual. A small snicker passed his lips at the state of the man, then again he was not the sanest man around more so without his twin with him.

Turning his fingers slightly to roughly drag the fingers against the blood covered fur of the massive hell hound at his side, one of his most trusted allies aside his twin, he trusted no other here then again what reason did he have to trust this place, he was never fond of rules and authority figures and he was always keen for a bit of down and dirty fighting to pass time, he ran the free hand through the air slightly as his own shadow seemed to warp slightly, the massive three bladed weapons hung against his shoulder as he watched the blood covered man, wondering just what had gone on with the lies of him and how he had such ability over the shadows.

[Ceverus]

"Fun would not be the exact term I would use" His voice was calm even in spite of his current condition. Were it not for the blood that stained almost every inch of his form one would probably not think there was anything wrong. For Ceverus to ask for the assistance of others would mean there was something horribly wrong going on. "I would probably use the phrase 'party of a lifetime' to describe it" This time his tone mimics the sarcasm of the male he was speaking to. Ceverus makes his way to one of the chairs lining the table in the center of the room, resting his hands on the back of it and closing his eyes for a moment to catch his breath.

After a moment of silence his eyes open once more as he straightens and withdraws a silver cigarette case from his pocket, opening the case and resting one of the black papered cigarettes between his lips and lighting the end, setting the case open on the table should the other want one. "These are dark times. A lord of the Abyss has lead a conquest of my home in the Realm of Shadows. I fear that whatever may come of it may throw the balance of light and dark askew for the mortal world, resulting in an eventual invasion of this world by forces who would wreak nothing but destruction...In all honesty I quite like it here, so I believe it to be in our best interests to at least make an attempt at stopping what will come." As he speaks this time, his tone betrays a level of concern that would not otherwise be seen in Ceverus. His eyes shift to the male before him, stealing a glance towards the hound by his side, now falling silent to allow this word of warning to sink in.

[Kitai]

Listened to the man before him, usually he was never one to be the first to jump in to help anyone but his twin, he reached forwards and took one of the offered cigarettes and lit it. This man was rather amusing even with such a short time of meeting, he could tell alone by the man's way he held himself that he was not one to ask for help from another much like himself. "While I may not be to fond of this place however I am more not fond of something coming to press their nose in just for dominance and destruction, you seem to be of the shadows yourself which we hold in common, not likely the only thing but the biggest" He took a long slow drag on the cigarette before continuing to speak.

"Are you sure what ever this thing is that it has not simply followed you here in hopes of finishing the job?" He roughly scratched behind the massive creature's head, it was his faithful and loyal hound, him and the animal had been paired as babies so to him loosing the creature would destroy him much like it would if anything happened to his twin. "You are also not one to ask for help, that much is clear but none the less I'm willing to offer help on the grounds I wish my twin's safety above all else and that means protecting here then so be it. The name's Kitai and this here is Argos" He indicated the the massive hell hound who seemed to stare at the man almost trying to determine if the man was worth helping or not. He let the cigarette smoke out.

[Ceverus]

Ceverus takes a moment to allow himself to calm further, the adrenaline coursing through his veins starting to dissipate and replace the feeling of alertness and energy with one of pain and soreness. Even in spite of this he maintains a level of composure that some may not be capable of with everything that had happened. Cev had taken a severe beating back there and his body showed it quite well. "This realm has proven to produce arrogance and greed, this is true. However I have made plenty of friends here who I care for greatly and I would rather not see them come to harm." As he speaks he drags off his cigarette, smoke pouring from his mouth with each word. "I have not noticed any similarities between you and me, forgive me. I have been preoccupied with the situation at hand." This time he moves to sit upon the table's surface.

"Had the other followed me in an attempt to finish me off, this land would be in flames. Thankfully I'm not sure if my enemy has been able to prepare for an assault on this realm as of yet. However I do know that he has full knowledge of my whereabouts and we can expect an attack from them soon enough...unless we act quickly and strike before they have a chance to act." He pauses for a moment, dragging heavily off his cigarette, staring forward at the ground below for a moment as he thinks over the situation. "For that we would need an army of our own" He adds finally before standing straight and giving a slight bow in response to the introduction. "I'm glad to meet you, Kitai and Argos. My name is Ceverus Altare of the Shadow Realm"

[Allora]

Allora decided to listen to what Daton had said previously about the prison here, and he was right, there were plenty of souls for her to collect, she walked through the dungeon, pausing and using her blade to collet the waiting souls, humming to herself as she did so. The place stank of blood and piss, and when Allora came back out to the hallway above, she wiped her hands in slight disgust, then tilting her head as she picked up a scent she knew all too well.

Allora's body was slightly illuminated as it always was when she reaped, she pushed the dining hall door open with her foot, Unmei quickly spotting Argos and bolting inside, the smaller hell hound rubbed up against her friend. Allora coughed a little to clear her throat, eyes skimming over the blood covered male, ''Pardon the intrusion but I thought this bastard was here.'' Allora smirked as she made her way to a chair beside her twin brother. ''What is this I hear of armies and shadow realms? Do tell brother.'' Even as Allora spoke to Kitai, her eyes remained pierced into the unknown male sitting on the table opposite. She couldn't help but smile a little, not to Ceverus, although it looked that way, but at how she kept finding her brother making new pals and actually having reasonable conversations without fighting with someone.

[Kitai]

Shot a look toward his twin, a small smirk showed. "Must you always rag tag play time dear sister, this man is called Ceverus, from the shadow realm, this is Allora my twin and the little brat of a hound is Unmei" He snickered, taking yet another drag on the cigarette, he had to agree with Ceverus in the matter at hand, sure he was not really to known nor fond of this place but so long as his sister remained he would fight to keep her safe even if it cost him everything he had he would do it willingly.

He looked back to Ceverus. "Looks like you got us four to help in your little quest, I'd have to say hoping for a few more before the time comes but who is to say" Personally he would have liked to see the place up in flames but that was just him, he never had been one to be on the sane side of anything, had it not been for his twin his sanity would likely be non exsistant.

[Ceverus]

As the female arrived Cev hardly moves to acknowledge the appearance. He does give a nod towards her, however. He remains silent as the two converse, repeating the nod as Kitai introduced him to her. Cev takes this moment to relax as much as he could, moving to take a seat on top of the table, dragging pensively off his cigarette. He lets out a slight sigh as his nerves finally relax before looking back towards the two. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Allora." He says, flicking his cigarette butt out of an open window before pulling another from the cigarette case he leaves on the table still, lighting the new one.

"Allow me to explain what you have heard. There is a problem within the Shadow Realm, my home. An Abyssal Pit Lord has attacked and has already started to morph it to his liking. I fought him as long as I could but it wasn't enough...even after getting my scythe back. I find myself in need of assistance, an army would be nice but the beings of this estate have proven time and time again to be much more efficient than an army. So here I am asking for all the help I can get." He was happy to know that he had already gotten at least these two and their faithful hell hounds to aid in his mission, he had expected those whom he had met ages ago to be here but he assumed that they would be around eventually. "It is good to know I have your help, you have my gratitude."

[Allora]

Allora crossed her arms, raising a brow to Kitai as he offered this man her help on her behalf as though he were in charge of her, luckily for him, she knew better and that it wasn't like that at all. Allora's eyes followed the flicked cigarette butt out of the window before looking back at Ceverus as he explained his situation, that explained the blood then. ''Of this estate? Sorry pal, but I don't live here, simply.... visiting. And I have to say, this place is pretty empty as it stands at the moment.'' She shrugged as she looked around a moment. ''And technically, I am trespassing here, so if anyone is here, then they suck. And...'' She sideways glanced at Kitai, ''I am guessing you didn't get an invitation either, brother?'' She smirked.

Allora crossed her legs, leaning back in her chair, ''Okay, so a power hungry asshole is on the rise in your realm. Fine. So, what happened to everyone else 'good' in this realm of yours? All dead, converted, or simply weak?'' Allora truly was surprised that Kitai was offering his help, usually it would be the other way around with the two, but she brushed it off. Glancing to Ceverus once again, Allora guessed that he probably wasn't the sort to ask for help unless desperate, ''Well, I'm in. It will give me a change of scenery anyway.'' Allora shifted forward in her chair, ''Okay Ceverus, give us the details. What are his powers, his weaknesses? What are your own abilities? I'm all for going in blind, but not in this case.'' Allora glanced to her brother, not wanting him to come to any harm, before meeting Ceverus's eyes once more. He spoke of his scythe, she wondered if he was some sort of reaper also, or it was just a favoured weapon.

[Kitai]

"Since when do I ever get an invitation any where?, I came in search of the one using the shadows to call for help and happened to end up here, no more no less" Taking a rather slow drag on the cigarette, he recalled her attempt at smoking which brought a sick smile to his lips at the memory, like his sister he was also keen to know more about the man, twisting his hand very slightly to pet his hell hounds head in thought.

He knew well his sisters reasons and actions by heart, like him he would never offer help unless it was something in it for them, this place didn't mean anything to either of them, they were not bound to any place, they were free to do as they pleased as well as when. He rested more in the chair, studying the man, waiting for him to tell what other information he knew about the upcoming threat.

[Cashar]

It was around this time that a column of flame spiralled from the floor to the ceiling. It was nothing overly special, but it gave off a lot of heat, spinning rapidly in place till it simply vanished, leaving a woman in its place, her eyes closed for the moment while she remained hunched over, protecting something from the flames. Soon enough she did move, straightening up and opening her eyes to look around at the trio with a raised eyebrow, while petting the ginger cat cradled in her arms, Spot. Oddly enough she paid no attention to this meeting as she sat down at the table, rocking from side to side while idly humming to and once in a while saying some random thing or another.

"Tick... tock.... tick... tock"