There's no place like home...

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

WHO: Madelyne Pryor medea_recast and open to those that could feel this.
WHERE: A small warehouse in the wrong part of town, in other words, the perfect location for a demonic safe-house.
WHEN: Sunday night.
WARNINGS: NPC transfiguration, and villains making plans?
SUMMARY: Maddie's taking a break from her Alaskan vacation to make herself a new home as outlined HERE. She might go shopping for curtains, but I wouldn't hold your breath.
FORMAT: TL;DR Para to start, then I'll match all taggers?


Power. She could feel it coursing through her veins, giving her life, setting her on fire. But it came slowly. To sink her claws into this one building, it had taken her nearly a full day. An equal time was dedicated to twisting the soul of the poor man that had stumbled in on her as she began. Twenty-four hours and counting. Without Limbo to draw on, everything took longer... but as the magic continued to build under her skin she began to laugh. Despite everything, the power was still there and here it was hers. No demons to be beholden to, no deals to honor, just her and the power. To build, to destroy, whatever she wanted.

So tonight she bent the world, just a little. With a final cry, she released the power within her, feeling it spread out into the building she'd claimed like life's blood through veins. She felt the floor shudder beneath her and settle. The walls began to change, pulsating with life of their own, almost organic as they darkened and twisted. Air through the vents sounded like breathing, and the creaking of supports and timber were like old bones, just beginning to move again. It became hers, and extension of self and will that none could enter without her permission, a home that was truly hers and reflected the darker nature of what passed for her carbon-copy of a soul.

With a smile she slowly turned to face what was left of the intruder laying on the floor behind her. She knelt beside him as he quivered in fear, running a finger down his nose, over his face and down to his chest. Pressing her palm to his heart, she released the remainder of the power she'd built. His features melted into something more primal, something out of nightmare and darkness. Hands twisted into claws, skin turned to leathery scales and wings stretched out from his back. He shuddered, the last scream of his humanity ripping from his throat before he hung his head, shaking.

Drained, she staggered back, barely able to stand on her own feet. As if summoned, a chair appeared behind her, perfectly placed for her to sink into as a ragged voice spoke from the floor. Her newly-made servant looked up at her even as he pressed himself downward in a show of submission. Mistress are you well?

She smiled, closing her eyes. "Just tired my pet, I need a slight break before I go back to Alaska." There were images to be maintained after all, she couldn't remain in the city much longer.

Still, minutes passed and she opened her eyes, a thought occurring to her. "Perhaps I should go outside for a bit, get some air." She needed to check the outside of the warehouse. The spell had been done with the intention to keep the exterior looking the same, but it wouldn't hurt to confirm it with her own eyes. Picking up the hooded coat she'd been wearing upon her arrival she ran a hand over it's length, transforming it into a dark cloak. Should anyone see her outside, it was all they would see.

"Follow." She headed toward the door, her demon pet following and they stepped into the cold city night to begin her inspection.

Comments

[pandablade.livejournal.com]

Blind eyes supposedly saw nothing. Hidden behind his blindfold were only a pair of empty holes where his own eyes, the eyes he had been born with should have been. They had been amber, in fact, the sign of a great destiny.

He supposed he filled that.

Illidan, however, was not as blind as one with no eyes should have been. Instead, the flames of Sargeras allowed him to see so much more. So much that others could not. He saw the planes of the world, certainly, but more than that, he could see the ley lines, the arcane energies that dotted every direction of the landscape. He could see his own power, which radiated outwards, and then circled back, drawing the very air and pulling what little magic it could find in this starved world back to him. He could pick out those who had the magic of his world well enough. The Scourge and their unique, dead signatures below him. Something out to the east, across the ocean, vast and thriving with power. He had every intention to seek that one out. To the west, close by in the city were the elves, even though they were not nearly to his level, they stood out against nothing. Several others, and then there was one. A unique and unusual ping against his radar.

Something was happening, and he had every intention to seek it out. The other one, across the ocean could wait for now. Instead, he leapt from his belfry, just like every other time he left. He did not chance encountering the Lich King and his preening little Majordomo beneath him.

He could have done it in his belfry, but to be safe, he walked a mile from his location before drawing his own magic to him. Without ley lines, he had few options for teleporting, and only high levels of magic allowed him to go from one place to another. The location he could see was one of them. The words spilled from his lips, ancient and unknown to most, before the small portal appeared, splitting the air before him, and he stepped in, exiting near what was innocuous.

A building. How wonderfully mundane.

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

Her companion let out a warning growl as Maddie exited the building. Standing nearby was... something inhuman, something that had been drawn in for nothing like that would wander idly by. She took a step back into the shadows of the building, watching, waiting to see what her visitor would do.

Perhaps it would be he to test the protections woven into her building?

[pandablade.livejournal.com]

He could trace the magic, and perhaps if he were the most patient of creatures, he would have waited, and discovered the woman waiting there. However, Illidan was nothing but brash and impatient.

He could feel and sense the demonic energies around. Unique from the Burning Legion, or he would have immediately teleported somewhere else and begun his preparations to ensure his survival. If there was anything Illidan Stormrage was adept at doing, it was surviving.

He tread towards the building, a tip of his head towards a window to look into it. Horned head swinging that way, and then back to his front, before testing the door.

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

The door was locked, but poorly. After all, it had to appear abandoned and it wasn't like anyone venturing in would make it back out alive. Maddie chuckled softly, reaching down to rest her hand on her familiar's head.

"If he goes in, we let our home have him, my pet. But if he's smart enough to back off, circle around behind him. I'll want to speak to him."

Yesss, Mistress.

Her pet disappeared into the darkness, preparing to sneak up behind her visitor and Maddie waited.

[pandablade.livejournal.com]

Illidan could have broken the door, quite easily. It was flimsy, and he was not one do simply let things such as doors bar his way. However, it wasn't the door that gave him pause, it was the magic behind the door that did.

Interesting. He sniffed the air, but it wasn't the scent of the air, tinged with energy that caused him to pause. It was demonic. A kindred soul, perhaps, although he wasn't certain. It was weak, but if there were demons abound, it boded well for him. He turned, and waited for the creature, his arms crossed, and an imperious look on his face. He waited to see what it would be. He doubted it would be anything like the demons he had known or faced back on either Azeroth or Draenor.

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

He was smarter than she initially guessed, and she stood watching him zeroing in on her pet. With a nod unseen by her guest she urged the familiar into the moonlight where it stood on it's hind legs, reaching the height of an average man. Its wings unfurled and it spoke.

What issss your busssinesss here, ssstranger?

[pandablade.livejournal.com]

Curious. The sight of wings on the beast made the space around his shoulderblades tingle and itch with a need for familiarity. He had spent long years in his form, acquiring his power and resources, and it was all for naught here. Here he was not allowed wings, or even his damned ears.

"Curiosity," he replied to the beast, the flames in his eyes narrowing slightly, and his lip curled upwards in something akin to disgust. "You are not the creator of this."

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

Maddie looked on, impressed that he could tell the creator from the created. He had talent, that was certain and she slowly began to move into the moonlight.

It issss mine to protect.

She stood firm, the cloak concealing her as she spoke.

"It was mine to create."

[pandablade.livejournal.com]

His eyes didn't move as much as his entire head did. It didn't swing up in surprise, rather it was a slow ascent, as if meeting someone else beneath his level of ability. Of course, in Illidan's case, all were. Even the Scourge whom he considered a threat were beneath him.

After all, in essence, it was his former masters who created them. Former masters who were now not here, and it was up to him to end them, if only due to pride.

"And what would be the point in creating such a dwelling?"

[holeheart]

Shiro was bored. Many of his thought began this way. I'm bored, I have nothing to do, what should I do, there's nothing to do. Variations on a theme. Apparently boredom was the only logical conclusion to the life of a Hollow who's Raison d'être had been taken away from him. He couldn't take over Ichigo here; not completely and not permanently. He could not subjugate the other personality and was inevitably spit out of his body as if he were some foul tasting food.

So what does a monster with no reason for being do in his spare time? Well, for today, he was exploring sources of spiritual energy. They were few and far between in this place. It was, well, dead. A rather ancient cemetery outside of town was the strongest source of energy. That was, until he felt a ping of energy from the warehouse district. He blinked a few times and stood up from his sitting position in front of a crumbled tombstone, gazing with empty golden eyes in the direction of the energy.

He then took off, sonído step after step, covering ground hundreds of times faster than normal walking. But when he pinpointed the source of the energy (and boy, was it ever dark), it turned out to be nothing more than a plain warehouse. But it surged with energy, distorting the spiritual pressure around it and causing a sort of heat-mirage like effect around the building in the Hollow's eyes.

"This is all?"

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

Madelyne head the voice behind her as she walked around her home and she turned, her face and features hidden by the dark cloak. She wasn't sure she liked the attention her new home was getting, although it was an interesting way to find the magic-users in the city.

"What, pray tell, were you expecting stranger?"

She stepped out into the moonlight, bidding her familiar to stay in the shadows.

[holeheart]

The moon made Shiro look even more pale. White as a sheet, really. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his zipped up hoodie and turned to face the figure, eyes narrowed. He took the figure in (female, if he had to take a guess) and noticed that she was leaking a bit of energy as well. No more than your average meta human... though he was suspicious that she might be cloaking somehow.

"Che," a light, almost cheerful voice distorted in an otherworldly nature, "Not sure what I was expecting! Not a building, that's for sure. Maybe a monster? A person? Hehehe."

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

"Looks can be deceiving."

He looked like a ghost, walking in the moonlight. He had power, that much she could tell, but what he did with it was a mystery. One she wasn't particularly keen on investigating at the moment.

"After all, could I not be a monster, could the building not be a person?"

[holeheart]

A ghost? A close enough approximation, anyway. Hollows were a form of ghost, after all. "Sure, ya could be a monster, I guess." He narrowed his eyes again and walked up to the building, placing his hands on it, sharp, black nails standing out stark on the tips of white fingers. He could feel... something. Something just beyond the wall.

"But buildings ain't people in my experience!!" He turned his face back to the woman, giving a sneering sort of smile, "You sound like yer in the know."

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps, or perhaps I just know more."

She smiled wickedly from under the cloak.

"Perhaps you should take a look inside?"

It would be a way to test the protections, and remove a potential adversary if necessary. Or a potential compatriot, but she wouldn't mourn potentials.

[holeheart]

Shiro wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but he had pure animal instincts. Instincts that told him that going inside this place would not be a good idea. Something about it was off.

But then again... he was bored. And what was some building going to do to him, Kurosaki Ichigo's Hollow? He'd blown up bigger buildings without so much as blinking.

"After you, lady~"

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

"Of course." It was her building, her creature, it wouldn't harm her. The visitor, on the other hand..? Her building was hungry, it didn't need to be fed, but it was only kind to give it a treat now and again.

She moved confidently toward the door, looking over her shoulder slightly as she place a hand on the doorknob.

"Are you ready?"

[wantsapprentice.livejournal.com]

It was one of those nights, one of the few where he actually bothered to attempt a normal sleep cycle. It wasn't something he did often, though it was more because he didn't need it than anything else. A few hours here and there, coupled with the appropriate sustenance, was usually more than enough. Tonight, however, he'd resolved to try -- or at least until an unpleasant tingle ran down his spine.

In minutes, he was out, as much a wraith as the shadows he used as cover. It was a familiar feeling, the crawling sensation under and against his skin speaking of hellfire and more -- but not the same. This wasn't like Lucifer or Mazikeen, or even Pride when the Sins had been unleashed. It was a curiosity, and he wanted to know what it was.

It didn't take long to find, the power within him stirring slightly as he beheld the seemingly harmless building for a nearby rooftop.

Curious, indeed.

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

Madelyne walked along the side of her building, running a hand along the brick exterior, feeling the hum of the power inside. She gave it an affectionate pat, the spells were holding, although there was a slight draining sensation, like some of the power slipping like water through a sieve. She had the sneaking sensation that she'd have to renew the spells but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

But there was a shadow on the building opposite that didn't belong and she looked up, peering out from under the dark cloak.

"Darling, we have a visitor."

She placed a hand on her familiar and simply... watched.

[wantsapprentice.livejournal.com]

The source.

He didn't need to ask, he simply knew. From a distance, it would have been impossible, as his awareness of such things was hardly precise, but given the proximity, it was nigh impossible not to pick up on demonic energies in such a high concentration. It bothered him, but less than it could have under the circumstances. Despite the stench of hell in the air, the aura differed, somehow, from his own, and the fact that this was neither Trigon nor any of his offspring was already apparent. Still, caution was still required.

As a test, he let a little of his power flare, heat gathering about him in a slightly reddish tinge. He wasn't going to attack -- he had no reason to -- but if she hadn't sensed the demonic energies about him before, she'd be able to now.

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

It was a power different from her own, but then that was hardly surprising, but it was power, dark and demonic. Another fan, apparently. She chuckled as he gathered his strength, surely he wouldn't attack her on what was, for all intents and purposes, her home turf? But as she waited, he remained still, not moving toward her, not moving away.

"My pet, why don't you fly up and invite our guest down."

The demon took flight, heading toward the roof and the man watching her there. It landed nearby and fixed him with a gaze.

My Mistresss would like to sssee you.

[wantsapprentice.livejournal.com]

He watched the creature approach, taking noting of its features with a critical eye. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before (at least, in person), but the purpose it served was obvious enough. His mouth quirked at the invitation.

"Far be it from me to keep a lady waiting."

That being said, Slade vaulted over the edge, landing on the street below with inhuman grace and poise. He straightened, pulling his power within him as he approached. It wouldn't do to be rude, after all, now would it?

He stopped short of the building -- of her -- his skin still prickling with the sensation. Interesting.

"I take it this is yours."

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

"It is." There was little sense in denying it and she had the distinct impression that he wouldn't be fooled. She noted the preternatural ease with which he'd come down from his perch, and considered his strength as she watched him approach.

Her familiar returned, sitting on his haunches just behind his mistress.

[wantsapprentice.livejournal.com]

He considered her for a moment, struck briefly by the familiarity of the voice, though he didn't show it. Something to be investigated later, when he had the time.

"You've brought hell with you." The way he said it, he might as well have been commenting on the weather. "You're human?"

[medea-recast.livejournal.com]

"More or less." Was a clone human? She supposed technically she was, but really, did it matter?

"And as for hell, don't we all carry our personal versions of it? Mine's just a tad more... visible."