Anya smiled happily, holding her empty napkin idly in her lap until Jakob took it from her to throw it away. "Felix and I have been best friends for a little over three years now, I think." Her family nodded in a silent affirmation of her estimation of time since Felix had become part of the family. "I scared her to death when we first met, though. I used her full name and she got all freaked out."

Mr. Bruschev smiled silently from the kitchen table. He still used Felix's full name, especially when he was being firm with her. But everyone in the family knew that nobody called her Felicity and escaped a swift cuff on the shoulder. Ivan had learned that one the hard way.

Matthias stomped down the street, getting frustrated at how his day had gone. First he had lost the Fighter and the Seeker, then he had gotten attacked by a rogue bird, and then he had run into Brazen and his Summoner. Something about Brazen's story still didn't add up. He knew better than to trust an Immortal. Why would he put himself in such a compromising position? Something was wrong.

He was so consumed with his thoughts that he had almost stopped looking at the sidewalk in front of him, when suddenly, she was right there. The Fighter he had lost earlier. Matthias instantly drew his right pistol. "Don't move!" he barked.

Felix could hear loud footsteps stomping up the sidewalk and she turned her head to look just as the red headed man spotted her. It was the man from the subway, the one they had been trying to get away from. Suddenly he had pulled a gun and Felix's green eyes narrowed. 'Don't hurt him.' Anya's words echoed through her head. Surely she wasn't talking about this pistol-wielding guy? Slowly she took a step backwards, keeping her eyes locked with his. It was no good, it wouldn't be safe to have a brawl out here in front of the Bruschevs' house. Felix took another step backwards as she stared at Matthias. No, she had to get him away from here. Far, far away.

In a blur of movement Felix whirled around and took off down the street, making sure to run fast enough that he couldn't catch her but at the same time she wouldn't lose him. Felix tried to throw him off a bit by ducking down a side street when she saw it, the perfect place: a building that had burnt down, and the surrounding ones had been evacuated until they could be repaired. Without hesitation she lept over the 'KEEP OUT' tape and shoved through the blackened door, leaving it barely hanging on one hinge. It was a lot more crowded than Felix had anticipated, as part of the roof had caved in. She carefully picked her way through deeper into the building but her cape got caught on a charred piece of wood. Felix undid the clasp and continued forward, pushing what looked like a burnt up dresser out of her way. She tried to worm her way through a small space in a burnt down wall but one of her wings got snagged between some jagged pieces of wood. Felix swore under her breath and carefully squirmed back out of the opening, but her wing was still caught. She leaned sideways to try and pull it free but all she ended up doing was stretching her wing in an awkward and painful angle. Felix looked up, seeing that part of the collapsed roof was resting on the wall. If she kicked any part of it down to free herself the whole place was likely to come crashing down on top of her.

Matthias loosed three bullets after her, grunting in frustration when he heard three thuds as each one hit the alley wall instead of the Fighter. He pulled the trigger again and was greeted with a click that told him he had gone through his limited magazine. He wouldn't have time to draw his other pistol before she disappeared, so he just took off after her. Chasing a Fighter on foot was probably a lost cause, considering their superhuman abilities and their wings. It occurred to him that she could've just taken to the air to escape him, but had chosen to flee on foot. She was also running remarkably slowly for a Fighter.

Before he had time to ponder, she was plunging into the charred remains of a burnt-down building. He drove through the wreckage destructively, not thinking about the structural integrity of the building. When she left her cape behind Matthias smirked. She was getting desperate if she was willing to show off her wings. Wings--

When he finally caught up to her he stopped short. There they were, one of them caught in a piece of wreckage, unfurled big as life. They were bigger than he had expected, and somehow...nicer-looking. They didn't look like the wings of a demon. They were sleek and glossy, and obviously very powerful. Matthias hadn't counted on this Fighter being so...beautiful. But he shook his head to clear it and gritted his teeth. "Stop struggling. You have nowhere to run." He stayed out of arm's reach, knowing she could break his face with one swing, but didn't bother to pull his other pistol yet.

Felix could hear Matthias plowing through the wreckage long before she saw him. A part of the roof creaked, threatening to come down on top of them. Felix looked up then quickly glanced at Matthias, baring her teeth at him. "I won't stop fighting until I'm dead!" She snapped, giving another tug at her wing. The pain made her ground her teeth together to keep from crying out. She glowered at Matthias: he was too far away for her to hit or kick, but then again Anya did say not to hurt him. Instead the young woman positioned her feet evenly with her shoulders, curling her hands into fists and raising her arms in front of her face in a defensive block. Her other wing opened up as much as it could in the small space, making her look larger and more intimidating. But he wasn't drawing a gun this time. Felix watched Matthias wearily from behind her pale arms, which were smudged with black ash. The position she was in was less than idea but she would never just give up and die. Felix was determined to claw, kick, bite, and punch her way to the bitter end.

She was a feisty one, that much was sure. The way she put her fists up even though she was completely trapped was almost admirable. And those wings... With the other one unfurled he could really appreciate just how incredible they were. Even in the dim light, the feathers were shiny and soft-looking. Matthias suddenly had an urge to reach out and touch one of them. He stifled the inclination quickly, forcing himself to harden his gaze.

"There's no point--hey!" A loud creak signaled that a piece of the building Matthias had smashed through was unstable. The path of destruction he had left by following Felix through the rubble had taken out many of the few things still supporting what was left of the ceiling. Matthias had no time to duck as part of a wall collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He cursed, fighting to stay conscious through what was undoubtably a bad concussion, as well as several bumps and bruises.

With a loud crack a good portion of the ceiling came down, crushing Matthias to the floor. Felix pressed herself against the piece of wall she was stuck to, narrowly avoiding getting squashed herself. More than half the wall she was leaning against crumbled away from the weight of the debris and to her delight Felix was able to pull her wing free. She quickly folded her wings against her back as tightly as could manage, and her green eyes squinted as she tried to peer through the dirt and ash that was kicked up into the air. She could hear Matthias cursing and her gaze landed on the pile of rubble he was under. Without thinking Felix clambered over a large chunk of ceiling, dropping down next to where Matthias had been a moment ago. Felix bent over and grabbed an edge of the wall, gritting her teeth as she pushed with her legs to lift the debris up and off of Matthias, tossing it to the side. No normal person could have lifted that much but to Felix it didn't take much effort. The young woman leaned down to grab one of Matthias's arms, pulling it over her shoulder so she could drag him outside. Once they were out Felix paused to wipe some of the ash away from her eyes with her free hand before wrapping it under his arms to help support him. It was difficult not because he was heavy: Felix could lift him easily. But Matthias was huge, much bigger than her, and there was no way she could carry the man without dragging most of him on the ground. "Are you alright? Hey! Don't pass out!" Felix ordered. Even though he had shot at her and chased her and Anya, Felix was concerned.

Garret smiled a bit when he heard the companionship the two women had with each other. It was similar to Percy's and Garret relationship, for the animal companion factor, and how long he and Percy knew each other. Soon after, both Percy and Garret heard the gunshots. One... two... three bullets were fired. Garret looked through the blinds of a window to see Felix turning a corner and the man from earlier chasing after her. He was ready to run out the door after the two, but Felix's words harshly reminded him to stay put. He gritted his teeth, hoping that Felix wouldn't get herself killed. Percy growled at needing to wait.

(( Sorry lovelies. Dealing with poor health and AP and IB exam cram month.))

Victoria heard gun shots in the distance and gasped. She turned around quickly and tried to trace the shot by sound. "Damn it." She cursed under her breath. Pulling out a pen, she quickly wrote down a message: "If you can get away, come here." A small map and an address sloppily written followed the message. She turned back around clenching it in her fist.

"You are just as stubborn as I remember. How would your 'Heavenly' father react if he knew you had one of our kind for a daughter? Just how much are you willing to sacrifice for her..Brazen?" She removed her hood and revealed herself, hiding her concern for the few she left behind with a smirk. "One suggestion, Brazen." She walked up to him, slipping the note into Elsidy's hand as she did. Grabbing his collar, she grew dangerously close to his face. "Be prepared to face the consequences when someone finds out. Other than me, of course."

Letting go of his collar, she shifted into her wolf form and ran off toward the sound of the shots. Arriving at the scene, she shifted back into her human form and let out a low growl. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" She shouted anger building up.

Anya didn't so much as blink when she heard the gunshots, and put a hand out to stop Garret when he got up. Her gesture was useless, since she was facing the wrong way, but the intent was clear. "No one's hurt. Be patient." The rest of the family, which had all jumped to their feet, slowly sank back into their seats. Ivan looked at Anya doubtfully, but the Bruschevs knew that Anya's visions were reliable enough that they shouldn't be concerned. Still, just because no one had been hurt by the bullets didn't mean Felix might still be in danger. "She's fine, Ivan. Do you think I would have sent her out there if I thought she would get hurt?" Ivan dropped his face into his hands and said nothing. He knew she was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

The world was blurry; he couldn't focus on anything except the pain in his head. It was hard to breathe with his face smashed into the ash-covered floor, but even his impressive bulk wasn't enough to lift the section of wall that had fallen on him. With no idea what else to do, Matthias started praying. It is written, He will command his angels concerning you, on their hands they will bear you up... His consciousness started to fade just as the wall suddenly lifted from his back.

And there she was, superhuman strength, beautiful wings, dragging him out of the wreckage. She was shorter than he had expected; his legs dragged on the pavement from the knees, but he wasn't in a position to complain. Silently, he sent up a prayer of thanks to the God that he was sure had sent this angel to rescue him. Gradually, he fought to get his legs under him, but when he tried to support himself, he was too tall to let her support him, and he was forced to let her bear his entire weight. 

The shock of a harsh voice shouting at him made him flinch and put the hand that wasn't draped over Felix's shoulders to his head, as if he could block out the loud noises by covering his head. He couldn't quite understand what she said, but it sounded angry. He could make out her silhouette, but didn't look up in time to catch her transformation back into a human. He tried to say something along the lines of "don't talk so loud," but all he could manage was a pathetic moan.

Matthias tried to put his legs under him, but in the end he gave up, letting all his weight rest against Felix. She managed to clumsily shift the large man onto her back, pulling his muscular arms over her shoulders. Her hands grasped onto Matthias's arms tightly to keep him from falling. He was hurt pretty bad, but without her cloak the best Felix could do was take him back to the Bruschev's house or her own house. Before Felix could think on her dilemma further a wolf came running up the street. Felix let go of one of Matthias's arms, curling it into a fist as she braced herself but to her shock and surprise it turned into a woman. It was the woman who had been at the house earlier, what was her name...? Oh, Victoria. Felix blinked a few times, lowering her arm a bit. "What?" Was her oblivious reply. Felix shook her head a bit before adjusting Matthias, scooting him up a little higher on her back to try and keep from smothering him with her wings. "Talk on the way, I gotta get this guy some help." She said before attempting to go around Victoria and back towards the Bruschev's house.

Victoria growled and stepped in front of Felix. "That is not what I mean! He is going to chase you until you draw your last breath. He has no empathy for our kind. He wants to destroy us how could you be s-" She stopped herself, realizing how she was sounding. She was no more than a child in her eyes: She didn't know any better. The hunter wasn't much older either. She sighed and kicked the ground. "Forgive me. You've just learned of this today; you wouldn't know what they've done." She got on all fours and took a deep breath. "Come, we'll get him help but there is no next time. We cannot show pity, it only brings more trouble." She shifted into her bull form and nudged her to place his weak body on her back.

His world suddenly spun as Felix shifted him onto her back. Any movement made him dizzy, and flopping around like that was enough to black him out for a second or two. When Matthias opened his eyes again, his pupils dilated. He was resting right in between her wings. Those beautiful, powerful wings. Before whatever semblance of consciousness he had left could think otherwise, he buried his face into one of them, closing his eyes and happily inhaling the scent of her feathers. All he could think was that they were so incredibly soft.

At the sound of voices he forced his eyes open. His angel was speaking. He could feel her voice through her back. Then the silhouette that had shouted at them earlier was shouting again, and he retreated further into Felix's wing. Then the silhouette changed, became larger. How did it do that? He didn't have time to ponder before the realization that the thing wanted to take him away from his angel. Matthias made a weak noise and tried to cling to her neck, protesting as best he could.

Felix stopped when Victoria stepped in front of her and growled she gave the other woman a guarded look. The young woman took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, closing her green eyes for a moment. It was true that he had tried to shoot her, but Felix remembered being caught in the burnt building, and the way Matthias had looked at her. And remembered that he hadn't drawn his gun when he could have easily shot her. Even now she could feel him burying himself into one of her wings, causing her feathers to ruffle a bit at the feeling. Felix chalked it up to he was injured and seeking comfort and so didn't complain or drop him to the ground. "What I saw back there was someone who needed help. I really don't think it should make a difference if they're human or not, especially if someone's in trouble." Slowly her eyes opened to find that Victoria had changed into a bull and was now nudging her as a signal to put the injured man onto her strong back. Felix turned her head a bit to glance back at Matthias, feeling his strong arms tighten around her neck. A small groan came from him and she frowned a bit before looking back to Victoria. "Actually, could you go on ahead and help the others prepare a place for him? You can move faster than I can at the moment. And.." Felix's eyes narrowed slightly. "Make sure that he doesn't have any friends lurking around the house." She added quietly. Felix didn't quite trust Victoria, and definitely not the half-conscious man on her back. But she couldn't be in two places at once, and couldn't move quickly without hurting Matthias further. If Victoria was indeed trustworthy she could prove it by helping the others.

Victoria flared her nostrils and simply bowed in response to her request. She walked at a speedy pace towards the house before shifting back into her human form. Outside the house, she angrily kicked a garbage can to vent the frustration she build up before. She was stuck in her ways and she was going to lose them if she kept it up. She entered the home and stepped in. "Clear a table. Felix is unharmed but she is bringing another here who is not as lucky." She kept a calm façade though her eyes clearly hid another emotion. "Any medical kits or antibiotics or alcohol you have would be useful. The other is not in good shape. Bandages are extremely necessary."

Felix watched the bull in front of her flare it's nostrils and lower it's head. It was pretty incredible that Victoria had the power to change into animals, and it was tempting to bombard her with questions about what it was like to be a wolf, or an ox, if she saw and felt the world differently in those bodies. But there would be time for that later. Right now Felix needed to get Matthias back to the house without hurting him further. She started off slowly and carefully, keeping up a steady pace. The young woman did her best to use her wings as a sort of buffer padding to make the ride a little less bumpy for him. It took a little while but she eventually made it, reaching one of her hands out to open the door. Felix couldn't close it behind her so she just went ahead inside to the living room. She was covered with ash and dirt, and her right pant leg had been torn pretty badly when the roof collapsed and beneath that was a long scratch she had yet to notice. Felix stopped and looked around the room: it seemed that Victoria had ended come back and that everyone was safe, and knowing that Felix relaxed a bit and smiled apologetically. "So where can I put this big lug?" She asked, not knowing what else to say.

Matthias whined and clung tighter to Felix as she started to move, quietly enjoying being so close to both of her wings. It gave him a nice distraction from the massive pounding in his head at every step.

Inside, everyone had flown into a panic when Victoria stormed through the door. Ivan still had the first aid kit out, so while the rest of the family ran to prepare a bed he opened it back up and checked to make sure he'd have everything he needed. Yep, he had bandages and disinfectant; he should be able to handle anything that came through that door.

Well, almost anything. He wasn't quite prepared for the massive hulk of a man that Felix dragged through the door. The guy was HUGE. The middle Bruschev bit his lip to keep from being jealous; Ivan had always had broad shoulders and prided himself on being more sturdily built than his brother, but this guy was something else entirely. He looked like he could break a person in half with his bare hands.

Mrs. Bruschev hurried back into the living room when she heard Felix's voice. "Bring him in here, Felix," she said, holding open the door to the nearest bedroom. "Put him on Ivan's bed."

"Hey!" Ivan stiffened indignantly. "Why mine?"

"Because it's the closest," Jakob retorted impatiently. He and Mr. Bruschev helped lift Matthias off of Felix's back and laid him gingerly on the bed. Mrs. Bruschev leaned over him and pulled his eyelids back carefully. She frowned.

"He has a very bad concussion. Ivan, get an ice pack. Jakob, a glass of water." She turned to Matthias. "Try and stay awake for us, okay?"

Matthias mumbled something that ended in "angel."

Mrs. Bruschev frowned. "What about an angel, sweetheart?"

"Where...my angel..." Matthias tried to sit up, but she restrained him.

"He wants Felix," Anya explained from the couch where she still sat, silently feeling useless in all the hustle and bustle of taking care of Matthias.

Felix looked to Mrs. Bruschev but she hesitated, her gaze landing on Ivan. "I'll make it up to you sometime." She promised while giving him a half-smile. Before long Jakob and Mr. Bruschev were lifting Matthias off of her and Felix straightened up, stretching her wings a bit before settling them against her back. She followed after them and quietly watched them lay the injured man on the bed, her green eyes full of concern. A part of her wondered if he would be alright: his injuries were worse than she initially thought. Felix vaguely heard mention of an angel but it didn't register that Matthias meant her until Anya spoke up. Her ash covered face went blank for a moment. Her, an angel? He really did have a concussion.

Felix shifted her weight before awkwardly stepping into the room, moving to sit next to the bed. He really looked awful: he was covered in ash, and was pretty banged up from having a wall fall on top of him. As she looked him over her gaze settled on his gun belt. Felix leaned over him and undid the buckle before carefully removing it and handing it to Mrs. Bruschev. "We should probably hide this from him." She murmured quietly so Matthias couldn't hear her. Not that he could process what she said very well at this point anyway. Once it was taken from her Felix sat back down, pulling her left leg up and stretching out her right one in front of her. She wondered why he had asked for her. More than likely it was because she had pulled him out of the building. "I'm here, my name is Felix." Her voice was quiet so as not to hurt his head. The noise from her conversation with Victoria earlier seemed to hurt his ears.

Garret heard a loud bang outside and slightly opened the door to peak and see what just happened. He nearly yelped when he found the angry Shifter storm in though the door, ordering everyone to get first aid supplies. He was ready to pull out some Neosporin from his backpack, but it seemed Ivan had already got a first aid kit. As the entire house took action, Garret simply stood there, not really able to do anything. While the family took care of the maniac that was shooting at Felix not long ago, Garret handed a small piece of paper to Anya, seeing that she wasn't busy with anything. "Here's my phone number for the family if they ever need me. I've got things to do at my... house. Tell them I said thanks for the pizza." With that, Garret and Percy left through the front door, off to check on the abandoned warehouse he called home.

Brazen grit his teeth. Victoria had no idea how much her words burned him...or perhaps she did, perhaps that's why she'd said what she had. Elsidy stared after Victoria, eyes wide, paper crumpling further in her grasp. Get away? Was Victoria hinting that she should escape her father? He'd just saved her from another hunter! He was on her side.

"That...that was one of the old ones," Brazen said, "I'd chase after her but no doubt she's plunging right into trouble. I know the other immortals won't be happy to see me if they recognize me, no, but if she's...if Victoria is going to accept that my hands are bound with you as my daughter...Give me that address, we'll go there. It looks like our hunt for your kind might be over."

"If that's true then...then maybe you can just drop me off," said Elsidy, still clenching the address. "I've already caused you so much trouble and now another one of the hunters knows you're not..."

Brazen shook his head and extended his hand in a manner Elsidy knew demanded obedience. Demurely, she extended the address and then followed behind him as he led her back out.

"Hospital first, then this address," he said.

"My angel." The words lingered in Victoria's head. How dare he call her angel. His track record had to be full massacres and atrocities. He didn't deserve the care he received. He deserved a six-feet deep hole in the ground. And yet, she couldn't touch him. The new fighter, Felix, she had sympathy for him. She wanted to help him. Victoria needed to accept it. But not today.

Placing her hood over her head, her tricolored eyes glowed in the shadows. Her eyes examined the injured hunter before moving to the rest of the people in the room. "It may be better if I leave. I'm old. Set in my ways. I am blinded by hate. I will not do any good if I remain here." She opened the door again, taking a deep breath. "If I have not proven myself to be a foe, I will begin your training tomorrow. If not, I hope your lives are not as troubled as others of our kind." She stepped out of the building and into the shadows once more.

Making her way toward the outskirts of the city, Victoria could feel her body weaken: A result of her continued shifting. She began to drag her feet in order to move at all. Reaching an older, sparsely populated apartment building, she walked down the stairs to an ornate double door. She opened the door to enter her current home. It wasn't well decorated aside from a few drawings on the wall and there was very little furniture, only a mattress with some blankets on it and a fridge. The windows and the doors were padlocked for safety and it was evident that the area hadn't been used in a long while.

Victoria wobbled over to her fridge and pulled out a shank of raw beef shank she purchased from the butcher shop. She sat on the mattress and tore into the meat, decimating it within a few minutes. She laid back onto her mattress and rubbed her temples. She needed them to come. She needed her people to come back.