This World is Totally Fugazi - Part Two

Who: Derek, Helen, Manhattan and Geo
When: Evening (after Picking Up The Package.)
Where:: Driving through Marquette/Derek's house

Geo's feet rested on the extra-large bag of dog food tossed on the floor of Reese's truck, leaving wet footprints on the bag. The rain was still going strong, and he was drenched yet again - but that was ok, really, he had a puppy to keep him warm, and the puppy had a few other things: bowls, a bed, chew toys...

As attractive as the idea to, say, feed him Helen's shoes was, he didn't think that was a good idea. It'd give things away far too early.

The puppy - tentatively christened Fugazi - seemed quite content to sit on his lap, ears perked up as he pressed his nose to the window, leaving foggy-breath-marks on the glass. Geo grinned, ruffling the fur on the back of his neck as he looked back to Reese. "Am I gonna want to leave him in here? Would that be ok, or should he come in...?"

"There's a dog carrier behind the seats you can put him in when we get there." She told Geo. It was, after-all, how she transported the animal from the kennels to Geo's home. "He'll be fine by himself for a few minutes." Manhattan added as she slow turned around a corner onto another rain slicked street. Not that she was expecting the meeting to only last a few short minutes, but then there was no real need to pass that on to the teen. It could only lead to making the situation a difficult one.

"Alright..." He ruffled Fugazi's ears, looking into the puppy's eyes. "Y'gonna behave, right? Be a good little guy?" The dog just cocked his head before licking Geo's nose, forcing him to sit back upright, rubbing at his face with a sleeve. "Boo, you need toothpaste or a tictac or somethin'," he teased the dog (bloody hell you're talking to a dog) before he looked back at the woman. "Should I do that now or, like...wait?"

"Caging him up can wait ‘til we get there." Manhattan answered with a chuckle at the way Geo talked to the husky pup. "You got any ideas for a name yet?" She asked more as a way to keep a semblance of a conversation going and to make the time tick by quicker, then for her want to really know. The pair seemed to be getting along quite well so there was a possibility that Geo had already dubbed the pup with a name.

"Well, uhm. Fugazi," Geo said, absent-mindedly tugging at the puppy's paws and watching him nip at his fingers in response. "'s a song I like, shortens nice..." And somewhat fits this screwed up situation. He kept that thought to himself, since it was mostly the way the word sounded over its meaning. "Thought it'd be a good name for a dog."

"A unique name, I'll have to give you that." Manhattan returned. The next few moments were driven without much more being said between the two, the black truck was soon pulling off the rain slicked road onto a long drive. Nearing the end of it Manhattan killed the engine and then shifting slightly in the driver's seat she looked over toward Geo as she reached over the seat to pulled the dog carrier out from the back. "He'll only have to stay in here for a short time." Manhattan told Geo, of course the length of time Fugazi would remain in the thing would be dependent on just how long Derek was wanting to talk with the teen.

Geo gave Fugazi one last pat, scratching the puppy's ears before he eased him into the carrier. The puppy didn't protest, just turning around in a circle before curling up on its floor, nose resting on his tail. He smiled before shutting the door. "I'll be back for ya, bud, don't worry." He glanced out the window once the dog was safely put away, noting the length of the driveway with a slight edge of unease.

"...sure likes his space, huh?"

The place was more decorated then the last time Manhattan had been there, every room had furniture and there were even some paintings up (including a Carravaggio in the dining room). Manhattan would probably notice the new alarm system and that it was currently turned off (meaning none of the cameras would be recording). Derek had been waiting, trying to quell the anticipation (and impatience) with a book- but still ended up looking at his watch every five minutes.

"Suppose you could say that." Manhattan responded with a smirk. Getting out of the truck she waited for Geo to do the same before locking the vehicle up. Rain pelted down on the pair as Manhattan led the way toward the back entrance at a quick clip. It wasn't until Geo would find his way up behind her that Manhattan tried the door, and finding it unlocked, the hunter opened it wide. Taking a step to the side she motioned for Geo to enter first.

"Thanks..." Geo stepped in in front of Reese, though the part of him that wanted to be a gentleman was protesting that he should hold the door for her. The paranoid part of him was protesting even being here. He inhaled, slightly, testing the air but making sure it wasn't obvious. The house smelled new, like it really hadn't been lived in much yet. It didn't help him feel less worried.

Derek looked up from his book at the controller screen sitting on the couch next to him lit up, signaling the back door had opened. He folded his book closed and set it atop the controller, concealing it and got up. "Glad you've finally arrived." He stated as he walked to the hallway to greet the two.

"Did you think I'd miss this little get together." Manhattan smirked to Derek from where she stood a couple short feet behind Geo. as they were met in the hallway by the man. "The rain caused us to have a bit of a delay." Manhattan excused. She really didn't think the stop they had made at the store was of any real consequence. She had delivered the "package" as per their arrangement. And that really was all that mattered.

Geo couldn't hide the slightly-relieved grin as he nodded at Derek. It was the guy from the vampire mess - that made things seem a tiny bit more normal. "'s, ah, it's good t'see you made it home, sir." He'd been worried - but not as worried as, say, for himself. Or Sammy.

Derek chuckled slightly. “Yes, well I probably wouldn’t have made it without your assistance. Come on, let’s sit shall we?” He asked, gesturing to the living area. On two of the chairs there was a towel for the two to use if needed. “Can I get you something to drink?” Hospitality was a must, mustn’t scare the kid right off.

"Nothing for me." Manhattan said moving further into the living room. The hunter didn't take a seat, nor did she make use of one of the available towels. Rather, Manhattan took the moment to give the room a glancing over. This meeting was primarily for Derek and the boy. Manhattan was just the delivery girl, and back up in case things didn't seem to be going as Derek had planned.

Geo made a beeline for the towel, annoyed by the way his hair was dripping down the back of his neck. He scrubbed at the wet locks, peering out at Derek under the hem of the towel as he nodded. "Uh, coke, if y'have it? Or pepsi, whichever really..." Technically, he probably could have got away with asking for beer, but he wasn't gonna push it. Something about the way Reese kept looking around the room was making him just a tad bit more edgy...

Derek nodded. "Of course, feel free and have a seat, I'll be right back." He said stepping toward the kitchen, knocking his head slightly for Manhattan to follow. Lucky for Geo Derek did prefer Coke to Pepsi.

Manhattan didn't need any other incentive to follow Derek. "I think I will have that drink, preferably something strong." Manhattan said. And after shooting Geo a smile, and a faux one at that, the hunter tracked out of the room behind Derek toward the kitchen.

Geo watched them leave with a slight sinking of the stomach that he tried to shake off. Things...things weren't always what they seemed. There was something...not scared or lying, exactly, but still off with the way Derek's heart had sounded, vaguely...excited, or something. Maybe it was about Reese? Maybe he liked her? Geo didn't know. He peeled off his duster and flopped down on the chair, careful to fold the sopping garment so he wouldn't get the carpet soaked. He fished his cell phone out of its pocket almost as an afterthought, flipping it open and scrolling down to Sammy's new, Nana-purchased cell phone but not really doing anything with it. It was just...there. In case he needed it.

Damn, this place is nice...

Derek opened the fridge and looked at Manhattan, he spoke with his voice at a whisper so they wouldn't be overheard. "Any troubles?" He didn't know exactly what she had told him to get the kid here, and wanted to be prepared incase she promised him something, or anything like that.

"Surprisingly, no." Manhattan answered in a lowered voice while leaning back against the counter as her gaze shifted to Derek. "Thought there might be, but the kid didn't seem any where near hesitant on coming with me. Must of been my charming personality that won him over." She smirked. It had surprised her to an extent that Geo had offered up no real resistance to taking a ride with her. He was after all Helen's brother, and Manhattan had been quite certain that the other woman would have warned him away from having any contact with her, but that obviously hadn't been the case.

Derek nodded. "I'm glad. What do I call you by the way. I know you didn't give him your real name." He set the can of soda on the counter a little louder than normal to cover his speech and pulled a glass from one of the cabinets.

"Reese. Told him I was a detective with Marquette's finest. Detective Reese Jackson." Manhattan informed Derek as she flipped the kitchen faucet on, letting the sound of running water drown out the low tone of her voice. And the hunter had to smirk at the amusing thought that crossed her mind. It might be on the amusing side now, but if the real Reese ever learned that she had used his name while "posing" as an officer of the law. Well, that thought didn't quite paint the prettiest of pictures. "Got another one of those?" A nod given to the glass Derek had removed from the cabinet. Might as well make it seem like the water had been turned on for an actual purpose. That was if the kid had quite the keen sense of hearing.

All he could hear from the kitchen was a murmur of voices; by the time he'd really tuned in that murmur was drowned out by the sound of a can - and then running water. He paced the opposite direction, glancing out the window every now and then. Relax, if you look nervous then they'll know something is up. And you don't even know there is something up. Really. Just calm...

Derek handed her a glass and opened the can, pouring the liquid inside the glass on the counter. “So, Detective Reese…” It was a little hard to say that with a straight face. “Now that that’s clear, let’s not keep our guest waiting.” He said, picking up the glass and moving back into the living area. “Here you are… oh you know, I just realized we skipped the introductions.” Derek passed him the glass of coke.

Manhattan tracked Derek back into the living room taking a couple sips of her water on the way in. And as she was pretty much a second party in all this, Manhattan distracted herself slightly from the conversation Derek seemed to be initiating with Geo by appearing to be browsing the books that lined one shelf at the far wall.
"Did we?" Geo answered back cautiously, pacing back to meet the returning humans.

"Must've been too busy with the whole, yanno...bloodthirsty maniacs thing. Heh." He took the glass with a nod of thanks, rubbing his fingers on the edge of the glass. Wish he'd just brought it in a can. he thought, stalling. As it was, he couldn't smell anything off, but coke was a strange smelling concoction at the best of times. But then, looking around the house, who knew? Maybe he's just too classy for a can. He took one last sniff before taking a sip, swallowing. "'m George, most people call me Geo." Hopefully that'd be enough....

Derek gestured to one of the seats and stepped back and sat on his original position on the couch- he knew Manhattan… or ‘Reese’ wouldn’t sit. “Nice to meet you, Geo. My name is Andrew, but friends… and people who save my life call me Drew.” It was his middle name, and something Manhattan had most likely heard him use before when he didn’t want to reveal who he was to someone.

"Drew..." The name seemed normal enough, but something about him still didn't seem like a Drew. Somehow. Geo gulped down another mouthful, trying not to seem antsy when, really, he was about to jump out of his skin. He stared down at the dark liquid in his glass before looking back at the man, squinting. "s'how y'been? Keepin' yourself alive, I see..." Awkward, yeah, but so was this whole situation.

He nodded. "Yes, I have." Derek was tired of small talk. He was a patient man when he wasn't standing right before a catch. "I don't know if Detective Reese told you why I was looking for you, but I wanted to find you to thank you." He said as he sat down. "I have a feeling that if it hadn't been for your fortunate passing by, I wouldn't be here today."

Hannah had finally found Derek's fucking mirror-- and not a moment too soon, either, because she was getting sick of those asshole spirit-things stalking her. Just sick of them.

But the escape into the familiar and quiet house was just what she needed. Phasing out of visibility, tangibility, anything other than pure spirit, she had started exploring. The house wasn't fully furnished yet, though it was obviously getting there. The room "her" mirror had been in was one of the emptier ones. Even without feeling "complete", though, the house was gorgeous. Huge, certainly, with lots of windows and fancy fireplaces and two kitchens. Who the fuck needed two kitchens?

She was about to head back to the mirror-- she'd spotted Derek earlier, reading in the living room, and had since been careful to avoid him, moving like a ghost through the otherwise empty house-- when she caught the sound of voices downstairs. She couldn't make out who they were, but she was curious, nosy, and completely undetectable unless one could sense auras or some shit like that, so she started down the stairs to investigate. Living room again-- Derek had visitors.

Geo squirmed ever-so-slightly, feeling his ears flush pink. "I, uh." he paused for a second to clear his throat. "I thought we talked about this? Like...the night it all went down..." He glanced down at his coke, staring at his reflection. Hell, he looked like a mess, between the eye patch and the short layer of morning-stubble, hair still damp and spiky. He spoke, still staring at his drink.

"I'd've prolly died if your car hadn't been there." Or wound up fighting more than I could handle and having to switch in practically-public... He blinked and looked away from his reflection when he saw his pupil widening, his eye going darker with the memories. "So we're even. Remember?"

In all actuality Manhattan had said very little to Geo about the person who had requested a meeting with the teen. Not that he seemed all that curious about who he was being taken to see.

"I do believe you've gone and embarrassed the boy, Drew." Manhattan smirked letting her attention wander back to the conversation going on between Derek and Geo. The flustered she caught on his face, along with the slight color shading his cheeks, was found to be a bit amusing to the hunter.

“Perhaps we did.” Derek replied to Geo, casting a sideways glance at Manhattan. “But that was before I found out that the men who attacked me weren’t just kids on drugs like everyone was saying.” He said, his tone that of a skeptic who had just been shown the light. “They were… vampires.” His voice dropped to a bit of a whisper on the last word as if speaking it aloud would bring them back.

And another tears the curtain between fiction and reality... Something about Drew's voice didn't sound as awed (or scared) by it as he should have been. Maybe he was just a cool-as-ice type; or maybe there was something more at work here. Either way, Geo just shrugged noncommittally.

"Yeah, I figured you'd be too smart for the drugs story to last very long, b'tween the fangs and the only comin' out at night..." He blinked, shaking his head for a second. "What clued you in?"

“What you said.” Derek replied. “The fangs, the night attacks only, the fact that one managed to be in front of my car one moment and behind it the next.” He ran a hand through his hair, let’s see the kid jump. “There is one thing I haven’t been able to figure out about that night though…”

"Oh?" Geo felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, felt his shoulders tense ever so slightly. It was taking a considerable amount of effort not to freak out now. "There's been some stuff I can't figure out too, so, nothing odd there. It was just a weird...weird night." He had to force himself not to dig out the lying pendant - that would just make matters worse.

“Yea… I guess it was.” He said, seemingly defeated from that thought for a moment. “But…” Derek leaned forward again. “See, when I got back to my hotel…” He spoke with long pauses to watch Geo squirm in. “I couldn’t help but notice… the inside of the passenger door was…” Derek shook his head slightly. “I don’t know how else to put it. It was all scratched up. Almost like an animal had been caught inside and wanted out.”

Listening to what Derek was saying Manhattan give a brief glance between the two as steps were taken to bring her closer to the pair, then still in silence with dark eyes drifting to fall on Geo, Manhattan settled herself on the arm of the couch Derek had planted himself on. So far things had been going smoothly, though with the path Derek was taking the conversation down that might soon be changing.

Aw, no, great. Just great. Good going, George, can't keep your claws off things. Geo looked from Drew to Reese with a look that he struggled to keep innocent. "I. Uh. I had a knife. I-it was a nervous reaction. I didn't mean to screw up your car, I mean..." He set the coke glass down before the liquid inside, sloshing around, could give away the fact that his hands had started twitching. "The rental place didn't pitch a fit, did it?" Something told him they wouldn't be as nice about the wereraven bit as Syn or Peyton or that demon guy had been. "'cuz, uh, I can p-pay the difference if they did..."

Hannah circled the little party in the living room curiously, looking at each face in turn. Derek she knew, Derek she had expected, but she couldn't guess that the hell he was getting at with this line of questioning-- and she was sure he was getting at something.

Manhattan she also knew, and she had to wonder how she and Derek knew each other, and what she was doing here-- why she was hanging out there watching like kind of f*cking hired muscle. The tall, dark-haired boy, though... him she didn't know, and it seemed like he was the reason Derek and Manhattan were even there, from the way the two older people were focused on him. What the h*ll was going on, here? She paced around between Manhattan and Derek, waiting to find out.

“A knife?” Derek glanced at Manhattan, -that- was believable. But Derek continued the charade and sighed, defeated like he had gotten excited about the idea of there being something other than vampires out there. He’d played the curious recent-believer before and had gotten pretty good at the part. “Oh. Hmmm. It didn’t look like a knife.” He said, with a naïve thoughtful tone. “Looked like… an animal or something. But if it was only a knife…” Ok so sure, he didn’t expect the kid to just come out and say it, but Derek hadn’t expected him to cop to the damage in the first place.

Geo clasped his hands together, curling his fingers together as he shrugged. "I mean. yeah, a knife, wasn't like I had anything in there with me, didn't have a dog yet, what did you expe..." He trailed off and blinked, trying to look incredulous, though with the way he felt right now, the success of the attempt was up in the air. "Unless you think I did it, I mean. Look at me." He spread his arms wide, eye wide and innocent as well. "I don't have claws."

Derek laughed and shook his head. "Of course not." He said as if brushing off the idea completely. "God, it's so silly of me... I guess with the vampires and what not I thought... maybe I hoped..." Derek looked over at Manhattan, of course the kid wouldn't confess... he was a bad liar though. Guess it was time to try and force a change. Taking in a deep breath he gave a small nod to Manhattan, it was time to step things up and he was giving her free range to do so.

"Now George." Manhattan gave a mock sigh of frustration as she slid off the arm of the couch she had been perched on. "I've seen what was done to Drew's car, and I have to tell you the damage was in no way done with a knife of any kind." Manhattan fed the teen a little bit of bull as she hadn't actually seen what had been done, she was just taking the second hand info she got from Derek. And from what he claimed to have seen that night, well, Manhattan was going with the man's word as he wasn't unfamiliar with things supernatural.

"You're among friends here," reaching the chair the boy sat on Manhattan knelt down in front of the kid, "nothing you tell us will go beyond these four walls." She was hoping a little bit of encouragement would get the kid to open up a bit more with them. Manhattan was really not wanting to use a more severe way of persuasion to get the information Derek wanted out of the boy, but she would if it came to that.

Why did it matter? What did they care? Neither of them smelled like anything other than human, purely human pheromones and reactions and everything else, though he could hear Drew's heartbeat. He was excited. It was worrying, almost as frightening as the vampires had been that first night when he'd dropped him off near Peyton's...

But that thought process made him stop. Stop and think. Peyton hadn't completely flipped out when he'd told her; neither had the demon (though that thought was less reassuring). Maybe...maybe Drew was just interested in the idea of something else?

He looked from the man back to Reese, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, almost drowning out the sounds of their heartbeats. He swallowed hard - if he was wrong, it would open a whole new can of worms - and spoke quietly. He didn't have to fake the fear, but he threw a sliver of trust into his tone - trust that really wasn't there. "P-promise?"

Derek’s anticipation grew, but he managed to keep the level of it off his face. He maintained the act of someone who was new to this whole thing, getting another glimpse ‘behind the curtain’. “Promise.” He said, in an unwavering tone.

"Promise." Manhattan casting a glance over her shoulder to Drew before looking back to Geo with a faux smile of reassurance. Looked like things weren't going to head down that "getting physical" road of pain Manhattan was half anticipating they would.

Hannah was definitely interested, now. She looked from face to face with both curiosity and worry-- the kid had a secret. Obviously. And they were about to get it out of him-- quite possibly that he was a lycanthrope or shape-shifting demon of some sort. Probably not the latter, if he was rescuing people from the Acherus. Even better, they were actively trying to get it out of him, specifically. Something was going on here, and Hannah was tensed and ready to act.

"I'm a lycanthrope." Geo blurted, eyes flickering from one face to the other, pushing himself back in the chair just a bit further. "Uhm. Wereraven. What…what you saw was battle form. You...uh. You weren't even supposed to see that." He looked sideways at the floor, hands tugging at the duster's cuffs nervously. "I was freaked; I just...I got sloppy."

It was easier to hide fear when you were already pretending to be scared; or maybe it was the opposite. Maybe it was easier to pretend to be afraid when you really were. Either way, he was relying on the fear to be a smokescreen for the fact that, while he was scared, he was also thinking a mile a minute. "You're not, I mean..." He looked up at Reese through his eyelashes, head still bowed. "I'm...I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Well. I don't know George." Manhattan said to him as she lifted back up to stand. "You did cause a bit of damage to private property. I think though, that it's up to Drew here as to what kind of restitution he may want to collect from you." A glance was then flashed back toward Derek to see just how he might want to proceed with things.

Derek looked at Manhattan, would the kid go for it? "I did have to pay the rental car to replace the inside of the door." He said, which was true. Would the kid bargain?

Jesus, what kind of creeps were these? Hannah had heard talk like this before, and it usually boded no good. She tucked her hands into the waistband of her pants and into her jacket, intangible and invisible, to pull out a knife and her pistol. Just in case....

Geo's nails were lengthening; he could feel it in his clenched fists; the same talons that had technically started this mess. He willed them away furiously, not liking the sound of restitution...really not liking the way Drew and Reese were exchanging looks. He sank lower in his seat, swallowing again.

"I, uh. I already o-offered to p-pay for the door, I d-don't know what else I c-could do, 'less you wanted me t', like," One loose hand flopped down to hook into the sleeve of duster. It was still damp, but he wanted it on, in case he needed - like it was looking more and more likely he would - to run. "Write a letter to the company...or somethin'?"

Let's see how well this act could play up. "No, no..." Derek shook his head and seemed to fight to find the right words. "Since that night and I found out that there's more to this world than, ya know... I thought. I-i became intrigued." Derek bit his lip slightly. "And then I saw the car and, I mean... if there's bad things- like vampires, then maybe there's good things too... right? And what with you saving my life and everything." He sighed and looked to the floor, looking a bit embarrassed. "I was hoping you were special. And now that I know you are... I was wondering." He ran his hand over his neck. "Can I see?" Derek raised his head slowly, an eager questioning look on his face- god he should have been an actor... well depending on how convincing he was.

Just like his fright could be used as a smokescreen, so - Geo was realizing - could Drew's excitement. He was admitting he was excited, all the physical cues were there, and Geo had no way of knowing if his excitement was the same as Peyton's, or something...darker. Something more sinister. But at least Reese had backed off a bit.

"You want to see?" Geo stalled for time, pretending to be thinking it over. "I dunno, I mean...I can't talk in that form...."

Derek nodded. "You don't have to stay for long." After all it'll be over soon anyhow. "I'm just really curious. You're special, and I'm just a normal person so I've never seen a ly-cane-throp." He replied. "But you don't have to if you feel uncomfortable." If he pushed the kid to hard it would spook him, he had to make the kid think he had a choice in the matter.

"Curious." Geo tilted his head, unconsciously already mimicking a bird. He could deal with curious. He knew what that was like...his eye flickered to Reese. "You had her find me 'cuz you were...curious? He jerked his jacket the rest of the way on, sitting up just a little straighter. "You'll, uh, forgive...I mean, I'm sorry if I'm being paranoid or whatever, but that doesn't..." he shrugged again, looking back at Drew, listening for changes. “That doesn't entirely seem...right."

"No." Derek corrected. "I asked her to find you to thank you again for saving me and because of the strange damage to the rental car. -Now- you have me curious." Ok so maybe this wouldn't go off as well as it had looked like it was going to.

"George, Drew here is like a dog with a bone," Manhattan started after Derek spoke, "once he gets his teeth into something it's really close near impossible to get him to let go. A little showing here will satiate his curiosity. We'll all be a bunch of happy campers then, and you could take your leave then if you should so choose." She told him in partial truth. Derek would be a happy boy to have been able to witness the transformation, though Geo being allowed to leave, well, that was still debatable.

"It's not that simple, George." Manhattan spoke while sidling up beside the now standing Geo. "Drew has this odd little quirk where when he wants something, well, he generally gets it. So," her hands moved slowly to the teen's shoulders, gentle massaging them as she leaned slightly inward to speak low into his ear," why not accommodate the man. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can leave." Manhattan casting a glance over to Derek.

The touch was enough to make every muscle in his body tense up, dark eye drifting closed as he felt another tremor pass through his hands. Her words sounded like a barely-hidden threat, and her proximity wasn't welcome in the least, and he wasn't surprised when, following her sentence breathed in his ear, he felt the change slide over him like a second, inky-black skin.

He let out a yelp of pain that turned into a squawk halfway out, talons piercing the constricting arms of his duster, tearing through to free his feathery wings. Damnit. Now he was going to have to fix the garment... the shirt was less worrisome, more stretchy, but the shoes were a complete loss, his feet the wrong shape and his talons too sharp for the battered leather to survive. And his pants, now, were just frickin' uncomfortable, but there was no way he was going to shred those.

He took an unsteady step forward to orient himself at his new height - shaking his head-feathers free of the duster's collar - and narrowed his good eye just slightly at Derek, his scaled hands spread in a "What now?" stance.

Well, fuck me, Hannah thought, somewhere between grim and a little awed. She'd seen pictures of wereraven battle forms, but she'd never actually seen one in person, standing in front of her, not in her whole long life. There was little call to hunt wereravens, not for someone like her who only dealt in troublemakers. It looked pretty damn cool, though, and she was glad she'd gotten to before she died for good, whenever that might be. But the fact that Manhattan and Derek had forced it on him, pretty much, still sat wrong with her.

She hovered close behind Manhattan, tense and waiting for something, anything, to happen.

Derek's eyes hid no astonishment. It was a marvelous creature, almost a pity that it had to die- but it would be a great addition to his collection. "Well, well -detective Reese-, what do you make of that?" Derek asked. "Amazing, simply amazing." His eyes flashed over to Manhattan as a smile crept to his lips. "What do you think?"

"I think you’re lucky he didn't turn into Big Bird, the whole yellow scheme would just clash with the room." Manhattan said to Derek, though she kept her eyes on the wereraven. She had heard about them, but had never actually seen one, much less witness its transformation from human form to the birdlike one that Geo had just shifted into. Though slightly awed by it all, Manhattan slid a hand beneath her leather jacket to where her glock was holstered. Only then did the hunter direct a brief glance over to Derek.

Derek laughed. “I’m amazed, simply amazed. That was the most amazingly freakish thing I’ve ever seen.” He said, regarding the half-bird. “Yes, I think it’ll work just fine.” He looked past the creature to Manhattan. “Just try not to cut it up too badly, I think I want it stuffed and mounted.”

"Sorry kid, nothing personal." A couple steps were taken backward to give Manhattan a better line of fire as the glock was eased from its holster and directly trained at the giant bird's forehead. A shot directly through the head should do the trick. Any visible damage, in Manhattan's mind, could quite easily be patched up nicely before the creature was stuffed and set up for display.

Derek's comment was enough for Hannah-- Manhattan's pulling the gun was the nail in the coffin of her non-involvement. She went physical, and visible, in a shower of ash and went for Manhattan's gun-arm all in one instant, grabbing her at the wrist and yanking the weapon to the side. For a little thing, she was surprisingly strong, and she had the element of surprise on her side. "Run, kid!" she hollered.

Alright, never mind, forget not looking threatening, how about trying to not look dead. Geo let out a low, keening whine the moment he realized the ceiling was too low to fly - but then, he thought frantically, throwing himself the opposite direction than the suddenly-appearing-girl had trained the gun, wasn't flying, wasn't this shape what was getting him in murdered in the first place?

He focused on shifting back mid-dive, feeling his body and bones compact into something more solid, more Geo and less bird-thing. He had no belief, now, that Drew wouldn't want him re-captured and killed, but it would have to be in that order. That should keep Reese from shooting him in the back if the girl didn't get the gun away: there wasn't really anything interesting about having a dead boy in your house - any two-bit gangster could have that - and and and...

Less thinking, more escaping!

He landed hard, but rolled upright with grace born of desperation, skidding off down the hall in his bare feet, tattered duster flapping behind him, breath and heartbeat ragged in his throat.

Nonononono! “You!” Derek’s eyes focused on the intruder, he recognized her right off- it was the girl from the antiques store. Then he saw his prize shift back. “No...” he growled under his breath as he got off the couch and rushed at the magical appearing girl to free up Manhattan.

Manhattan's finger pressed on the trigger, but instead of hitting her mark she suddenly found her arm thrust to one side, her momentum thrown off as the bullet left the chamber and embedded itself into a wall. "You!" She growled the instant those dark eyes landed on the interferer. Manhattan didn't have time to say more or inflict any bodily harm on the girl. No sooner had Geo fled the room, the teen now back in human form, then Derek made a rush for Hannah. This gave the hunter the opportunity to go after the kid, hopefully she'd be able to catch him before he fled the house. Once she caught him she'd come back with Geo in tow and then deal with the little blonde biotch.

Hannah had just enough time to blow Derek a kiss before he was charging for her. She fired off a shot in his general direction from her own pistol, not aimed to hit but aimed to startle and make him think she was firing at him. Then she was off like a rabbit, still brandishing the gun threateningly even as she ducked around Manhattan, trying to trip her up and keep the much taller woman between herself and Derek. She had been doing this sort of thing a lot longer than either of them, and group fights were her favorite. They felt more alive than anything else.

Geo didn't look back, arms flailing as he skidded his uncertain way down the hall. He paused for a moment at the sound of gunshots - then shook his head to himself. The heck do you think you can do, the only advantage you have is the one that'll get you a bullet in the brain. Thanks, but no thanks. And then he was off again. Why did Derek have to have such a big house?

The gunshot made Derek duck and before he realized that it had been shot -past- him the girl was gone. Cursing under his breath he took off after her- this was -not- how things were supposed to have gone. How the hell had she gotten into the house?

Manhattan moved at a quick clip down the hall once she had gotten herself out of the living room where she had left Derek hopefully to deal with the female intruder. Damn biotch was going to pay for her interference once Manhattan had Geo once more within her grasp. She also damned Derek for his choice in living quarters, if his place wasn't so large she'd have an easier time tracking and locating the kid. Each and every room needed to be checked as he could be hiding anywhere. Manhattan didn't think he'd manage to make his way to the kitchen and make his escape.

Slowly easing open yet another door Manhattan flicked on the light as a couple cautious steps were taken into the room. Her glock clenched tight within her hand which was lowered by her side.

Unfortunately for Manhattan, she wasn't getting a lot of privacy to do her stalking: Hannah was dogging her steps, and while Manhattan had longer legs, Hannah was still pretty damn quick. And Hannah was being noisy about it, tromping loudly with big heavy boots and banging on the wall with her pistol. Gotta give the raven-kid, Geo, plenty of warning that Manhattan was coming. She wasn't too worried about herself; people like this she was sure she could handle.

Geo had spun 'round another doorway - only to make a noise that was part whine, part growl and part sob when the doorway seemed to lead to a flight of stairs - not, as hoped - the way out. He started to backpedal, but the sound of footsteps - two pair, freakin' loud, and two heartbeats - drove him further into the room - before he paused. Maybe he could get lucky. If not? Well, Reese was gonna have a hell of a time trying to get him back to battle form.

He slipped behind the door, hand resting on the doorknob, forehead pressed to the wood as he waited for the footsteps to be right at the door. And still he waited, counting heartbeats for something to occupy his mind. Reese stepped through the door - he could smell her; the human part wasn't bad, but the mood-scents that clearly broadcast hunting and annoyed were freakin' strong. The light flashed on - and he drove his shoulder into the door, hopefully knocking his stalker back. He followed up with a wild, amateur left hook, putting all his strength into the desperate blow.

That had taken the hunter quite by surprise, the door slamming back into her, making her stumble back a couple steps. And then that left hook that seemed to come out of nowhere, catching her on the jaw, sending her back a couple more feet to slam into the wall. Manhattan hadn't expected Geo to become such an aggressor. In her opinion she didn't think he had that much inside him. The left hook to the jaw and her head smacking into the wall had the hunter spiraling momentarily into a pool of darkness. Her body going limp as she slumped to the floor.

Hannah, coming around the corner behind where Manhattan had been standing, saw her crumple and broke into a pleased grin. She even paused long enough to applaud a little-- hand to gun barrel in a parody of a golf clap-- then point in the direction of the nearest exit. She, after all, had explored the place rather more thoroughly than he had. "That way," she whispered, and then she went in the other direction entirely, still banging on the wall with the end of her gun. She'd be decoy, and he'd get away. If he didn't get the picture, she was gonna be really fucking disappointed in him.

Geo just stood staring for the briefest fraction of a second, staring down at Reese's unconscious form. Had that actually worked? Then the other heartbeat and clapping reminded him that he couldn't dawdle. He nodded once at the mysterious appearing girl with a half-handed salute, bent and grabbed Reese's ankles, and dragged her into the room.

He shut the door as he backed out, then sprinted down the hall, not bothering to stop before he hit the door, barreling it open and bursting out of the house. It was still raining. Somehow, that was fitting.

Derek rounded into the hallway and saw the Hannah girl. "You... you ruined everything." He said angrily, wishing he knew if Manhattan caught the kid yet. Derek rushed the girl, swinging. He'd learned how to fight in school, having been pushed onto the boxing team by his dad for a couple years before his first concussion and his mother forced his dad to pull him out. His dad had also told him never to hit a girl... in this instance though, I think he would approve.

Oh, it would've been a nice hit. A great one, probably one to fell her, and she didn't even really have time to dodge. But Hannah cheated. Her form fell away like ash on an invisible wind, the last thing to go a cocky grin on her face as he stumbled through where she had been. "Nice right hook," her disembodied voice said. "Next time, dude, go get yourself a fucking picture and stick to that, huh?"

“Bitch.” Derek said between clenched teeth. “Ya better watch your back.” He said, looking around for her but knowing it was probably futile. “I’ll have every hunter I can looking for you. You won’t be able to hide for long.” He promised.

"I'm not scared of you," Hannah laughed, her voice drifting back down the hall, towards that lovely mirror of his. "Or your hunters. And most of them already know exactly who I am...." And most of the ones who did knew better than to try and kill her. It wouldn't do them any good, after all... there were no trophies to bring home, and she'd just be back to do the same to them after she came back.

"Good then, it'll be easier for them to find you then." He responded, huffing at her fading voice. Where the hell was Manhattan?