Onyx House
Friday, April 21st
2:19 AM
Tara crept up slowly to the gates of what she called Bloodbath House (as opposed to Hell House - the familial estate of the Helstons that bordered her LeVey family Keep Grimm had willed to her long ago and which also happened to be just down the road) and stuck her head through the bars.
It looked quiet enough.
You would think the little hellcat would have gone crashing through those gates, eager to welcome her family back after a many-month hiatus but she had good reason to be cautious.
The estate was the central place for all BHO family operations but it was also home to many a dangerous creature, chief of which were Wylde's rottweilers. Several times those hellhounds had tried to kill her and it was with this in mind that the stunted redhead paused and carefully scanned the grounds for their presence.
Using every sense she had at her disposal, sight, smell, and telekinesis she deduced that they were not outside at the moment so that left two alternatives.
Either Wylde (Cyclops) himself was walking them, or they were in the house.
The little Captain of the Bloods groaned as she looked up at the large manse beyond the gate. She needed to get in the house in order to greet her family but knew that once she was within its walls the chances of those damned doggies getting her again became very high. If Aunt Bel or Lord Lankyn (Plankton) wasn't around, she was toast. Failing them there were other family members she could rely on but she had not seen them all return. It was very likely the house was empty.
Luse was around but today was Friday, and on Fridays Luse liked to go for long walks in the forest to clear his head and think. Being an elf like he was, Tara supposed he felt more at home and One with Nature when he did this. She had just seen him over at the Dragon. He appeared to be in a so-so mood which probably meant he'd be in the forest until dawn. Which also meant she was on her own for the time being. She knew better than to chase after Luse when he wanted to be alone.
"This is jus' wonderful, mean ole Cyclops always gotta be keepin them puppies 'round when he know they scare her," she mumbled to herself and began to chew on a fingernail in distress. "Why dun he put a muzzle on em, that would be nice, then Tara would nuh hafta worry so much."
Yes, a delicate relationship existed between Tara and the dogs. On her very first visit to the estate, some three mortal years prior, Wylde had introduced her to them personally and had warned her about sneaking around without an escort as the canines were liable to think her a burglar and chew off a leg or two. The image alone made her scramble under one of the beds she had in the two bedrooms Lankyn had given her and she didn't come out until a whole day later. And even then, she only did because Luse had bribed her with candy and Maddy had promised to blow something up, otherwise she would have stayed put.
"This is ridiculous," she said finally after being at the gates for some time and slowly made the climb over them. "She be Unlifed, nuh some regular girlie, an' she has a right to be here cuz she's a Blood too!" she cried and just as she was stepping down on the earth behind the gate, she heard a growl behind her. Her entire body froze.
"Oooh nuh," she said quietly and winced. "Nice doggie, dun be eatin Tara now, she's jus' a little girlie," she said and hurried back to the other side of the gate as fast as she could.
"Yer a bad doggie!" she said with a point to the animal who was snarling at her. "I'm gonna tell Aunt Bel on you! Sneakin up on a Cockroach Killa like tha! You should be ashamed of youself!"
To Tara, Belial was all-knowing, all-powerful and could resolve every problem Tara or anyone else in the Bloods ever had. However, in this case, the dog had the upper hand. She couldn't very well tell on it if she was unable to get into the house where Belial most likely was so she was stuck.
"Gonna git you a steak or somefin, lace it up wif poison an' then maybe you go sleep like a good doggie 'stead of scarin the hell outta little girls," she said with a huff and went off in the direction of town.
Tara crept up slowly to the gates of what she called Bloodbath House (as opposed to Hell House - the familial estate of the Helstons that bordered her LeVey family Keep Grimm had willed to her long ago and which also happened to be just down the road) and stuck her head through the bars.
It looked quiet enough.
You would think the little hellcat would have gone crashing through those gates, eager to welcome her family back after a many-month hiatus but she had good reason to be cautious.
The estate was the central place for all BHO family operations but it was also home to many a dangerous creature, chief of which were Wylde's rottweilers. Several times those hellhounds had tried to kill her and it was with this in mind that the stunted redhead paused and carefully scanned the grounds for their presence.
Using every sense she had at her disposal, sight, smell, and telekinesis she deduced that they were not outside at the moment so that left two alternatives.
Either Wylde (Cyclops) himself was walking them, or they were in the house.
The little Captain of the Bloods groaned as she looked up at the large manse beyond the gate. She needed to get in the house in order to greet her family but knew that once she was within its walls the chances of those damned doggies getting her again became very high. If Aunt Bel or Lord Lankyn (Plankton) wasn't around, she was toast. Failing them there were other family members she could rely on but she had not seen them all return. It was very likely the house was empty.
Luse was around but today was Friday, and on Fridays Luse liked to go for long walks in the forest to clear his head and think. Being an elf like he was, Tara supposed he felt more at home and One with Nature when he did this. She had just seen him over at the Dragon. He appeared to be in a so-so mood which probably meant he'd be in the forest until dawn. Which also meant she was on her own for the time being. She knew better than to chase after Luse when he wanted to be alone.
"This is jus' wonderful, mean ole Cyclops always gotta be keepin them puppies 'round when he know they scare her," she mumbled to herself and began to chew on a fingernail in distress. "Why dun he put a muzzle on em, that would be nice, then Tara would nuh hafta worry so much."
Yes, a delicate relationship existed between Tara and the dogs. On her very first visit to the estate, some three mortal years prior, Wylde had introduced her to them personally and had warned her about sneaking around without an escort as the canines were liable to think her a burglar and chew off a leg or two. The image alone made her scramble under one of the beds she had in the two bedrooms Lankyn had given her and she didn't come out until a whole day later. And even then, she only did because Luse had bribed her with candy and Maddy had promised to blow something up, otherwise she would have stayed put.
"This is ridiculous," she said finally after being at the gates for some time and slowly made the climb over them. "She be Unlifed, nuh some regular girlie, an' she has a right to be here cuz she's a Blood too!" she cried and just as she was stepping down on the earth behind the gate, she heard a growl behind her. Her entire body froze.
"Oooh nuh," she said quietly and winced. "Nice doggie, dun be eatin Tara now, she's jus' a little girlie," she said and hurried back to the other side of the gate as fast as she could.
"Yer a bad doggie!" she said with a point to the animal who was snarling at her. "I'm gonna tell Aunt Bel on you! Sneakin up on a Cockroach Killa like tha! You should be ashamed of youself!"
To Tara, Belial was all-knowing, all-powerful and could resolve every problem Tara or anyone else in the Bloods ever had. However, in this case, the dog had the upper hand. She couldn't very well tell on it if she was unable to get into the house where Belial most likely was so she was stuck.
"Gonna git you a steak or somefin, lace it up wif poison an' then maybe you go sleep like a good doggie 'stead of scarin the hell outta little girls," she said with a huff and went off in the direction of town.