((The following thread may contain and is not limited to, violence, vulgarity, and sexual encounters.))


October 6th - Friday - Early Afternoon.

Nick texted Roni to let him know he would meet her at this great little hole in the wall deli that had the best roast beef sandwiches you could eat. He was waiting in a booth, sipping on a glass of water while he looked over the menu. Since he?d been able to eat, he?d been eating a lot. He hoped it would stop at some point, but for now the joy of shoving pretty much anything edible down his gullet was just too great.

It wasn't long before Roni was ambling through the door of the little hole in the wall. She had taken her car, and in it had everything packed for her trip, including the urn that had Doli's ashes within it. She was dressed in all black, including her favorite stomping combat boots. Once inside, she looked around till she spotted Nick, then started his way.

?Hey, Roni. I was just looking over the menu. I kind of want to get one of everything, but I really should settle on one thing?. He motions for her to take a seat

"Do they have a sampler? We could get that and share, and have more than just one thing." This was suggested as she dropped down in the seat across from him.

?Yeah, I guess they do. It?s not like I actually need to eat this stuff anyways. But it?s fun?. He places the order when the waitress comes by, also ordering whatever Roni wants to drink. He takes a sip of his water, ?You doing alright??

"Food is good, so I don't blame you Nick." She just asked for a glass of coke. Without any additives. She needed a clear head, and a clear mind. She could run away from her problems later when she had taken care of her sister's affairs. There was a frown when he asked if she was alright. "I honestly can't answer that truthfully. I don't... It's been almost 7 years since I've even thought of going back there, I don't want to go back."

?You don?t have to go alone...not f you don?t want to. I?ve been to the courts....once or twice. When I was back in New York. Dunno how I got to be the Faerie negotiator. I?m just a stupid man sometimes I guess. ? He smirks.

The look that she gave Nick was long and dry. "This is something I have to do alone, Nick. My parents are some of the monsters of my past. I knew eventually, I wouldn't be able to run from that any more." She drew in a deep breath, and brought up a hand to cover her face. "I'm genuinely tired of running from everything that makes me uncomfortable."

?Alright. I can understand that. I?m not going to stop you from doing what you need to. How long do you expect to be gone??

"Just the weekend. I don't intend on staying long. I just.... Gotta go, y'know?" This is mused softly, while her hands come to settle on the table and rest there.

?Okay....you know that if you?re not back on time I?m going to your apartment digging hair out of your brush and hiring a wizard to track you down. So, check in if you can?

"Alright. I'm certain Siobhan would gladly help you dig that out. She knows where I keep all my shit." She paused, before reaching out and touching his hand. "I'm a big girl though Nick, I can handle myself."

?I can handle myself too, but it still got me a week in Tartarus. I only got out because I keep lockpicks inside my body Roni.....inside my body. Anyway, there was something you wanted to talk to me about.?
"You kept lockpicks in your body?" That had her arching a brow at him, before finally, she sighed. "Yeah. Talk. I uh.... I don't even know where to begin."

?I also kept a plastic shiv. ?

?Just start at the beginning more or less?
?Or if you?d rather, I could tell you in great detail about what your best friend and I have been up to? The plate of mini sandwiches arrives and gets set in the center of the table.

"Uh. No thanks. I love Sio, but I don't need to hear about her love life." Even if Sio heard hers half the time. She waved a hand, then drew in a deep breath. "Okay so... The beginning. Uh. My da. He had this bad habit of gambling away what he didn't even own. Happened to be with Zagan's gambling den that he was racking up the debt with. So one day he shows up. He demands that my dad give him what he is owed. Doli and I were peeking out of our shared room. I was sixteen, she was eleven." She pulled in a deep breath, and ignored the sandwiches. "After my father told him he had nothing to give, Zagan pointed at me. Said that if he could have me, that all debt would be released. But he needed my true name. He needed me completely, but I could come back and visit."

She got quiet for a spanse of several moments, fighting with something in her brain. "My da agreed. Mamai agreed, and Doli just stood there and watched as they dragged me off, begging and screaming to not do this." Her lashes fluttered, and her eyes closed. She looked like she was struggling against the urge to not cry. Which was new. "He took me back to his estates that night. He took me back, and he broke me. I cried for weeks. I was lost. Uprooted. He took everything from me. My family, my life, my innocence. He took his anger out on me. If I didn't listen, he beat me. And I was expected to look pretty, and behave the next day, or it would happen all over again. I-I-... I lost myself, and I'm still not sure if I've managed to find me again." She was struggling with her words here, her voice cracked.

The detective nods. Listen quietly, not saying anything. Not touching the sandwiches either. He doesn?t really know how to respond to something like this, so he just remains quiet, waiting to see if Roni is done.
"This is why I didn't want anything to do with Doli. Why I really don't want to go back, even though I have to. It's why I have to do this on my own. It's why I have to be the one that puts the bullet between Zagan's eyes. So I can make sure he's dead. That he won't come back to haunt me. I just.... I have to do it." She rolled her shoulders, and finally reached for a sandwich. Though, she didn't eat it yet.

?I can understand that. Just remember, you have family here. You don?t have to carry the cross alone. You and Siobhan. You girls are the only real family I got. And maybe Harry, but that?s different. ?

She nibbled on the sandwich quickly, until there wasn't anything left. Once it was gone, her attention returned to Nick, the look on her face thoughtful. "I know I have family here. And I know I don't have to face it all alone. But there are some things I have to do on my own. It's nothing against you guys, promise." There's a faint smile on her features.

The detective nods for a bit, then smiles, "You do what you have to do. I'm not going to stop you. I just want you to be careful." He fidgets for a bit and grabs another sandwich.

"Thank you," There's a pause, before she snorts. "I'm always careful, Nick. Sometimes overly so." She wiggled her fingers, and plucked up another sandwich. "We should have gotten fries too." Absently as she took her first bite of the new one, chewed, and washed it down with her coke.

He takes a bite of his sandwich and chews it thoughtfully, "So was there anything else you wanted to get off your chest?"

"I uh... Not really. What about you?" She turned the question back at him, and arched her brows curiously.

"Well, I mean. Things have been going good for me. Better than ever even."

"Good. Good. I'm happy. For both of you. Sio has a happiness that I don't think I have ever seen." This is spoken warmly.

He nods quietly and goes back to munching on sandwiches for a bit before speaking, "So I guess that's it. Just be careful out there Roni. Guy's like Zagan aren't used to losing. You can't expect him to just give up."

Silence lapsed, and she made busy just nibbling away at sandwhiches... at least until he spoke again. Curious, her eyes shifted back towards him, before amusement showed on her features, "I know, Nick. I had about seven years experience of watching him get what he wanted. Always."

He shakes his head, "I'm just a bit worried is all."

Roni waved a hand at him, and gave a dismissive sound. ?Don?t worry. I?ll be okay.? With that, she leaned back and demolished another sandwich.

It wasn?t long before the conversation turned to more lighthearted matters, like her plans with Freddy to go to a club when she got back. Her plans for a girl day with Antonia. Then, when her belly was full of food, and she had gathered the strength she needed to leave, she said her goodbyes, and left Nick with a hug and a brush of a kiss against the cheek.

Then she was gone. She has things to do.

((Many thanks to Nick for all his help in this!))

October 8th - Sunday - Early Evening.

Evening was just starting to creep over the city of London when Roni checked out of her room at her hotel, then took off down the street. She had a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. Her packing was light, as it was just a short trip. No need to have some big to-do and cause a mess and simply cause more trouble for herself. At some point, her phone chimed, and she started digging it out of her pocket. It was a text from Nick.

With a faint smile, she made busy tapping out a response, and sending it off before she shoved the phone back into her purse, and continued on with her hurried steps, head down, and the hood of her hoodie up to protect against the dreary weather and faint drizzle. It was one thing that she did not miss, was all the wet weather.

Roni did not realize she had been watched since her return to London. A man in a cheap black plastic poncho was watching through binoculars from the rooftops. He spoke into the microphone on his headset.

?Myrmidon, the target is approaching the collection point. 100 meters.?

Myrmidon was actually a team of three men, armed, armored and waiting. They were waiting quietly in the darkness, at three corners of a 4 way intersection and they were ready. They had been instructed to take the target alive at all costs. Which limited them in some respects, but they were still armed to the teeth, with Tasers, assorted non-lethal grenades, and as a last resort iron rods about three feet in length. The men were tense as they waited for their target to approach..

The watcher on the rooftops spoke, ?Target in position in 5?...4?..3?...2?.1?...Now!?

As Roni moved into position a small canister was tossed into the intersection nearby. The silence of the evening is broken by a deafening bang followed by a blinding flash. The men move in, tasers at the ready.

It was that particular four way that she had intentions of turning at, and breaking off down the road to an alley so she could activate the return home spell. She didn?t make it there though, instead, when she came to the intersection she was assaulted by the sudden deafening bang, and blinding flash that followed. There was a startled shout as she stumbled, disoriented and shrugged the duffel off so she didn?t have that weight dragging her down. Her ears rang angrily, and she stepped back blindly, trying to put distance between her and her attackers. All the while her fingers delved under the hem of the dress she wore, fingers groping for that pretty little sigma of hers.

There?s a flurry of curses running through her brain as she tries to process. Nick had said something about being careful. Why?d he have to go and jynx stuff for her?
The three men converged on Roni and when they got into range the fired their tasers nearly in unison. Sending barbed probes trailing wires behind them at the fae from three different directions.

It was kind of a low blow to nail her with the tasers when she was already disoriented by the grenade, but then again, she probably would have been impossible to do anything with if not. It was just as her vision was beginning to clear that the barbs sank home and jacked her body full of excessive electricity, from three various sources. Pain rolled through her like a jerky fire, and her body stiffened, spasmed. What ever fight she might of had was sapped in all but a matter of seconds, that resulted in her in a helpless heap on the street.

One of the men rushed to pin her to the ground with a knee in the small of her back while he binds her wrists behind her back not with handcuffs, but rather old fashioned iron manacles. Another moved swiftly to put a black cloth bag over her head securing it snugly with a drawstring. The third moved to bind her legs with a heavy pair of iron shackles.

The barbed probes were ripped suddenly from her skin leaving small wounds that wept with blood. Two of the men lifted the dazed girl off of the ground and carry her hurriedly to a waiting van a few meters down the road. She was tossed unceremoniously onto a dirty mattress and the men got into the vehicle behind her and shut the doors.

One of the men pulled out a cell phone and makes a call, ?Target acquired.? The man nodded in response to the orders he received and then placed the phone to the dazed Unseelie?s ear. Another of the men pound on the side of the van and the vehicle speeds off into the darkness.

As much as she wanted to fight, there was no drive in her body to do so. It was limp, useless, uncooperative, like a ragdoll. She was just as easy to maneuver into the iron cuffs that locked into place around both her wrists and ankles that left angry red welts near immediately on the skin that it touched. The world still felt like it was spinning, despite everything being dark, and she didn?t quite register that there was a phone pressed against her ear.

?Ronixi.?

October 9th - Monday - Mid Morning

Her sleep had been peaceful, devoid of dreams for once, and all she had done was sleep. So when she woke in the morning, she could only attribute the groggy thick headed feeling to whatever she had been injected with the night before. She woke to find herself washed, and dressed in clothing she had not see in in nearly half a year. Clothes that made her skin crawl. A sleek and flattering but comfortable red dress, one that had been a favorite of Zagan?s. The shackles that bound her wrists and ankles were gone, angry red burns left in their wake. Her feet and the rest of her was left bare. Except for the thin band of iron around her ankle, that led to a length of chain that was attached to the floor in some way she couldn?t discern yet. She was still a prisoner. A pretty little bird, once again trapped in a cage, yearning for freedom.

Disoriented, and still groggy, she didn?t realize that the man was leaned up against the wall by the door, near neon blue eyes watching her hungrily. Not until he shifted, and pulled away from his lean against the wall. His movement drew her eyes his way, she froze, and watched him like a deer in the headlights. Almost immediately, as if it was instinct now, she was reaching for her gun, before she realized that both the gun and her dagger was gone. It caused a flutter of panic in her heart and stomach, as this was the first time since both had been purchased, that they had been off of her person, or she was clueless to their locations.

?Mmh. They?re gone Doll. You?re not going to try and shoot me this time. I?m not stupid.? The words come lightly, while amusement dances in in those near neon hues of his. ?And I would rather avoid being shot again, as it is painful, especially with your chosen bullets. They are custom made, yes? Iron isn?t often worked into such things.?

?Yeah. Specifically for you.? She snorted, and quietly glared at him in contempt.

?Ahh, but you see about technical things like this lovely? They can be used against anyone, Including you.? There?s a touch of something dark in the smile that forms. ?Or. I?m certain Siobhan?s looking for you. I bet one of these would stop her rather quick.? That darkness blooms to full on malicious as he stalks closer to her. ?I would be nice to get her out of my hair for once. I should have never kept her around to keep you entertained, as she has been nothing but a thorn in my side since you two made friends.?

That had her scoffing at him. ?Leave her be. Don?t? Don?t harm Sio. She gave me so much, including opening my eyes to the fact that I didn?t deserve anything that you insisted that I did.?

There was laughter that poured out of him before he leaned down to invade her space, and press his lips against her ear. His fingers came up to cup her chin, and she fell still. ?See Doll, the lovely thing about owning your true name? There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me from actually doing it. Just keep that in mind, lovely, because I?m pretty certain I won?t hesitate if she gets in my way again.?

The fae narrowed her eyes on him, before without warning, she gave a savage growl, and jerked her head back, then forward, driving her forehead into his nose. There was a satisfying crunch of bone and cartilage, followed by a slew of curses as he stepped back from her, and his fingers moved to pinch his nose in an attempt to momentarily stem the flow of blood. ?That was very stupid.? The words are bitten. Quick like a viper, his free hand lashed out with a backhand that connected with a painful crack, and snapped her head aside with the force, and earned a yelp out of her. Almost immediately, his handprint flush bright red, proudly displaying itself across her cheek.

?You walk a dangerously thin line. You have two choices, lovely. Fight me every step, and watch everyone you care for meet an untimely demise. I?ve watched you lovely, I know who they are. Or. Or you can suck up your pride, behave, and everyone keeps on their merry ways. If they try to get in the way though I can make no guarantees.?

There?s a snarl that rolls out of her in return, angry and savage. ?Out.? The word comes hard, prickly. When he simply stared at her, she lashed out, hands flat against his chest and shoved, sending him stumbling back a few steps. ?OUT.? She was on her feet in seconds, the chain attached to her ankle clanking with the movement. She reached for the full glass of water on the small nightstand, and threw it, glass and all at him. ?I said get the Hell OUT. So get out.? She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them. ?Go. Leave me be.? Her hands found his chest again, and shoved, sending him back a few more feet, before he turned.

?Very well, Lovely. Make your choices. I?ll give you a few days to work it out. Then you tell me what you decide. Then, maybe, the fun begins, yes?? He laughed, and ducked the book that she sent whizzing his way.

?**** you, Zagan.? He had won. He knew he had won. Sain wasn?t here to rescue her, as was no one else. She had nothing to get her out of there, and all everyone knew was that she was heading home. And it made her angry. Frustrated. Desperate to do something to hurt him, something to make him feel a fraction of what she was, even if it was just pain. There?s another book that goes whizzing past him, and smacks against the wall with a resounding set. The boxed checkers set followed, just as the door slid shut behind the man, and burst open, sending black and red checker pieces everywhere.

And then she was alone.

And angry.

Such a frustrated raging angry.

Her cheek still stung, burned hot like everything else inside. She looked to the mess of checkers all over the floor, the box askew and broken at the hinges. It had felt good, throwing it, throwing the books. She didn?t hesitate. She just kind of lost herself to the frustration inside her fueled by the fact that she was trapped. The rest of the books got acquainted with the wall, as did the puzzle he had left for her. The smash and explosion of puzzle pieces against the way was wonderful. She flipped the table, threw the chairs, and jerked furiously on the chain that limited her to only going so far, to no avail. The pillows were thrown, one met the demise of being shredded until she was covered in the fluff of feather down.

She spent her energy in what was essentially a giant temper tantrum. And once she spent her energy, she collapsed on the plush bed provided for her, and let her despair at where she was stuck wash over her. It started as hiccuping sounds and tears, before developing into full blown body-shaking sobs. Once again, he had figured out some way to best her.

That was the thought that echoed through her mind, until somewhere amid her sobbing, sleep came to wash over her again, dragging her down, down, gone.

((This was written with the lovely Dull Dullahan!))

October 11th - Wednesday - Midnight

Roni was still missing. The gathering of information had failed. The compass had failed. Siobhan had failed... She led Nick via their bikes to a small motel not far from Zagan's estates to spend the night. She paid for two rooms, not removing her helmet. She didn't remove it to talk to Nick and even didn't let him touch her. No hugs, no hand holding, no kiss, no words or texts. She just wanted to be alone. Nick could do whatever he wanted with the rest of his evening but Siobhan was going to stay in. As soon as the door was shut, she removed her helmet and threw it across the room where it connected with drywall and remained stuck there for the time being. Frustrated and angry, she paced and considered smashing things in the room but she only brought so much cash with her...and it wouldn't alleviate the feelings of failure and helplessness that threatened to overwhelm the loyal dullahan...so she decided against it and simply sat at the end of the bed and put her face in her hands. Siobhan didn't bother changing out of the dress, she just tipped back onto the bed before curling up on her side. Her violet eyes glared at her reflection in the black visor of her helmet in the wall til her eyes stung and watered so that when she closed them, she could blame the tears that ran out on that.

Her dreams were always darker than her waking world and tended to be a lot more old fashioned. She didn't have her bike, she sat on a great big black horse with red eyes that gleamed with intelligence. There were five other shadowy figures that sat mounted on their own steads on the hill overlooking some vast rolling hills, a storm rolling in over head with distant thunder rumbling. At a strike of lightning, they all raced down the hill in different directions. The further away she got from the Hill and the other figures, the storm lessened and some color returned to the grass and trees...a dim and dark shade but at least they were autumn colors instead of grey tones and black. She was alone? searching for something, always seemed she was searching for something even though she had her head again.

She had smashed two chairs to bits in her anger, before she finally gave in and succumbed to sleep. It was near immediate, that she'd start searching, pushing, nudging her way through the plethora of sleeping minds, before finally....finally she located Siohan. She was sleeping, dreaming, and that meant that she could invade the woman's dreams, which was something she had never really done before. But she there now, somewhere, somewhere of muted autumn tones, and brewing storms in the distance. There were woods, grass, fields? She turned, giving her surroundings a good study for anything that would catch her attention. A single form, she was unaware that there had been others as well. "Siobhan?" She called, figuring if it was something unpleasant she could always... stop it. The dream world was and always would be her domain. It was something that couldn't be ripped from her.

The black rider, clad in armor that looked like something out a museum turned to look at her, the horse rearing up then stamping its hooves in her direction. Two of the five that she hadn't been aware of charged out of the woods, one swinging a large serrated curved blade and the other with a simple broad sword; neither had heads. Though when they got too near her, she didn't need to interfere and control the dream, Siobhan in her armor lashed out with the scythe she formed in her hands, slicing through horse and rider that caused them to vanish in a paff of smoke. The scythe remained in her hand and she gave a long stare at Roni, no hint of recognition there for a few moments. Until she blinked...then blinked again and when recognition hit her, the horse, scythe and armor all fell away to black mist and Siobhan was wearing her casual clothes; grey scarf, snug dark worn jeans and her well worn leather jacket, "Roni?"

Then there were other forms. They were storming for the forms of each other, too close to her friend for comfort. She was going to call out warning, before there was a clash of violence, then they were gone, and it was just her friend again, absent of the armour she had been wearing just moments ago. "Siobhan." She practically sobbed her name as she stepped forward, quickly to cover the space that yawned wide between the two of them. She wasn't physically there, but she was there and that was what counted. There wasn't a hesitation in her step as she scooted forward to fling herself at the woman and wrap her up in a clingy 'ohmygodImissedyou' kind of hug.

Siobhan welcomed the other fae woman into open arms readily and returned the hug fiercely. Some more color was added to the world when contact was made, making Siobhan's dream less dark and gloomy, "Roni, I'm so sorry."

She wrapped her up in her arms in kind, and pressed her face briefly against her shoulder. "I shoulda known he would still have eyes out for me here. He lied through his god damned teeth, didn't he?" She was positive that she wouldn't have to elaborate on the who. "I was ****in' stupid. I should brought you or Nick along. I-..." She paused when a hiccup of a sound worked its way out of her. "I ****ed up." Her brows drew down and there were notes of sadness on her features.

She squeezed Roni in the hug when she heard the hiccup, setting one hand to the back of her friend's dark hair to hold her head, "...A course he did...it's wha? he does, tha? weasley gash." Siobhan murmured, "...Y'did wha? y'thought was right, Roni...Y'needed t'do it alone and Nick and I respected tha?. I shoulda gone with you anyway...or tailed ya like old days."

It took everything within her not to fall apart emotionally against her friend. Instead, she pulled in a shaky breath and squeezed tighter. "Shoulda. I wouldn't of minded this time." She finally gathered enough strength to pull away from her. "I dunno where I'm at. All I know is that it ****in' sucks, and I want the hell outta this stupid little cell. I can't stop him either. He's just gonna take what he wants, and I'm going to be helpless either way." She paused, frowned. "Can you tell Nick I'm sorry? And I'll definitely pay him back for the coffee?"

She gave a soft huff of a brief laugh at her comment, "I don't think he's gunna care bout some stupid coffee, Roni." She gave a sniff and set her jaw, she would not fall apart, not when she knew Roni was in a bad situation, "...We'll find ya. We will. We haven't searched the rest of the buildings on the grounds...just the casino. Figured he showed you off before, he'd do it again. Guess not..." Siobhan sighed, "...we'll find you before he can take more from ya...we will. Y'ain't the same scared li'l brat y'were before. Give'im hell."

"I dunno. Nick is weird, he might." It was a small poke at a joke, before she attempted a faint smile. "I dunno. Maybe he has something planned. For now... I'm just here, wherever here is... And Siobhan.. I don't... If I give him hell, he'll just hurt you, and he'll just use my name against me. Easier to make it my choice, instead of letting it be his." This is spoken softly. "You can give him hell for me. Or Nick. Nick's a better choice. He can take bullets better. Especially if they're gold like Zagan's threatening."

She gave a sniff at the idea of being hurt, she hadn't felt any pain in a long time, shot stabbed or elsewise. Not physical pain anyway. Though when she mentioned bullets made of gold, she winced, "That...would be a problem." Siobhan murmured but shook her head, "But I'm not about to sit idly by when you're trapped with that ass hole again. Can't you murder him in a dream or something?"

?I wish it could be that easy, Siobhan. God, I woulda ****in? murdered him a long while ago." She growled that, before she reached up and cupped Siobhan's face. She didn't miss her reaction to the mention of the gold bullets. "If I have anything to do with it, I'll make sure that none of them find you."

She sighed, patting Roni's hands on her face, "It'll be fine...I mean...gold is a pretty soft metal, it may not even hold up in bullet form...with the force of the projectile and all? I'm sure he won't figure out a way..." She gave a faint smile, perhaps a little forced, "None of 'em'll find me cause when I get my hands on him again, after you're free, he won't have any goddamn fingers to pull a trigger with."

"If he has it constructed like I have mine for his stupid face constructed, it might. Also depends on if his bullet smith is smart enough to figure it out." She gave a sigh. "I just don't want..." She trailed off. What she implied hung heavily in the air. "All his fingers. And his favorite toy. But I could take pleasure in that, if you make it so he can't speak."

"Tongue it is." she smirked at the thought of Zagan not talking for once. "It'll take more than a lousy bullet to get rid of me. Try not to worry about it, Roni."

"I'll watch with glee if I get the chance." Simply, as she bounced on her feet a little, then swung her attention towards the Dullahan, and watched her quietly. "It's only been a couple of days, but I miss you. And Nick. And I miss Lacey, and Murphy, and I really just wanna come home." Her arms moved to wrap around herself and she seemed to almost sulk. "Gonna try, can't make any promises."

She nodded, "...We miss you too...I miss you." She sighed and looked down at the ground, "I could really use your help right now...but....it's not the time. We'll deal with that later..." She chewed at her lower lip. Nick seeing her true face bothered her. Roni accepted her because she was fae and they were best friends but Nick wasn't. She was afraid he wouldn't be there when she woke up in the morning, "...I'm going to have to head back to Rhydin, there's some sort of magic keeping us from finding you...we need stronger tools..."

"I'll be back, eventually. I'm holdin on." There was a faint smile, before she offered her hands out. "Need my help with what? What happened? I could use a little normalcy or something that doesn't involve well...this" She gestured to herself as a whole, then frowned. "Of course there's some kind of magic involved. See if maybe Antonia can help. she has resources out the ass."

"That she does...." She murmured, not completely trusting Antonia but that was just because she didn't trust anyone completely, well, other than Roni. Siobhan gave a small whine, "...lost my temper at Zagan...and Nick saw my true face..." She looked down at her feet, "I told him it wasn't good...he....hasn't mentioned anything about it. Then again, I'm not really in the mood to be terribly chatty...so I kinda pushed him away...I dunno what to do..."

She blinked a couple times at Siobhan, her brows went up a touch, before she pulled in a deep breath. "If he cares about you as much as I think he does, Siobhan, he won't let it phase him too much. Might take a moment to adjust, but I doubt seeing your true and savagely beautiful face is going to scare him away." She paused a moment, before she looked up at Siobhan, those abyssal eyes of her earnest. "But you have to take that deep breath, and take that risk. Don't push him away. Communicate what you are feeling. He does the same with you, right?" Quiet.

She gave a sniff at the word beautiful, of course she didn't believe that but Roni always did. "...I dunno..." She took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh, "...I'd rather be fighting something than dealing with this..."

"And sometimes we have to deal with things we'd rather not. When you wake up, go to him." This is murmured softly, before she leaned up and pressed a kiss against her friend's forehead. "You deserve to run towards something for once, instead of away from it." She blew out her breath in a huff, and let her eyes close. "He's in this with you." Quietly. "Don't let my trouble taint it either. We'll figure this whole thing out. I'll keep you updated as much as I can."

Siobhan gave a faint smile at Roni's words, "Oh sure, you're one to talk about runnin'..." She murmured but at least Roni had a good reason to run, she had been escaping from Zagan. Siobhan was always running to escape herself. But, she sighed and nodded a little, "Yeah...yeah alright...I uh...gotta change first...dresses suck..."

"Yeah, but I was running from something bad." She scrunched her nose and nudged Siobhan. "This is good for you." This is softly, before she smiled. Then she arched her brows in surprise. "You? Actually in a dress? ****. I missed it. Dammit. I miss all the good things." She huffs.

"I know I know..." She sighed, blowing some of her hair out of her face, "...just...still freaked out about it..." She smirked and gave Roni a push, "**** off. Yes, a dress." She shook her head then hugged Roni tight again, "...I need you back. You keep me from freakin' out too hard about this dating crap...we will find you."

There's laughter that bubbles up out of her. "Fuck yeah. I'm bummed I missed it. I bet you looked bad ass, lovely." She waggled her brows at her, then gave a soft sigh and returned the hug. Tightly, and wished it was more than just a dream. "I'll try as much as I can from here. Just remember to breathe, Nick is gonna be there for you too."

"Yeah..." She placed her hands on Roni's shoulders and gave them a squeeze, "Hang in there. We'll have ya back before y'know it. And when we do, I'll wear a dress just for ya."

There was a smile that flickered across her features. "You'll wear a dress for me and take me to dinner, right?" she arched her brows. "We'll get fancy, Send Nick pictures. Make him jealous. And I'm gonna hug the **** outta you. And never under appreciate milkshakes or coffee or anything like that. Jesus." She whined. "I don't want to wake up. I just wanna stay here. Here is better."

That brought a short laugh from her, "Fancy dinner...got it. Anything you want." She sighed, her smile not long lived at the mention of waking up, dreams always felt so much shorter than the time that actually went by, "...I know..." Siobhan murmured and leaned her forehead against Roni's, "...I'll try to get more regular sleep..." Roni knew Siobhan didn't need to sleep but sometimes it was the only way for her to cope with her thoughts and shut them off for a time.

"I... I want ****in' lobster or some ****. Because yes." She wiggled her fingers and grinned. her grin softened into a smile when Siobhan rested against her, forehead to forehead. "Good. Good. I'll look for you every night and try to find you. Just in case." She paused. "Thank you. I need a little sanity among all that madness."

"Lobster or some **** it is." A small grin but her heart was heavy, she didn't want the dream to end, she didn't like not having her best friend so close by to ease the anxiety or remind her to let down her walls sometimes. "...I'll try t'dream of things less dreary..." She would try but she had a terrible imagination.

"Hell yeah." She bobbed her head, and flashed her friend a beautiful smile and gave a content sigh for once. "And good. It's okay if you can't though. I've been in all kinds of dreams, beautiful. Used to all kinds of things."

"I know." The dream started to fade, the night had passed quickly and she was waking, "I'm sorry, Roni. Hang in there.?

"Always. I love you, Siobhan." She shaped her fingers to curl into a heart to flash her, before she was gone. She wanted more time, but as always, all good things must come to an end.

She made the heart gesture with her hands and said the same but there was no sound and soon enough, Siobhan's dream was gone completely, taking the dullahan with it.

Roni woke with tears in her eyes, and fingers stretching for the form of a friend that had only been present in her dreams. It hurt, it wasn?t enough time? She laid in bed, quiet, and craving a cigarette like crazy. Instead of getting out of bed, she sank further into bed. And stayed under the covers, dozing in and out of sleep, just? drifting aimlessly.

((Heads up. This post glances over unwanted sexual relations.))

October 18th - Wednesday - Late Afternoon.

Four days.

Four days had come to pass since she had eaten for the first time since Zagan had captured her. It had been ten since she?s been stuck in her stupid little cell, still littered with the remnants of her tantrums. It had also been four days since Zagan had molded her like putty, and used her until he had his fill. The same thing happened for the past three nights, and she was certain that it would happen for a fourth. She wasn?t looking forward to it, and no matter how many times she told herself that it was her choice, it sure didn?t feel like it.

She didn?t have the energy to drag herself out of bed to even work on her puzzle. She was just tired, so very tired. She had been hoping, praying that one of these boringly long and dreary days would be interrupted by the faces of her friends arriving in a whirlwind of chaos to rescue her. She missed Siobhan, she missed Nick, and Harold and Freddy and Antonia. She missed the office, and her shared apartment with her bestie. She missed Lacey and Murphy too. She missed living because it was the last thing she was even close to doing in this cell of a room, locked away, and forever waiting for Zagan to show up, or for a grasp of a dream, because it was some kind of contact with some other living being. She never thought she would see the day where she broke and actually looked forward to seeing Zagan, because it was something.

Her whole body hurt. Zagan hadn?t promised to be kind to her, and he was the farthest thing from it. Rough hands, slapping, grabbing, going where they pleased, without regard for her, or of the bruises that they painted in their wake. She was covered in them, bruises that were varying in stages of healing, from sickly greens and yellows, to fresh blues and purples. She relished in every one of them, because the pain meant that she was still there, still clinging on to the hope that someday it would be over. If she had been able to endure years with the man, she could make it until something happened, and she was very far away from this stupid cell, and away from Zagan?s stupid face.

It was sometime during the complete stance of doing nothing that the door slid open. Instead of her attention rolling towards the sound, it stayed fixated on the ceiling. She didn?t need to look that way to know who it was walking through the door, as Zagan had been the only one that had come to her, probably because he was worried about her finding sympathy and someone to help her like she had in the past. She never made anything easy, and Zagan had learned that the hard way over the years that she had been his.

?Come for your daily booty call?? There was snark in her words as he approached her and the bed.

Amusement danced in those near neon blue hues of his as he watched her. She didn?t move much. ?Mhh. You know crass wording makes it sound so? ridiculous. Not here for just sex today, Ronixi.?

?Oh really? Then please do, enlighten me, what the **** do you want other than sex??

?Mh. Well. One. Those lovely little bullets I mentioned do indeed, work. Bullet maker knows what he?s doing. And two, you will be attending the halloween celebration at my side, pretty and well behaved, as expected.?

?I don?t want to be your ****in? arm candy, Zagan. I?m not somethin? to be paraded around and put on display.? Finally, she seemed to deem him worthy enough to look at, because those abyssal hues shifted to his form as she lazily stretched then moved to sit up. ?What do you think people would think of you if I let them see what was behind the glamour? The bruises that stain my skin in purples and blues, sickly greens and yellows? Or the fat lip, or black eye? Or how about the fingerprints you left around my neck from squeezing so hard I worried that I wouldn?t even get out of this ****in? nightmare alive?? The tilt of her head was defiant, the irish lilt in her voice more present with her anger.

There was a twitch of anger that bled across his face, before he stepped closer to her. ?You can certainly try, now can?t you, lovely? But I guarantee that you will not be able to succeed.? He smirked and reached out to cup her cheek?.

Only to have his fingers greeted by a snarling mouth, and teeth that sank down on his hand. There was a guttural growl that tore out of him as he jerked his hand away, and snapped out with the other to deliver a crack of a blow across her cheek.

It took a moment for her head to stop spinning, before she was scrambling to her feet, and flinging herself at him before he really had the chance to respond. Her body collided with his, sending him off kilter, and sprawling, surprisingly for the ground.

?Roni-? The rest of her name was interrupted by her smashing a hand against his mouth, before her fingers wrapped around his throat, and squeezed. She was tired. So tired of him, that it felt good to fight back even if it was only going to end rather unwell for her. It felt good to do something about all the rage that was slowly building inside her.

Too bad there was such a contrasting difference between the way they were built. Roni was thin, sinewy muscle without much bulk behind it. Zagan on the other hand was built on the slimmer side of stocky with plenty of muscle and brawn. Plus he was decently taller than the fae. It wasn?t long before a hand came up to catch the wrists of the hands that were wrapped around his throat, and squeezed until her fingers let go.

?Oh, Doll.? He sighed dramatically, then shifted his body, and rolled, maneuvering himself so that he was atop her, hips straddling hips. There was a growl in protest, and thrashing of limbs and bucking of her body to no avail. His hand moved to grasp her by the chin, and he leaned down, lips brushing against hers. ?You should not have done that.? His voice rumbled with the threat of violence, and neon blue hues glimmered with the promise of it.

She merely growled at him and tried to snap viciously with teeth for his face. It was put to an end rather quickly with the back of a hand, while the other snaked up to close around her throat. Anger burned, swirled with fury in those abyssal hues of hers, even as she clawed at the hand that was wrapped around her throat, and the arm attached to it. In response his hand merely tightened its grip, and further cut off her access to air. Panic bloomed in her chest, bled across her features as she struggled against him, throat wheezing with the attempt to suck in more air.

Zagan continued to loom over her, fingers tight around her throat. He had every intention now, of teaching her a lesson of sorts so that she would think twice again before she stepped out of line again. He leaned down so his face was close to hers, which was starting to shift from pale to flushed red. ?You think you can get away with walking all over me, Lovely? Do you?? There?s a growl in his voice, especially when he continues. ?Think a-****ing-gain. How many times must I tell you that there will always be repercussions for your actions??

As he started to speak again, black stars began to dance at the edges of her vision, and slowly grew, encroaching on the rest of her sight. She was lightheaded, the world was spinning around the both of them. Her struggling was growing weaker with each hand that glanced of his arm in futile resistance. Her body wanted to run, full blown in the wind of a panic, and she struggled to fight against it, reasoning that he won?t kill her if he simply wanted to teach her another lesson. He never did, though the night that Sain had showed up, if the hunter hadn?t helped her, she probably would have been dead. He hadn?t shown restraint that night. She prayed to whatever gods there were that he did tonight.

Soon enough her struggling fell to nothing, and swirling blackness claimed her vision. It was then, that Zagan let up on his grasp of her neck, before he rocked forward, and rolled off of her and to his feet. It took a couple seconds before her body realized that it could breathe again and did so, leaving her to cough and sputter frantically as her lungs tried to suck in enough breaths to make up for the lack of oxygen it had suffered. A fettered grasp found her upper arm, and yanked her up, first so she was sitting, then to her knees, and finally, to her feet. She didn?t fight, didn?t have the energy to fight, but she did glare up at the man as she drew in ragged breaths.

?I will break you of all the unpleasant habits you?ve picked up while out from under my wing, lovely. If it?s the last thing I do.?

She stumbled as he pushed, shoved and threw her onto the bed, and she landed in a tangle of limbs. He followed in a fluid movement that had him hovering above her, and circled around her throat. What ever fight she had in her was gone, her fire replaced by compliance and submission, lest she piss the fae off even more. Even still, the hands that roam over her form were none kind, ripped cloth where it was not needed, they were rough, grabby and needy. He branded her with sharp teeth, and clawing nails.

As he continued to violate and ravish her body she wished she was elsewhere, far away from hands that sought to leave her broken, from the pain that hummed through her body with every blow or rough grasp. And then, then she found herself so blissfully numb as her body blocked all of it out and shut down to the abuse she suffered under his hands, and the repetitive press of his body against hers.

And when he had spent himself and collapsed, grunting and panting, he didn?t linger long. Just enough to catch his breath, readjust and rezip his pants, and then he was on his feet and out the door, leaving her to be swallowed up by the heavy emptiness that had settled over her as he used her body in ways that had not been her choice, and ways that she couldn?t convince herself to believe about being her choice. She stared at the ceiling for a long while, before slowly, she curled her bruised and battered form onto her side. The overwhelming fact that she was so very alone in all of this came crashing down on her, and in the silence of a pretty white little cage, a hopeless sob broke free from her throat, and then came another and another, all in a torrential onslaught brought on by an overtaxing of everything emotional she had within her.

She was stuck, trapped in an endless bleak cycle of repetitive vicious monotony. A plaything trapped and isolated while her master sought to break everything beautiful that she was within. Slowly, slowly, it was working. Her drive to fight, the fire that burned hot within her was being dulled, smothered by the lack of comfort and the maddening schedule of things that were not of her control. Everything Zagan was striving towards was going to happen.

The fae cried and screamed until her tears were long dried up, and her voice was hoarse, ground down by the desperate hope that maybe, just someone would hear her, and come to her rescue?. Too bad Zagan was smarter than that.

Eventually, broken and exhausted, sleep crept over the fae and dragged her deep under to a world of dreams she had no wish to dance among. Even in a stranger?s mind, she would not find solace tonight.