Forum Thread

Fallow flinched when he called Jasper "griffin boy", still perplexed on how quickly he was able to change his features. Justin, she had decided by now, was someone she would generally try to stay away from--there was far too much manipulation and confusion going on, and what he had said about Umbra...
"O-okay. Thank you." She stumbled on her words, but she meant them. That means he has morals at least...? she thought, rubbing her knuckles.

---

he gave a weak smile in Fallow's direction then looked to Dawn while it faded, something obviously eating at his mind as a bit of guilt flitted into his eyes.
''h-hey, i... need to talk to you in a little bit, alone.... meet me by the treeline... m'kay...?'' he asked, soon standing and heading off into the bedroom and disappeared inside, door closing behind him with a soft thump.

Justin went over and knelt down by the dresser and rummaged through the drawer in the dresser he cleared out for his clothing an pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a sweater.
he took a quick glance at Belle's sleeping form on the top bunk and went through a shadowy portal he created in the shadowy corner, since he had turn the light off earlier, and reappeared inside the barn.
he hesitantly walked over while hugging the clothes he gathered up and knelt down beside Maxwell, who was bandaged up and sorta covered up with a tattered looking blanket, and had woken up a bit to glare at him.

he sat the sweatpants and sweater down and reached over to Maxwell, carefully pulling the ducktape over his mouth off so the younger fantasy could speak.
''what.... what do you want...? come to torture me again?'' Maxwell questioned somewhat spitefully.
Justin shook his head and started undoing the cuffs keeping Maxwell captive.
''unlike Jasper, i don't like holding people hostage'' he said, having a little trouble picking the lock with the shadow lockpick he had created.
he looked at Justin rather confused, but didn't complain either way since he was being freed.
''...thank you'' he managed to say, since he didn't know what else to say to him anyway.

(JAILBREAK TIME!... Jasper's gonna kill him for freeing Maxwell //shot)

---

Dawn blinked in surprise, but her facial expression grew solemn as she silently watched him go off. Jasper hadn't stopped his conversation with Fallow but it was apparent that he had been listening. He had no further reaction.
"Is he gonna confess his undying love to you?" Fallow asked softly, the first time she had shown any sense of playfulness since arriving.
"Shut up," Dawn replied teasingly, masking the worry that danced about in her mind.
"I'm not ready to be an aunt, Dawnie."
"Oh my god please stop talking--"
"If you take too long I might have to come out there, for your best interest, y'know?"
Dawn rose to her feet and ruffled Fallow's hair, walking briskly out of the room and towards the treeline before any further comments could be made. Seeing Fallow's smile, though, was refreshing; she had remembered it exactly, innocence and all.
----------
Skye came in through the back door, her eyes clearly tired, and Marshall's head craned up from over Viola and met her gaze expectantly. Skye shook her head and took a seat by the kitchen counter, knowing that she was terrible at comforting and deciding it was better if she was away from Viola. Robin came in soon after and, upon seeing Viola's state, slipped into the kitchen to boil some water to make into tea for her.
"Have you... seen Venom?" He asked Skye softly.
"Have you seen Maxwell?" She hissed back, glaring. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Venom could've easily found Maxwell. I'm worried that it's a matter of distance, or... actual danger."
-------------
Mavis navigated through the forest, the blaring of the cicadas and occasional leaf rustles the only noise in the dead of the night. She had spent most of her days slinking through the darkness of the forests, anyways; this was all but familiar, if not comforting to her. Darkness subconsciously gathered around her hands as she felt a presence, growing stronger as she grew closer. It certainly wasn't Maxwell, but she was drawn to it in a way that was difficult to describe.
"Who are you?" she asked the panther that she had stumbled upon, all color from her eyes completely shrouded with black.

---

Justin soon got the second cuff off and offered the clothes to Maxwell, who was hesitant to take them at first before actually taking them.
''they may be a little big on you but it's the least i can do.... please just.. try to hide, if you try to break out it'll cause enough noise to signal Jasper and Belle.. your going to be unable to use your powers still anyway, so just... hide'' he said.
Maxwell simply nodded and stood up, having a little trouble before he managed to stand and went off to hide and get dressed.

Justin sighed and stood, going through another portal before he stepped out at the treeline and closed the portal, then looked up as he spotted Dawn and fidgeted a little bit.
''please tell me Jasper didn't follow, or Belle'' he asked, glancing around occasionally as she approached.
~~~~~~~~~
Viola had soon enough calmed down but was simply leaning into Marshall, sniffling and hiccuping occasionally.
''i-i'm sorry...... i d-didn't mean to start c-crying....'' she mumbled quietly.
~~~~~~~~~
Xena looked at Mavis and purred softly, til swaying as her amber eye's glimmered in amusement.
''you really don't remember any tales about me kitten...? how do you think you and your ancestor's gained your darkness attribute from?'' she asked, a slight tilt of her head as she looked at Mavis.

---

Dawn shook her head. Her arms were crossed tightly in front of her and she looked him up and down, silently; she was wearing shorts despite the chilly winds of the night but she didn't seem to be bothered by it. Her eyes were softened with concern. "What did you do, Justin?... You're a good kid, you know. Maybe even the last one in this damn house besides Fallow."
Her attention focused on the space where the portal had been, the fear that was indicated by his words. "I know Darkness Fantasies always struggle with their emotions..." She trailed off into silent expectancy, waiting for him to tell her something before she reacted.
---------
"Don't apologize, it's okay. I'm happy to support you," Marshall reassured. Robin walked over with two cups of tea and set them on the coffee table in front of them, taking a seat on the armchair of the sofa they were sitting on.
"We're all worried, Viola. But to be completely honest, we've had a terrible amount of mishaps just like this before and they've all turned out fine. Everything will be okay," Robin said.
---------------
The circle of grass around her withered into grayness but Mavis hardly seemed to notice. Her powers had seemed to grow out of control, even more so now that she was in front of Xena, but she didn't make any effort to suppress it. "I don't remember much of anything," she admitted, stepping closer to Xena to observe her. "I wasn't aware that my Darkness had an origin, either. What's your name?"

---

''i-it.... it isn't something i did, i.... J-Jasper had found an intruder at the treeline and asked us to take them to the barn but.. i didn't want to, Umbra took over and helped... this is why i mentioned that i cannot be blamed for what he does now that he's able to take control of our body earlier....'' he muttered, never meeting her gaze as he just seemed to fidget even more, his voice a little shakey.
he took a few shakey breathes and sighed, looking at her right in the eye now as the guilt he had suddenly filled his gaze.

''Maxwell is out in the barn, Dawn.... i... think he came looking for someone but got caught, and Jasper wanted to get some answer's out of him... but Umbra he....! i had to force my way into control just to stop him, he could've killed him...!'' Justin muttered, looking down while lightly gripping the sides of his head aa he started breaking down, tears streaming down his face.
it was obvious that he felt incredibly guilty about not saying what he just did sooner, but he didn't want to upset her sister or end up with Jasper's wrath falling upon him right then and there.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Viola perked up at the sight of the tea, rubbing her eye's as she sat up a little and picked her's up.
she sippes on her tea and fell silent, nodding at what Robin said before looking over into the kitchen where the wolves were sleeping with Dusk and Fawn.
''i can tell Maxwell's wolf is upset, even if he diesn't want to show it....'' she muttered.
~~~~~~~~~~~
''the name is Xena, and hun, you need to get that darkness under control.... otherwise you may just loose yourself...'' she mumbled.

---

Surprised to see him crying, she stepped forward and lightly embraced him. "Y-yeah, okay... calm down," Dawn reassured, flustered but wanting to help him anyway.
"Jasper's... not the kindest. I'll handle the situation, talk to both of them..." She sighed and stepped back. There was nothing on her face that showed the slightest surprise from what she heard.
"It's okay, Justin. You're okay. This isn't your fault and I'm glad you told me. There's no need to be guilty--just hang back for now, alright? Don't mention letting Maxwell go to anyone here. Go get some rest. You need it." She patted him lightly on the arm and turned around to walk to the barn, rubbing her goosebump-infested forearm as the winds began to pick up again.
------------
"Fawn's uneasy as well." Robin glanced over at the group of animals, who seemed to be comfortable. He would have to take caring for Dusk in his own hands. Skye walked over sipping her tea and sat on the nearby loveseat; she said nothing.
-------
Mavis paused before responding. Tendrils of darkness circled around her person but the moment Xena mentioned it everything seemed to stop progressing--Mavis was able to stop it from getting worse, but getting herself completely under control didn't seem to be an option. "I don't... think I was ever taught how," she replied, images of power-related mishaps flashing in her head. She didn't remember any of them, nor did she know the context, but she knew that it wouldn't be the first time her darkness had won over her.

---

Justin jumped slightly and just froze, even his crying ceased since he was rather taken aback when Dawn hugged him, it especially threw Umbra off since he was trying to figure out a way to take control while Justin was crying.
he watched her step back while listening to her speak, though when she mentioned going back to the house to get some rest a bit of fear crept into his blue/purple eyes, quickly running and stopping in front of her after catching up.

''the moment i enter that house Jasper is going to drag me into a room and question me, i just know it.... and Belle has the key to the barn...'' he muttered, looking off to the side and flicked his hand, making the wind die down a little bit.
Justin wiped his face off and sighed, looking back towards the barn for a moment then back at Dawn.
''this was another reason why i wanted to speak to you alone.... cause i didn't want to upset your little sister..'' he mumbled, walking on ahead to the barn to help her enter it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
''i can sense that she is... so is Shadow'' Viola sighed, crossing her legs and making sure her dress covered her legs, since she was a little cold.
the door that led outside in the kitchen opened and soon Alex entered, brushing her hand through her hair to knock out at leaves that could've stuck in her hair as she entered the living room where the other's were.
''Maxwell is nowhere to be found, and it's gotten so late out it's really hard to see for me despite the fact i'm half darkness fantasy.... Draco is still looking though'' she said, hugging her arms while looking over her shoulder, a little worried.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena gave a soft sigh and rose, swaying her tail slightly as she looked at Mavis.
''i shall help tone down your darkness so you won't entirely loose yourself.... your light attribute may become your more dominate element though, do you want me to proceed with what i have offered?'' she asked, her head slightly tilted.

---

Dawn pursed her lips. "I'll keep Jasper from you as best I can, but I'd recommend sleeping in the room with Belle tonight. Just... make sure you're not alone and stay in the house. He sleeps with Cedar," she informed, her voice monotone as she gave him the facts. Emotion seeped into her voice, a small crack which worries oozed through when she talked about Fallow.
"Thank you for not mentioning it to Fallow. I know it's probably right that she knows, but she's in such a terribly fragile state right now... you can tell just by looking at her that adding anything else to worry about would make her crack." She exhaled and shook her head. Dawn slipped ahead of Justin to the barn door and inched her finger towards a bush that sat comfortably against the exterior wall. Her eyes softly glowed the same light green that Fallow's would and the roots of the plant began to shift, rustling as it navigated through the dirt until a single root curled around a silver key popped out of the ground.
"I say this affectionately, but I don't trust anyone here with the individual rights to anything on this land." She looked back at Justin curtly and opened the barn doors, slowly as to not alert Maxwell.
----------
"No," Mavis blurted, a subconscious reaction. The idea repulsed her; hardly days ago she had dreamt of taking a life by that of a light disc--someone important, but she couldn't remember--and the memory still churned her stomach. "I can't do that."

---

Justin simply stayed quiet, nodding when she thanked him and hummed in agreement Fallow, but was a little surprised she had a spare key hidden.
''honestly that's really understandable, since this is your land after all'' he said.

Maxwell was leaning against a beam that was near where he was standing readjusting his shoe's after putting them on but froze when he heard the door rattling, looking over with wide eye's.
he pointed his hand over at the door to try and create a barrier of some kind just in case but, to his dismay, nothing happened and he looked at his hand, then went to hide in the shadows of a stack of hay bales until he seen who it was coming inside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena nodded in understanding and twitched one of her ears, though she did walk over and circle Mavis, examining her as he eyes gained a soft purple hue.
after a little bit she came to a stop in front of Mavis and sat down, shrinking herself down to that of a normal Black jaguar and looked up at her, the purple hue fading.

''the darkness in you is somewhat aggressive.... why that is i do not know... maybe it is reacting in tune with negative emotions you have been bottling up, even the light element in you seem's somewhat agitated...'' she said softly.
Xena leaned forward and gently nuzzled her hand, a soft purr rumbling in her throat to show she meant no harm to Mavis, then pulled away to look back up at her.
''if you want... i could take you to the realm sacred to use beasts and allow you to try and release any negative emotions you may be feeling, would you prefer that?'' she asked.

---

Dawn knocked on the door as she pushed it open to alert Maxwell of their presence. "Hello?" She called out, stepping in the barn with her hip still against the door. For a split second, she wondered if Justin was tricking her, but she thought back to how he cried and figured that even Justin wasn't manipulative enough to pull a stunt like that. She was warming up to him and didn't want to fight him, either.
"Maxwell, hon, are you in here? I won't hurt you, promise. Justin's here," she said in a louder voice.
---------------
Mavis let her hand rest on Xena's head. It was softer than she thought it would be, although animals tended to stay away from her for the most part. She nodded, not completely understanding what Xena meant, and tucked her hair behind her ear. There was something maternal about Xena that made Mavis trust her--or perhaps it was her lack of a paternal figure that made her want to look for one, but either way Mavis had decided that she was set on going.

---

Maxwell perked up when he heard Dawn's voice and straightened a bit, coming out of the shadow's but staying a bit of a distance as he looked at the door, tear's swelling up and trickling freely down his face.
the jeans Justin had given him fit well enough, but the sweater that he was given practically swallowed him which meant it was more of a comfy shirt Justin had.

when he did step out into the light that shown through a window, the collar of the sweater hung down over one shoulder and revealed bloodied bandages that Justin had put on him after what Umbra did, which in turn made what Justin said that he couldn't be blamed for what he did when Umbra took control true, since Umbra was the one who tortured Maxwell but Justin was the one that patched him up.
''D-Dawn....?'' he mumbled softly, almost whimpering as he ran over and practically threw his arms around her in a tight hug, relieved to see a friendly face again.
Justin simply stayed in the doorway after Dawn entered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena gave a soft purr when Mavis petted her head, then looked at his with a soft amber-eyed gaze as she swayed her tail and stood.
''you should let your friends know you are leaving then'' she said.

---

Dawn pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth when she saw Maxwell but embraced him lightly and ruffled his hair. "Hey, kiddo. It's good to see you again," she said as calm as she could as to not make his emotional situation any worse.
What has Jasper done to you? She thought, not even sure how she would be able to confront him. Dawn glanced over her shoulder at Justin with softened eyes--it was difficult to see in the dark, but they were glossy with held-back tears--and noticed how he simply stood in the doorway. Her first instinct was to motion at him so he would come closer, but she stopped herself.
He's in a raw emotional state, she thought guiltily, Umbra could win at any time. God, Maxwell can't even get home on his own... but I can't leave Fallow alone here. Not with anyone. They're all too dangerous.
--------------
At this point, Mavis was not even surprised that Xena knew about everyone else. Xena seemed not that far from an all-knowing deity and she had come to fully accept it. "How... long will we be gone?" She asked in a soft voice that almost resembled that of a small child's. "... Is it far?"

---

Justin perked up when she looked at him and seen the way her eye's were, having better vision in the dark thanks to his darkness attribute, and his eye's softened as well even when he noticed she had stopped herself from beckoning him to come closer to them.
you understand how hard it is to keep Umbra under control in states like this... thank you... he thought to himself, the corner of his lips twitching slightly upwards in a small crooked smile.

Maxwell sniffled and loosened his grip on the hug, then pulled away and stumbled back a bit from her, looking up at her as bigger tear's streamed down his face.
''where is Fallow...? where is she? i just want to know that she is okay..!'' he asked, the last part of his sentence coming out in a sob as he covered his face.

---

Dawn steadied a calming hand on his shoulder. "She's perfectly okay. Take a deep breath, alright? Everything is okay. She's safe and she's in the cottage with me right now," she told him. Her lip quivered ever so slightly thinking about Maxwell's trauma, but she regained her composure for the sake of reassuring him.
"Listen, Maxwell. I'm not going to lie to you--it's a tough situation. As much as I want to let you two be together, it's far too dangerous for you and we need to focus on getting you home. Is there any way at all you can contact anyone? Your brother?"

---

Maxwell coughed a bit as he tried calming down and sniffled, rubbing his face with the sleeves of the sweatshirt before he looked up at Dawn.
''n-no.... i didn't even bring my wolf to help... and i'm still powerless right now, i can't do anything.... b-but i came looking for Fallow cause thanks to you taking her, and her just allowing you too, has made everyone question her loyalty....! and did you not notice her rabbit Fawn wasn't with her...?! i'm sure Fawn's been a nervous little ball of fur ever since you took Fallow, and your "friend" with the griffin has done nothing but make mine and everyone else' lives a living hell! and Belle obviously despises me due to the fact i'm simply related to Draco, cause she showed no sign's of stopping Umbra from torturing me!!'' he said, his voice raising into yelling by the second, everything that had been bottled up finally shattering while tear's still freely streamed down his face.
Justin shifted on his feet a little bit and started looking around a bit nervously, then entered into the barn and closed the door that way if Maxwell yelled any louder, it wouldn't raise any questions from the other's in the cabin.

he soon froze once the door clicked shut and stood there, putting his free hand on his face and gritted his teeth and pain shot through his skull.
''i'm not letting you gain control Umbra....! i forbid it.......!'' he mumbled under his breathe to himself, that way he didn't freak Dawn and Maxwell out.
''i will gain control at some point Justin, you can't keep me cooped up forever!'' Umbra spat back at him in his head, since nobody else could hear him aside from Justin.
~~~~~~~~~~~
''sadly it may take some time to fully control your darkness dear, but i do promise it'll be worth it'' she said, then stood and grew back to her original size before she laid back down.
she listened to her next question and chuckled softly.
''the realm i'm taking you too isn't a part of this one..... think of it as a pocket dimension if you so wish, this is why i advised you to let your friends know you were leaving.... i can carry you to your friends if you'd like'' Xena offered.

---

"Hey, hey," Dawn said, steadily grabbing his attention and making eye contact with him. She let him burst out, understanding that he needed to release the onslaught of emotions; she glanced back quickly at Justin when he closed the door. Dawn brushed her fingers on the coarse dirt ground, slowly bringing to life a cotton plant. She extracted the cotton as she spoke, using her Nature to manipulate it into a somewhat sheet-like state.
"Breathe, kiddo. Look, I know you've been wronged--I'm sorry about Umbra, from the bottom of my heart. I really am. And I promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure that you're safe.
"I know that you love my sister, but I'm afraid that you can't take her back with you. It's too dangerous--it's a complicated situation, but I promise you that it's temporary and you two can be together soon." She put the cotton lightly against his cheek and, in the dark, took his hand and put it against it so that he could wipe his tears himself. "I brought her here alone for a reason. It's too dangerous for you to be here, and the more you know the more you become an important asset to Jasper. We'll get you out of here and back home tomorrow," she finished firmly.
------------------
Mavis, who was afraid that she would somehow lose Xena if she were to walk away from her, nodded and climbed onto Xena's back. At that moment, she began to think about her decision. We're not in a good situation, but... I don't want to freak anyone out. But if I stay here I'll hurt them... She thought.

---

Maxwell rubbed his face with the tissue like sheet Dawn had given him and slowly calmed down finally, though with some effort to keep from breaking down again.
''if you knew it was dangerous here why did you even bring her here in the first place....?! s-she was safer with us.... Tempest has kept any negative creature's at bay, our safe house is safer than you think....'' he muttered, sniffling as he straightened up and crumbled the tissue up.
he looked up at her and clenched his hands into fists, his hands trembling a little bit.
''i at least want to see her.... i want to see for myself that she is alright, can't you at least grant me that much before you take me back...?'' he asked, almost pleading.

Justin took a few shaky breathes and leaned against the door, closing his eyes as he focused on a single point in his head, keeping Umbra at bay, and soon gained back some of his senses again and looked over at Dawn and Maxwell.
though it was apparent that he was straining to keep Umbra back now, but was doing his best not to loose the fight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena stood up once Mavis was on her back and soon headed in the direction of Mavis' safe house, tail swishing idly as she watched where she was going.
''i can easily sense you have a friend that also possesses the darkness element in her, so i now where to go'' she said.

---

"It's dangerous for you, and I'm terribly sorry but I can't tell you why. If Jasper knew that you knew anything about... well, anything, he'd kill you on the spot. The only thing keeping you alive is that you're viable for interrogation." She sighed and cupped her hand over her cheek, clearly morally stressed. Her voice was strained, "I can't let you do that, Maxwell. I'm so sorry, but that would make things much worse both for you and especially for Fallow. It's in everyone's best interest that I get you out of here tomorrow." Dawn was too fixated on Maxwell to even notice Justin.
"Look, I know that's hard for you to hear. But I can't let you get hurt again, does that make sense? And I hate to say it, but any more interference will hurt Fallow, too."
---------
Mavis placed her hands in front of herself, feeling the softness of Xena's fur. "Have you... talked to anyone else?" She asked, realizing that she was the only other beast that she had seen since coming across the cabin beside Tempest.

---

Maxwell gritted his teeth and sighed shakily, hugging himself a little bit as he looked away, finally just defeated since he was utterly tired.
''f-fine... but please, keep a really close eye one her, she had been acting a little strange the past week or so...... we've all been worried about her, and we've told her that if she needed to talk she could talk to any of us, but... then she gets a little defensive and is suddenly standoffish....'' he muttered.
she put a hand over his face and closed his eye's, finally calmed back down now as well, which was a good thing since he wasn't yelling anymore.
''you do also realize that since you've left her alone that a--hat could be interrogating her right now right...?'' he questioned, knowing that was a possibility among other things.
~~~~~~~~~~
''hmm.... well, i did talk to a boy who had darkness in him, his dominate element was weather though, and he seemed to have two different personalities... he was also with a human girl.... oh i even talked to another fantasy just like the boy, only her dominate element is darkness, i can sense two of your friends in this direction possess darkness....'' she murmured, loud enough for Mavis to hear.
she soon broke through to the clearing that led to the cabin and trotted on over to the house, near the back door before she lowered down onto her stomach to allow Mavis to climb off.

---