Topic: As Darkness Falls

Mataya

Date: 2012-06-14 22:27 EST
((Follows It Moves In Daylight.)) ___________________________

The house was silent. The witching hour had been and gone. In the master bedroom, three figures slept wrapped around one another in the large bed. Juno lay nestled between Max and Mataya, her human foster parents having taken the warning about never leaving her alone very seriously indeed. On the floor by the door, the large wolf-dog they now knew as Betryl, Juno's brother, lay watchful and waiting. And he didn't have to wait long. As the darkest hour of the night approached, a faint creak from below betrayed the opening of the basement door. Heavy footsteps began to ascend the stairs, dull and loud and closer with each thud.

Their shared sleep had been very light, their nerves almost shot to toast with this haunting. As soon as the basement door creaked, Max's eyes popped open as if the alarm clock next to his bed had gone off. He groaned. Why didn't this damn thing give them a break" Just for one night, why not' Max thought the creature very selfish, indeed.

Immediately, his hands reached to check that both Mataya and Juno were safely within reach and tucked under the covers. "Get 'im Betryl," he murmured softly. His shoulders stiffened and he lifted his head to look at their bedroom door. And he waited.

'Taya was a little slower to wake, not wanting to give into the sound of a door opening. But the footsteps ....they couldn't be ignored. Groaning lightly, she opened her eyes, her hand meeting Max's to link her fingers with his as Juno stirred between them. On the floor, Betryl rose onto his feet, a low growl rising from his canine throat as the heavy footsteps drew closer and closer. "Max?" 'Taya murmured warily, shifting to sit up a little as Juno rubbed her eyes, cuddling into her foster parents as she began to shake with fear.

"It'll be alright," he attempted to reassure both of the ladies that were sharing his bed. He knew that he had to do something but everything he'd tried, to date, had failed miserably. Still, he had to try. "Get yourself and Juno dressed. Pack a bag for all of us. We're going to the Shanachie," he whispered, then squeezed her hand tightly. With a nod and a grim look on his face, he disentangled himself and slid out of the bed.

"Alright, Betryl, let's let this thing know it's not wanted." Grabbing a baseball bat and an iron fireplace poker, he went to the door. Taking in a big breath for strength, he threw the door open, then went running into the small hall and towards the stairs. He waved both weapons and yelled. "Get the hell out of my house!"

"Right now?" But Max was already moving, and when Max made a decision, Mataya knew not to argue. She drew Juno up into her lap in the middle of the bed, both of them holding tight to one another as Max and Betryl charged out of the bedroom. There was nothing waiting for them, nothing breathing, nothing lurking in the shadows. All was quiet, broken only by the sound of 'Taya softly reassuring Juno as the two of them moved to get dressed. Then without warning, the bedroom door slammed shut, imprisoning woman and child inside, shutting man and dog out. From inside came the sound of heavy footsteps underneath Juno and 'Taya's screams, and the shocking shudder of floorboards under something almost too heavy to be borne there safely.

Max had made it down into the kitchen when the door slammed upstairs. "Oh no, no no no!" He whirled around and sprinted up the stairs. He didn't hesitate for a second, his shoulder slamming into the door. "Leave them alone! Let me in!"

The door stuck, refusing to budge, and from inside, Max heard 'Taya shouting at the top of her lungs for whatever it was to go away, to leave them alone. "Get off her - get off've her, you sick piece of sh*t!" Juno was still screaming and crying, her youthful voice harsh with terror as an horrific growling snarl echoed through the house. Beside Max, Betryl snarled himself, scratching at the door with sharp claws, as anxious as the man to get inside and protect the pair trapped inside with the demon.

Max growled, hearing what was going on inside of the room. Adrenaline was pounding through his veins and he only stepped back far enough to raise his foot to the door in a hard kick to the knob. "Son of a bitch! Get off of my daughter!"

The door snapped open just before his foot made contact, revealing Juno falling back onto the bed with a heavy thump, scrambling with 'Taya up against the headboard as the two of them huddled there, breathless and petrified. A shadow rushed from within the bedroom, a solid blow aimed at Max and Betryl as it passed them. The canine Sanagi was lifted off his feet and thrown against a wall, the impact coinciding with Juno screaming once more, frightened for the brother she'd only just rediscovered.

Mataya

Date: 2012-06-14 22:33 EST
Max was in the process of falling forwards when the door suddenly was not where it was supposed to be. Before he could fall far, that shadow knocked him across the hall and against the wall. The wind was knocked out of him and he sank to the ground, barely propped up by the wall. He could see into the room, that the girls weren't in imminent danger any longer, and let out a sigh of relief. With the adrenaline overloading his system, he couldn't feel the stretched hamstring, the bruised shoulder or the goose egg forming on the back of his head.

The shadow did not stop, echoing its wild snarl down through the house until suddenly, shockingly, the basement door slammed closed. In the silence that followed, even with Juno sobbing and Betryl whining as he limped to his feet, they all heard the lock click over. "Max?" 'Taya sounded shaken, frightened still, afraid to step off the bed despite the aching worry for her lover. "Max, are you okay' Max"!"

When the lock clicked, Max closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. It was 'Taya's voice that brought those brown eyes open once again. "I'm fine, babe," he managed to groan before using the wall as support to get to his feet. "We need to get out of here until she does her thing." Pushing off of the wall, he walked with only a slight limp towards the bedroom. "Are you two all right?"

"Oh, thank God." With one arm wrapped tightly around the sobbing little girl, 'Taya reached toward her fiance, so relieved to see him still upright and relatively unharmed that she even smiled. "We can get going now, and - " A soft bark from the doorway stopped her. Betryl limped in after Max, shaking his shaggy head back and forth. "We can't," Juno whispered in her trembling voice. "It'll come after me."

Max sagged down onto the bed and engulfed both Juno and Mataya into an embrace. He kissed them both at the temple. When Mataya's sentence drifted to silence, he looked down at Juno, then Betryl. "But that lady said that it can't be at the Shanachie. Why can't we go to the Shanachie?"

Looking up from Juno, 'Taya lifted her eyes to Max, meeting his gaze with the same concern, the same fear. "She said only to move Juno there when she starts to "turn", whatever that looks like," she said quietly, stroking the little girl's hair as Juno slowly began to calm down. The bed shook a little as Betryl limped up onto the coverlet, turning in a circle to set his eyes on the doorway, resuming his guard of them.

"So we have to stay locked up like prisoners in our bedroom until then." He sighed, sitting back and rubbing his hand through his inky black hair. "There has to be more that we can do than that. What else did she tell you?" He reached to gently rub Juno's shoulder, his other hand reaching to take Mataya's tiny hand.

The two of them nestled in close against him, Juno wriggling about to wrap herself around Max's waist as Mataya crowded in at the little girl's back. Her fingers turned under his hand to twine with his.

"Just that we can't let her be on her own, at all, until she starts to turn and we move her to the theater," 'Taya said softly, glancing to Betryl. Somehow the canine male managed to show his agreement with just a look before turning his attention back to the door. "Once she's all wrapped up in her coccoon, that's when Betryl's gonna take the demon away." She looked up at Max in distressed confusion. "It's all kinda over my head, Max, all I asked them to tell me was what we can do to help."

"I'm sorry." He hadn't meant to sound like he was blaming anybody. Max was just frustrated that he could do nothing more than wave a stick and shout at something that could potentially do bodily harm to those he loved. "She didn't say how much longer" I mean, there are going to be late nights at the theater with Phantom going on."

"Betryl said she'd start turning in a few days," 'Taya offered with a quiet shrug, leaning close to rest her head against Max's shoulder. Between them, Juno was quiet, presumably fallen back to sleep, safe and protected in the arms of the humans who had let her into their home and their hearts. "It's just a few days, and then it'll all be over, he said."

"I hope so," Max lowered his chin to rest against the top of Mataya's head. He held them there, his family. If this was all he could do to protect them, then he'd sit up all night and hold them. "Love you," he whispered, kissing the top of Mataya's head. "I think this town hates me."

"I think I attract demons, personally," 'Taya murmured back in a wry tone, rolling her eyes. She was afraid, yes, but they had a time limit. They only had to be brave a little while longer, and Juno would be safe. They'd all be able to settle safely in their new home, without being disturbed every night by a creature so far beyond their comprehension that they could not even imagine what it might do to the little girl in their midst if it succeeded in stealing her soul away.

But that was in hand. Betryl wasn't going to allow that to happen. They just had to hang on for a few more days.

((Thanks to Max for this scene! We're moving into the final straits here.))

Juno

Date: 2012-06-19 16:01 EST
The next night ...

Despite the shock and disarray of the night before, the little family had somehow managed to fall to sleep, once again wrapped up around one another in the room that had been the focus of the frightening activity the previous evening. Nestled between Mataya and Max, with Betryl on guard in the hallway beyond the open door, Juno sighed in her sleep, rolling onto her back as she stretched lazily. Her dreams were hazy, without true form or clear image, without even a sense of the malevolent or mundane to color her perceptions. She could almost have been at peace.

Below them, in the darkness of the hallway, the by now familiar creak of the basement door opening made itself known. Beside the little girl, Max shifted with a sleepy snort, half-rising from sleep. But there was no more sound, no footsteps to disturb them further, no growling or snarling to bring the little family from slumber to terror in seconds. As Betryl rose onto his feet, his tail lashing warily as he poked his nose around the corner to peer down the stairs, Max succumbed to deep sleep once again, relaxing into the pillows as his arm slithered from around Juno and Mataya. On the other side of the bed, Mataya curled up tighter, pressing her face into the pillow, her sleep as disturbed and yet undisturbed as her fiance's.

Silence reigned in the house, a silence that thickened and wrapped all around them, deafening anyone to any sound that might otherwise have been heard. At the top of the stairs, Betryl suddenly stiffened, his muzzle opening to release a bark that no one heard. He tried again, and again, and each time the sound was stifled, swallowed up by the shadowy silence smoothing its way up the stairs and over the hallway landing outside the master bedroom. The shadow figure, malevolent and watchful as ever, paused in the doorway of the bedroom, seemingly waiting for something. The canine Sanagi charged at it, and was brushed aside as easily as though he were paper in the wind, and again, there was no sound. Nothing to disturb the sleeping trio on the bed.

Between Max and Mataya, Juno shifted uncomfortably, a faint frown touching her small face as she gathered some sense of the unquiet, the wrongness permeating the house, even in her sleep. At the end of the bed, the shadow took form again, an indistinct figure without obvious features that reached out toward the little girl. The sheets that covered all three shifted and twisted, pulling free of the end of the bed to allow that outstretching shadowed limb to slither beneath, lifting the protective covering up from over their legs, revealing three pairs of feet tangled close about one another.

The smallest pair, belonging to the fostered Sanagi girl, twitched as the shadow passed over them, legs drawing them back instinctively. The demonic shadow, cool and hot all at once, seemed to wrap about one of Juno's feet, giving her a gentle pull, straightening that leg back out again. She barely resisted, rolling onto her side with another sleepy sigh to curl against Max's arm. A low hiss of satisfaction escaped the being that loomed over her ....and suddenly Betryl pounced up onto the bed, his bark shattering the oppressively created silence.

Juno snapped upright, jolted awake along with Max and Mataya, just in time to see the shadow creature slither out of sight, driven off by the sudden awareness of the people, the angry protectiveness of the canine Sanagi guarding his last sister in the stillness of the night. Shaken, the little girl curled up tight in the enveloping arms of her human fostering parents, letting them rock and reassure her as she stared into the darkness of the hallway, listening to the slow creak of the basement door drawing itself closed once again. Whatever the demon had planned for her, it would seem it had been averted tonight.

But what of tomorrow?

Mataya

Date: 2012-06-19 16:07 EST
And the next night ...

The splash of water echoed through the top floor of the house, the door to the bathroom open just enough to let Max hear what was being said inside. 'Taya knelt beside the bath-tub, wiping a soft cloth over Juno's back. The usually pale sweep of skin was oddly mottled in an organic shade of beige and yellow, and as she rinsed the soap clear, 'Taya could have sworn she felt something like leaf mold rising under her fingertips. "Whoa ....sweetie, what is this?"

Juno looked up at 'Taya in vague confusion, feeling the actress' gentle fingers sweeping over her back, wrapped up in a soapy wash-cloth. It was an uncomfortable truth they'd all had to accept in the last few days - never allowing Juno a moment on her own meant that the little girl had no privacy whatsoever. Even when she needed to pee, she had to have company, though thankfully that was almost always Mataya at home and Hortense at the theater. She wouldn't even normally have been having a bath so late at night, after a performance at the theater, but she'd been feeling oddly gritty all day, as though she'd been rolling in sand. And, of course, what Juno asked Max for, Juno got, even if it was 'Taya who did the actual washing.

"What's what?" the little girl asked, twisting to look down her back curiously.

"Uh ..."

'Taya bit her lip thoughtfully, drawing the cloth away to examine Juno's back. Under that gentle scrutiny, the rising mottling did not falter. As 'Taya watched, the beiges and yellows and browns grew deeper, darker, spreading further over the little girl's skin. The line of Juno's spine seemed to rise out of the little girl's back a couple of inches, and before the actress' disbelieving eyes, she saw multiple layers of oddly organic leaf-like matter begin to grow from that raised line, inching out to cover the newly mottled skin, each layering over the first.

"Oh ....oh, gosh, right ....okay ....Max!" 'Taya got up hurriedly, reaching to lift Juno out of the bath and gently pat the child dry. "Sweetie, I think that turning thing Betryl was talking about is starting, okay?" she told the confused little girl, touching her fingers to a cheek that was rapidly changing color before her eyes.

"Really?" Juno's expression twisted in terror. "Now" But I thought it would be days!"

"Hey, sweetie, don't be scared." Mataya grabbed Juno's terry-cloth robe from behind the door, wrapping the little girl up in it, hoping like hell her own panic wasn't showing. "It's all natural, it's how it's supposed to happen for you, remember" We'll take you to the theater, we'll make sure you're all safe there, and then Betryl'll do his thing, right?"

She twisted to the doorway, opening her mouth to call for her fiance, but the call didn't come out quite the way she wanted it to, smothered by Juno's suddenly high-pitched shriek of terror.

There, hulking in the doorway, large and black and seeming to absorb all the light, was the indistinct shadow they had all come to associate with Juno's demonic problem. In the depths of the darkness it exuded, 'Taya could have sworn she could see two red eyes, glaring at her as she gathered Juno into her arms. She wasn't a brave woman - far from it, usually. But this was family. This was Juno. No big, red-eyed bully of a demon was getting its hands on the little girl she'd taken into her own heart.

She drew in a deep breath, hugging Juno close, and raised her voice in a yell that shook the fixtures and fittings. "MAX!"

Mataya

Date: 2012-06-20 20:29 EST
The malevolent presence had taken advantage of Max's exhaustion to get to his prime target. Max had been sitting just across the hall, in the bedroom they'd been sequestered to during those frightening nights. He listened to Mataya and Juno as mother bathed daughter. It brought a smile to his mouth. This was the peace and serenity that Mataya deserved. It was the life that he'd hoped to have brought to her.

With day dreams of white picket fences and girls in white fluffy dresses filled his mind and his eyes began to close, Max's chin dipped once, twice, a third time before landing on his chest. Utterly relaxed, exhaustion had finally taken it's toll and he was asleep. That is, until Mataya's yell yanked him bodily from the land of dreams. The sandman had no time to even leave the slightest bit of sand behind.

Max's head jerked up, eyes wide and terrified as he scanned the room. He could feel his heart racing in his chest and blood pounding through his veins. Max leaped from his chair and bolted out into the hallway. The all too familiar shoe stretcher and baseball bat in hand. "Get the fuck off of her!"

He could see them vaguely through the shadowy presence that threatened the two women in his life. From downstairs, Betryl came running, caught equally off-guard by the demon's canny attack. The canine Sanagi came to a halt beside Max, growling, his hackles high, as the high-pitched screaming from Juno faded away into whimpering sobs.

Inside the bathroom, 'Taya was backing up, pulling Juno with her, as tendrils of that malevolent darkness began to creep across the floor toward them. "Max ....Max, do something," the actress began to call, only to suddenly be silenced by a sharp, aggressive flash of that shadowed darkness toward her. It was enough of a push to knock her back into the still filled bath-tub, banging her head on the wall as she went down. Juno spun to try and pull 'Taya out, and the creature struck. That darkness wrapped about her foot, pulling her legs out from under her, and seemed to dissipate. Suddenly there was nothing between Max and Betryl, and Juno and 'Taya. But Juno was screaming again, the marks of squeezing claws around her ankle as she was dragged inexorably out of the bathroom, toward the stairs, by an unseen force that snarled and growled in satisfaction.

When 'Taya was knocked back, Max lunged towards her in an attempt to get her from sinking too far into the tub. Reaching into the water, he yanked the plug. Before he could reach his fiancee, Juno began screaming and slitherng across the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" Max whirled around and dove towards Juno, hoping to grab hold of any part of her that he could. "Let go of her!" With his free hand, he hurled the shoe stretcher, aiming a foot past Juno's tiny feet. "Let her go!"

Juno's little fingers dug painfully deep into Max's wrists, her hands clutching at him tightly as she was pulled further toward the stairs. "Don't let me go!" she wailed to Max, putting all her faith in him as Betryl leapt at the creature that had dared to lay hands on his last sister. Dazed, 'Taya groaned, adrenaline pulling her out of the tub despite her newfound headache, only to find herself confronted with the bathroom door, resolutely shut against her. Her fist slammed into the wood. "Max" Juno"!"

Max slid, slithered and skidded as he twisted and repositioned as they were being pulled towards the stairs. His hands wrapped firmly around Juno's tiny wrists and he hung on for dear life. Somehow he found a way to lodge his feet against the top of the post supporting the bannister. He pushed, hard as he could, and leaned back. Sweat beaded on his brow as he clenched his teeth and pulled on Juno's hands. "Never....never let go!"

The most frightening part of this was that Juno was now suspended horizontally between Max and the being trying to pull her away, kicking and screaming as she clung to her human foster father. The snarling grew louder as Betryl suddenly turned tail and ran back to the bathroom, launching his heavy canine form against the immoveable barrier. It burst open, and 'Taya staggered out, clutching one of the white candles Aurelia had given her over eighteen months before. She was frantically trying to light it with her zippo, dropping down onto her knees beside Max and Juno. "Hold on, just hold on a little longer ..."

Max did as told, there was no question in his mind about whether to let go or not. He looked into Juno's terrified face and apologized with his eyes as he relented just a little then doubled his efforts in pulling her backwards. "Nnnggh!" he growled through gritted teeth. Hearing the zippo going over and over he prayed that whatever 'Taya was doing would work, quickly.

The little girl squealed, the rippling, growing mass of organic covering that would soon coccoon her making it difficult for her to get any real purchase on Max's arms as he hauled her back toward him. The skin on her ankle visibly burned under the friction of that clawed hand as she was drawn a little way back. Max was winning the tug of war, it seemed. Finally, the zippo lit, and the candle's flame burst forth in bright shades of blue and purple. "Oh, thank God," 'Taya muttered, relieved she'd picked up the right candle from the basket. She didn't know quite what it was for, but Aurelia had assured her that the candles would fend off a demonic attack long enough to call for help or get out of danger. The snarling of the demon rose in pitch, sounding almost pained for a moment, before abruptly Juno was released. The little girl slammed down into the stairs and Max's lap, scrabbling to curl up against him in floods of tears.

With the tension finally released, Max landed flat on his back, and suddenly Juno was right there. He sat up quickly and took the sobbing girl into his arms. "We gotta get out of here, right now!" He stood up on trembling legs and hurried down the steps. He could care less if she were dressed or not. Max had enough of this demonic entity. "C'mon 'Taya, move!" It didn't take him long to travel down the steps and cross the living room to the front door.

"What do you think I'm doing?" 'Taya snapped back at Max, stressed and tired and frightened, her attention on the candle flame as she followed her fiance down the stairs to the front door. Whatever it was, it was keeping the entity back for a little while, at least, long enough to get them all out of the house. Only Betryl lagged behind, guarding 'Taya as she guarded Max and Juno.

Mataya

Date: 2012-06-20 20:31 EST
Max made a mental note to apologize later. The stress was getting to them all. He whipped the door open and curled both arms around Juno's little body as he stepped out and into the darkness of the night. Even with the moon coming close to it's apex in the nighttime sky, it was still very dark.

In his rush to get them safely to the car, he tripped more than once. Each time he caught himself and made sure that Juno was safely within his strong embrace. He didn't even let out a sigh of relief when they got to the car and he squeezed into the front seat, finally placing Juno onto the seat beside him. Closing the door, he then pulled Juno into his lap and waited for 'Taya to get in with Betryl and drive away.

Crying still, Juno hugged close up beside Max, the newly forming layers of her natural chrysalis rasping against the cloth of her bathrobe. She was entirely mottled now, no trace of the rose pink that her skin had been; even her hair had begun to change color from the natural mousey brown to the yellow of a moth's underwing. "I want to go, please can we go?" Pulling the front door closed, 'Taya knelt down, dripping a little wax onto the front doorstep to secure the lit candle there. It might work, it might not, but it was worth a try. She had another candle in her pocket if they needed it. Silently blessing Aurelia for the witch's foresight in making sure they had these strange occult things, the actress gave Betryl a shove up into the car and clambered in after him. "We need to get to the theater, Max, she's changing."

"Of course we can go, 'Taya's coming right now." Max hadn't noticed the changes in Juno, and if he'd been looking down at her, he might have. But his head was up, chin over the top of Juno's yellowing hair and he was watching as Mataya left the candle at the doorstep. He wasn't going to question anything that Mataya did, at this point. She knew a lot more about how to deal with things of this nature than he.

Only when Mataya got into the car did he look down at Juno. His eyes widened as he gazed down at her in wonder. "She..." he shook his head, correcting himself, Juno was in his lap, after all. "You are changing, Juno. And we're going to get you to the theater." Then he looked up at Mataya, that unspoken apology in his eyes. "Right, babe?"

"Right." As Max stared at Juno, 'Taya had turned the key in the ignition. She knew he wasn't going to let go of Juno until they were back at the Shanachie, and she wasn't wasting time. The candle on the doorstep was already burning blue and purple once again, a sure sign that their demonic visitor was creeping up on them. The tires squealed as she pulled them out of the driveway and onto the road, driving far too fast for comfort's sake. She managed to flash Juno a reassuring smile, though, meeting Max's eyes with an understanding nod.

"Everything's gonna be great, sweetie pie," she promised. "Max'll take you down to your safe place when we get there, and Hortense'll look after you while me and Betryl work out what comes next."

"Exactly right," he tried to sound as convincing as possible. He kept Juno's head to his chest and his own eyes closed as 'Taya ripped through the streets towards the Shanachie. Usually Max wasn't a nervous passenger, and the faster the better. But Max was terrified and if he relaxed even the slightest in his grip upon the little girl that had become a part of their family, he'd be trembling like a leaf. "We'll be there soon and Hortense will help us keep you safe."

There was a bark from the back seat, making 'Taya jump enough that the car swerved violently. "Jesus! Beet, don't do that!" she snapped, glancing into the rear view mirror. Her face abruptly paled. "You know what, go right ahead." Her eyes flickered to Max. "Hold on tighter." And her foot pressed down on the accelerator, moving them from reckless driving to death wish.

Max turned his head and opened his eyes when Betryl let out that vicious bark. His eyes widened at the site of the size of that shadow that was looming behind them. It seemed boundless, limitless. And it seemed to be keeping up with them. At least, until Mataya put her foot to the floor and all eight cylinders of their car were put into use. He returned to his forward facing position, head down now and mouth pressed to the top of Juno's head. "Shh, it'll be alright, it'll be alright." He murmured softly, but if it were for his own comfort or Juno's, was anybody's guess.

The gravel in the carriage park of the Shanachie Theater scattered as 'Taya pulled up sharply, throwing open the door to scramble out with Betryl. "Max, get her inside!" she yelled, pulling candle and lighter from her pocket as the canine Sanagi took up station next to her. This time the zippo lit first time, and the candle too, despite shaking hands and the looming darkness coalescing into a shadow being that stalked toward them from the road.

Max opened the door and with the inertia of the car's sudden halt, it flew open wide enough for the big actor to come barrelling out with his tiny bundle. He didn't stop to see what Mataya was doing, having full faith in her and her knowledge. Instead, he ripped the door open to the theater and ran inside. "Hortense! Hortense!"

'Taya was terrified. She'd already faced one demon in her time here and had come out of that little encounter with more bruises than she could count. Aurelia was the one who had dealt with that demon. But this was family. Juno and Max were more important to 'Taya than her own fright. Standing up to an entity that could probably rip her into teeny pieces with just a man-dog and a candle for protection seemed like a good idea at the time. Wrapped up in Max's arms, Juno stretched, groaning softly as the creeping chrysalis began to form up over her feet, sealing them together in a warm, pulsating wrap of organic transformation. "Under the stage," she managed to say through a thickening feeling in her mouth. "Safe place."

"You got it, kiddo." Max ran to the stage and opened up a trap door. Only then did he stop and that was only long enough to step down onto the tiny ladder that led to the subfloor. "Here you are." He jumped from the top rung and bent to gently lay her down upon the ground. "Don't be scared, baby. I'll be right outside, helping 'Taya, okay?"

"No!" Juno clung to him, refusing to be put down. "Safe place, my safe place, please!" With her legs slowly fusing together in the constricting curl of the chrysalis forming over her skin, sloughing off her robe in the process, the little girl was helpless to move herself, barely recognisable as her race's natural aging process took over her body. A soft whisper of a voice by Max's ear declared Hortense's appearance. The Grey Lady of the Shanachie melted into sight beside the actor in her beautiful Victoriana finery, looking down at Juno in concern. "You called for me, Maximillion?"

Mataya

Date: 2012-06-20 20:33 EST
It was almost more than Max could bear. Juno's pleading had him taking her into his arms again. But he felt helpless. Max really did not know where in the theater her safe place was. And then Hortense, even with her gradual appearance and soft voice, had Max nearly jumping out of his skin. "Where" Where?" His eyes were wide, wild with fear. "Safe place?"

"The place where she lived all those months," the grey ghost explained gently. "Come, I will show you."

As Hortense took charge, gliding in eerie silence into the bowels of the Shanachie's warren of understage passages and rooms, Juno relaxed in Max's arms. She was going to her safe place, the grey lady was there, Max was there, Mataya was there. She felt protected.

Max nodded, like a child, and followed along behind The Gray Lady of the Shanachie. He hadn't been aware of the extent of the labryinth that lay beneath the stage and as they walked, he became visibly calmer. "Thank you, Hortense," he whispered, more than once. It seemed important to keep his voice down, as if speaking out loud would interrupt the echoes of the voices and music of not only the most recent performances, but of parties and life in the mansion that was transformed into the theater.

The theater was, indeed, full of ghosts ....ghosts of performances played and replayed, of roles reprised night after night until they took form. Here, in this place, the demon would have to search long and hard, its senses confused by such myriad faces as Peer Gynt, Jean Valjean, and Cinderella. Those ghosts wrapped around the living who walked the theater's halls, smothering them in safety as Hortense led the way to an out of the way door. She stepped through the wood, obviously expecting Max to follow her.

Follow, he did. Of course the door had to be opened and stepped through, which was managed easily. He felt the presence of those ghosts and was comforted by them. "Is this is it' Is this the safe place?" He whispered to both Hortense and Juno. At this point, he wasn't sure if he was going to get an answer, and really didn't expect one.

Deep down, he knew this was the safe place. There were racks of old costumes and pieces of sets tucked neatly around the room. Props, especially in the form of an old oak rocking chair, were there, too. It was warm and cozy, not the least bit humid or dank. There were no musty scents to make him sneeze.

Settling into the rocking chair, he eased his grip in Juno and let her set lightly in his lap. "Is she safe, Hortense" 'Taya" Is she safe?"

The little girl in his arms shifted, only her face visible now beneath the curling, protective wrap of her natural chrysalis. With obvious effort, she blinked up at Max, a tiny smile on her face. "Safe," she rasped very quietly. Hortense smiled gently, touching a ghostly hand to the wall where Juno had slept so many nights before Mataya had rescued her from the lingering death of RBF. "Here is her safe place," she promised Max, drifting over to him as he settled himself down. Her maternal smile deepened as he asked after his fiancee.

"Did you really think her theater would allow her to be harmed?" the Grey Lady asked quietly. "She gave these spirits life and form and a place to exist. No demons will hurt your Mataya within these walls, Maximillion. Indeed, our little friend's nasty visitor will have a devil of a time getting down here in the first place."

Her tiny voice brought a rare smile to Max's face. There was no trace of the actor in it; it was genuine and reserved for those he truly loved. Lifting his head, he listened to Hortense and that smile faded. "But she was outside of the theater when I last saw her. Is she inside, now?"

"She's right here, dumbass." Footsteps accompanied the familiarly warm voice as 'Taya came back into view, breathless and more than a little dishevelled, but all in one piece. Betryl padded along at her side, both of them looking really rather smug.

"That thing is in here, too, but it's having a bit of a problem," she grinned, crouching down beside them. "There are a few dozen characters from the stage giving it a headache." She reached out to touch her fingertips to Juno's cheek. "Hey, baby girl. Time to go?" Juno didn't reply, her eyes already closed as her breathing slowed and finally stopped. Layers of the leafy, tough chrysalis curled over her face, sealing her from sight entirely as the entire coccoon began to pulse with gentle greenish-gold light in time to a heartbeat they couldn't hear.

Finally, Max out that sigh of relief when Mataya came strolling into the small room, with Betryl at her side. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the tall oak and forced himself to relax. When his eyes opened, Mataya was crounched before them and the last of the protective chrysalis curled into place. Max looked down in wonder at the glowing bundle in his arms. He wasn't sure exactly what would emerge from the cocoon. No matter what, Juno had cemented a place in his heart and she will always be his beautful little girl.