Carpe Noctum

there's no place to escape from this rusty chain;
the more you fight the ticking of the clock's hand, the harder the struggle gets.
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It had been a treacherous few months. She was tired and had a pounding headache. But she couldn't sleep - not yet. Not when she was so damn close. It was only a few more steps, she told herself. Another three blocks, and she would be back at Midnight Magazine. Her tense shoulders relaxed just a little when she realized this, and a small smile made its way onto her lips. Just a little bit more and she would feel completely and totally accomplished.

"Don't give up," she cheered to herself, giving a pointed glare towards her sluggishly moving feet. "We just have to get to the office, then you can rest. I promise." Jeez. Talking to body parts. If Gemma could see her now! The blonde would probably sigh or facepalm - or both - and tell Rena that her feet couldn't hear her, nor could her hands, or her nose, or any other bodily appendage. Of course, Rena knew that perfectly well, but she felt like it needed to be said out loud to keep her pace. After all, she could practically smell the newspaper ink now.

Miss Faires had not been seen in nearly two months. The last time anyone had a glimpse of her was during the Christmas Party for Midnight Magazine employees. No, wait. That wasn't technically the last, (although the last anyone from her group of friends and co-workers saw her). The very last time anyone saw anything of Rena was when she said goodnight to Gemma the night before she snuck out of their shared apartment. She left a very long and detailed note about where she was going, ("I don't know where I'll be exactly. Hopefully somewhere warm. Like Hawaii! Wouldn't that be fun? Journalism in Hawaii! Maybe I'll learn to surf! Don't worry, I'll come back and teach you, too, Gemma! We can be surfing buddies!") and how long she'd be away, ("I could be gone for just a week or two, but if this takes longer, I'll make sure to call you! If I'm not back by your birthday, I'll make sure to send a present! And if I miss Fourth of July with you this year, I'll go find some fireworks to shoot towards the sky in town! They'll spell out 'Happy 4th, Gemma!~'. Then everyone will be envious 'cause you'll have fireworks dedicated to yourself! Won't that be awesome? I don't think I'll still be gone by Christmas, but you'll have to send me a list of stuff you want so I can get something for you! Maybe a souvenir snow globe? One from Hawaii, with a beach snowman!") on the fridge, her friend's favourite place in the entire house, so that Gemma wouldn't worry about her all that much. As much as she wanted to say good-bye in person, the Asian-decent knew very well that her friend wouldn't allow her to spend god-knew-how-long out on her own, looking for god-knows-what -- of which, had a very real possibility of being dangerous. Rena was, in every sense of the phrase, lacking common sense when it came to every day things, so how she had managed to stay alive during her bout of investigative journalism baffled even herself... She hadn't gotten murdered by some angry cult leader or beaten up by a scary-looking crook. Shockingly, she hadn't gotten hit by a car when she ran into the streets without looking, either, (on multiple occasions, mind you. Luck must've been on her side! Like any good two year old, she understood that looking both ways was a must, but when she got distracted by a new lead - or perhaps a shiny piece of paper on the other side of the road - she tended to forget the rules that had been pounded into her brain since birth). But the kicker out of the entire adventure, if one could even call it that, was that she had even gotten out of Carpe Noctum without someone catching and (or) dragging her back home. In fact, after she was out of city limits, the werewolf had been very proud of herself. She set out on her journey, head held high and ego inflated, to find answers to the current issues in town - nothing but a tape recorder, a note pad, and a tiny list of sources in her bag. Oh, and an extra set of underwear.

Rena began sniffing around locally, (forgive the pun) for information. Like any good reporter, (really, it was the only thing she was especially talented in. She took the job very seriously and strove for excellence with every story) she asked questions that were direct enough not to be misinterpreted, but vague enough that no one would know exactly what she was up to. Her first lead turned out to be a dud, which she had sort of expected but was thoroughly disappointed in nonetheless. She expanded her radius a little further and asked a new round of people - humans, werewolves, and vampires alike - if they knew anything about anything. When that turned up with squat, she began to panic. Was this investigation over before it started? Frantically, she came up with a new set of questions to ask nearly everyone she came in contact with that could've provided some sort of information. Further and further away from the city she traveled, looking for something. Her strong legs, the only means of transportation she owned, brought her from town to town and eventually, state to state.

Thankfully the timber wolf had a thick, warm fur coat to insulate her at night, (and had remembered a set of hats, gloves, and a scarf to shield her when she was in human form) since her trail brought her all the way North to the harsh Illinois winter. It was the middle of January by the time she arrived in the big city of Chicago. The place was seriously the largest town Rena had ever been in, and it took a few days to adjust to the constant traffic and loud noises, (naturally, with this sort of story, she was a touch jumpy and all the people around didn't help that). What took her no time flat, though, was the realization that there was a large pack of werewolves that ran the southern part of the city and a large group of vampires that ran the northern half. While she had originally planned to find someone to take her to the Alphas of the city so she could ask permission to be there, Rena very nearly turned around and ran the hell out of there after being in city limits for only a few hours.

"Well, well, well. I thought I smelled a lost little mutt." A voice taunted from behind her crouched form. Rena had been scribbling down a few notes on the side of the street, but the familiar tone made her whip around and give out a horrified gasp.

"Kaguya! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. I thought I got rid of you in that pathetic excuse for a town last year."

Kaguya Fuurde was her older sister and a royal bitch. The two of them never got along, but Kaguya became particularly nasty towards Rena after they were both turned into werewolves, (that accident being the younger sister's fault).

"Don't worry, I'm not staying. Especially if you're ugly face is going to be here!" She stood and jabbed a finger at her sister, until Kaguya whacked the hand away. Two other wolves, a blonde woman and a dark haired male appeared behind the taller sister. The tension rose and since they were on the street, a few concerned citizens stopped to ask what was wrong. Kaguya sneered and the two other wolves "gently coaxed" the humans to continue on their way.

"I suggest you get out before the night is over, little sis. I don't what you stinking up Chicago."

Then they were gone, and she was shaken, but she wasn't about to let her sister win. So she stayed.

The Alphas were on top of things here, it seemed; it turns out that they were immediately aware of her presence in the city, (Rena guessed that's why Kaguya was able to find her so quickly). They sent two brothers to pick her up, (well, technically one, but the other tagged along, being curious and all) the day after she arrived. Rena had been taking a light nap at the enterance to an alleyway - the only place she could sit or lay down without getting stepped on - when they found her. She hadn't showered since she scraped together her money to rent a motel room a few weeks ago and there were obvious signs of her trek since then; dirt was smudged on her face and her hair was frizzy, having not been brushed in a while. The few outfits she had stuck in her bag were all worn and some pieces were torn. To any passerby-er, it probably looked like she was recently homeless, or something to that effect.

"Dude, you think she's dead?"

"How should I know? She doesn't smell dead."

"Go poke her."

"No way, dude! You're the one that's supposed to bring her to Will and Merry!"

"Dude, you're such a baby!"

"Dude, am not!"

"Then go see if she wakes up!"

Their bickering had successfully awoken Rena; she groaned and flipped over, whining, "So looooooud!" The two brothers exchanged looks while the girl rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and sat up. It took her a moment before coming to the conclusion that one of the pair was higher ranking than she was, and the other was about the equivalent of a Free Wolf. She scrambled to her feet and gave an awkward curtsy, (why a curtsy, she wasn't sure. It was just the first thing that came to her mind).

"Woah, woah, woah. What're you doing?"

"U-Uh, I'm Rena!" she explained, her head down and face flushed. Again the brother's exchanged looks, and the younger pushed the older more towards their new acquaintance. The darker haired brother glared over his shoulder, but then motioned for Rena to relax.

"Right. Nice to meet you, Rena. I'm Allen, and this douche is Chris." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the brother, who waved cheerfully at her. All three wolves paused to give each other the once-over, (or rather, Allen and Chris to Rena, and Rena to the brothers; they didn't need to check each other out. Gross). Rena wasn't surprised to see both of them towered over her significantly -- they were both easily around six feet, if not more. The two brothers were also clearly of Eastern decent, like herself, and had a unique, (but flippin' great) sense of style. Needless to say, she was a little intimidated. "We're here to take you to the King and Queen."

Scratch that. The brothers didn't intimidate her. Kings and Queens did.

"W-What? Chicago has a King and Queen? And they want to see me?" She bit her lip, concerned about what was going to happen to her. Was she trespassing on holy land? Was she going to get punished? Tortured? Beheaded!?

Allen gave her an incredulous look, as if he had read her mind. "Uh, yeah. King and Queen - you know, 'Alphas' and whatever. They want to make sure you're not here to cause trouble." Oh, well. That made more sense!

"Oh! Okay! That's really helpful, 'cause I didn't even know where to begin to look for them! I was afraid they'd be mad if I didn't come say hi, or anything."

The two brothers laughed, and Chris shook his head. Allen waved a hand towards Rena's bag and gave her a large smile. "Okay, well, grab your stuff and you can go say 'hi' in person."

"And you thought she was dead."

"Dude, shut up!"

And so, Rena was lead through the city by the two stylish dudes known as Chris and Allen Hyun. They were really funny, she decided quickly, and she liked them both a lot. They sort of reminded her of more wound-up versions of Alex and Brody, (the thought of her good friends made her a little homesick, but she pressed on). They told her a little about themselves; that Chris was fifty-eight and Allen was sixty. They had both been turned at the same time and had been living in Chicago for a while now. Allen was what they called an "Ace Werewolf", which was like being a Beta back in Carpe Noctum. Chris was a Libera Wolf, which was like being a Free or Gamma wolf. When she asked what nationality they were, (she was curious; she didn't meet many Asian-American people everyday) they replied that their parents were Korean who had come to the states together after they got married.

They continued to chatter and Rena told the pair that she was only forty and lived in a tiny town with her bestest friend ever, Gemma Renning. She also explained how she was looking for some bad guys to write an article about. Chris and Allen thought this was hilarious and laughed a good five minutes after she said, "No really, it's true!" Rena, her inner child controlling most of her life, pouted and spent the rest of their stroll to Jackson Park, (the Chicago Pack's headquarter of sorts) trying convince them that it was, in fact, very true. It wasn't until she was before the King and Queen, and the Spade Wolf, Liv Reidy, (Spade was the other Beta wolf, and she just so happened to be Chris's girlfriend) that either brother was won over to her side. The petite brunette explained and re-explained for two hours straight about her purpose in coming from Carpe Noctum. The Queen, Meryl Winter, and the King, William Brooks, seemed distraught that there was someone out there hurting the Immortal races.

"Benjamin, that bastard -"

"Merry, breath. He's dead. He's dead - the Dusk Lady made sure of that. And the Hunters are gone by your hand. It can't be them." Apparently, the Dusk Lady was the Head Vampiress whose Dawn Lady, (Seneschal Vampire) and best friend had been kidnapped by a group of "Immortal Hunters". The Hunters' goal was to destroy all vampires and werewolves, who they believed were out to kill all humans, but when the Dusk Lady reached out to the Chicago Pack for help, they teamed up to shut down the company.

The King and Queen finally agreed that Rena would be allowed to stay in Chicago for as long as she desired, so long as she was mindful of the rules of the area. "Liv, I'm going to let you and Allen explain the dos and don'ts. You're all dismissed." Will waved a hand, and flashed a lazy smile.

"No problem!" the Spade chirped.

The small group left the park and Allen, Liv, and Chris thoroughly made sure Rena knew what she could and couldn't do while she was in town. Halfway through the lecture, Liv noticed the other female's distracted, slightly dazed look and stopped. "Rena, are you okay?"

She stopped too, but swayed on her feet. "Mmhm."

"You look like you're going to fall over."

"I'm just a little sleepy. And hungry."

"Well, why don't we bring you to your hotel -"

"Are you even staying at a hotel?" Chris cut in, remembering the condition he and his brother had found her in earlier. Rena shook her head and told them she didn't have the money to afford that.

Longer story short, Rena ended up staying with Liv and her roommate, Momoko, at an apartment complex where many of the wolves in the werewolf pack lived. Over the next few weeks, the Free Wolf made great friends with Chris, Allen, Liv, Momo, and a pretty cool human named Kyle, (Rena was always asking him unnecessary questions just to hear his neat Australian accent). She became really comfortable with the pack in the course of only a few days, excluding her sister and those goons, (Grey and Noelle, as their names happened to be) that followed her around like love sick puppies. She didn't understand how Kaguya had come to be the "Reaver Captain", (or Head Gamma Wolf) of such a strong pack, but she tried to not think about it too, too much.

-- character ♦ rena may faires !
-- outfit ♦ click here !
-- word count ♦ five thousand, one hundred eleven [5,111] !
-- muse ♦ -- !
-- tags ♦ none !
-- template by ♦ myself !
-- top lyrics ♦ cantarella, vocaloid kaito !
-- listening to ♦ tv, icarly ! <- LOL
-- notes ♦ PART ONE OF MY LONGEST POST EVAR! woot! so, yeah. i'm posting this as an explanation as to what rena's been up to in the last month and a half. solo means that no one else is to post in here; its pretty much just in character development. ALSO NOTE: Gemma and all of the characters mentioned from Chicago, (Chris Hyun, Allen Hyun, Liv Reidy, Hio Momoko, William "Will" Brooks, Meryl "Merry" Winter, Kaguya Fuurde, Grey Phaenac, Noelle Saunders, Kyle Flynn, and Benjamin Culkin) either belong to myself, or my best friend, Fidget. Under NO circumstances are you allowed to use their personalities and names, especially in combination with their faces, and claim them as your own. They will not be played here on CN, so for all intensive purposes, consider them NPCs and will from here on, probably only be mentioned by Rena or Gemma.