... It begins

[keep_hallways]

It’s dark when the Keep’s newest guests arrive. The cold night air has seeped into the stones of the barracks sending a chill throughout the rooms. No fire has been laid, no lamp lit to beat back the cold or dispel the dark. Each cell remains exactly as it has for months on end, almost as though no one were expecting the small rooms to be occupied

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[allthesame2me]

Alex was amongst many others, but for the moment he didn't know this and he was terribly alone. A moment before he'd been walking back toward his apartment, but then everything had reeled. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be: smells were off and everything sounded muffled. The very air around him tasted stale and old. He didn't know where he was, but it was not home in any way, shape, or form.

Heart racing and pulse beating heavily in his throat, the young were froze in place, nostrils flaring wide. "Hello," he called softly, confused argue feel of his backpack still resting on his shoulder. He slid the bag free as he spoke again, his tenor tone muffled and swallowed by the blackness of the room he stood in. Stone and dirt. He sneezed, absently wiping the back of his hand across his nose. The smells were all wrong. "Anyone there?" he tried again, his eyes acclimating to the darkness with relative ease.

He slipped his arm through the strap of his pack, making certain it was secure on his back. Not knowing where he was, it might not be prudent to slip it off right now. He scans the room, frowning to himself. He couldnt think of any rational explanation to this .. To have been in one place a moment before and now here? He kicks off his heels, the only concession he is making, bendin to retrieve them from the cold stone floor. He wrestles them Ito his backpack and then is a the door, movements quick and otherwise silent. He knows full well that he won't be able to run with heels on, but the thought of leaving them behind isn't an option for the time being.

There is a key in the door as he opens it, a soft creak echoing down the hall and announcing the appearance of another in the halls. After a moments' pause he takes the key, sliding it into the pocket of his jeans. There is more silence stretching around the hall and Alex slowly steps out into it, feline nature taking over completely. He begins to make his way through the halls, freezing as other voices echo now and again, pressing against the stone. He wasn't alone in this, perhaps, but that did little to still his racing heart.

He licks his lips and continues down the hallway toward the voices, eyes darting along the hallway and on constant edge. If he was the victim of kidnap, there was no way of knowing who (or what) was around the next corner. He might look all the world like a young woman, but Alex had used such to his advantage before.

I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T SEE THIS ;A;!!!

[keep_hallways]

The hallway is dark and silent, cold stone walls and a hard floor to match. For a moment, nothing happens, and then from somewhere in the dark comes a rather distinct sniff. Something big is hiding in the shadows, tracking a scent down the halls until noticing Alex.

Coming to a pause, the monster growls, pale blue eyes glinting in the otherwise black hallway and fixing on Alex.

:3 S'alright!!

[allthesame2me]

Alex is only a few yards from 'his' room when the very distinctive sound of a growl causes him to freeze mid-step. His head cants slightly, his head the only part of him that moves as he himself tracks the sound until his blue-green eyes lock on the source. Dark and silent though the halls may be, there was no missing the growl nor the brightness of the eyes watching him in the darkness.

The hair at the nape of his neck rises and his gaze narrows, nostrils flaring as he tries to identify the creature in the wash of darkness. "I know any number of creepy crawlies that like to hang around in the dark," he murmurs softly, his own body tense and ready to react. "You the kind that's looking for a bit of sport or a bit of dinner?"

Fey though he may be when human, this creepy crawly was in for one hell of a surprise if things got ugly. Alex, for his part, couldn't decide if he was eager for a fight and edgy or just amped up on adrenaline, because his skin was practically tingling with the urge to shift. "You want to come say 'hi'?"

<3

[keep_hallways]

Closer it stalks, ever watching it's target and still sniffing at the air. It's footsteps are light, silent, the only real indication that it's moving at all coming from those two blue burning eyes.

And then it stops, lifts it's chin and howls. The sound is loud, echoing throughout the Keep.

[timid_kitty]

Those blue eyes never look away, but neither do they retreat. Alex practically crouches before it, one hand resting on a thigh while the other unnecessarily steadies him against the floor. He can't hear a single step being made by the beast, but he's not fooling himself that it's not actually coming closer. No, if those baby blues mean anything at all, it's that this is a very real threat.

When the creature howls, the sound echoes down the dark hallways and a chill runs down Alex's spine. His eyes narrow, lips pulling back from his teeth as a soft snarl rumbles in the back of his throat.

To anyone that might happen to be listening, it's a very inhuman sound.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," he says softly, his voice almost an octave deeper. He had no way of knowing what this creature was, but he was relatively certain that it's version of playtime was different than his. He never looks away from those two glowing eyes, muscles taunt and controlled.

"Sure you wanna do this, buddy?" he asks, brow canting as he tries to make out more of the beast in the darkness. At least it's size or general shape .. two glowing eyes and a resounding howl left much to the unknown. He didn't know where he'd been brought and shifting could be the worst idea if he'd been snagged by some Registration Act quacks, but he also might not get another chance.

There is a rippling along his skin and he grunts, exhaling in a low growl as he shucks his backpack off. It falls to the floor and is followed quickly by his jacket and shirt, as Alex is at least mindful to try to save clothing he might not be able to quickly replace. He must sacrifice his pants, no matter how much he might regret losing the jeans later.

The change moves far quicker than the movies would have you believe, skin rippling as his bones break, reform and lengthen in a process almost too fast for the human eye. Shortly enough, the fair haired human that had been crouched a moment before is no more, replaced entirely by a digitigrade humanoid leopard. His lips pull back and he echoes the challenge, claws and fangs bared as his snarled roar echoes down the hall.

[keep_hallways]

The beast doesn't move, seeming to observe the change. When Alex roars, it growls, lowers it's stance and readies itself should an attack come it's way.

From the far end of the hallway behind the blue eyed creature comes a dim light. It's faint and far away, but given the blackness of the room, it's not hard to make out. The silhouette cast around Alex's opponent reveals an unstable, smoke-like wolf. It's large, seeming to blend with the shadows around it.

A second howl, the wolf springs towards Alex.

[timid_kitty]

Alex watches the living shadow, lips pulled back as a low growl rumbles in the deepest part of his throat. He is tense, but he will not break his stance first. He doesn't know anymore about this creature than it (really) knows about him, but he's wary of showing any openings or weaknesses within the first moments of their engagement.

Then there is a flicker of light from further down the hallway and in that moment the beast before him is silhouetted. Alex's gaze moves back to the wolf creature, fangs baring as it suddenly springs toward him.

He moves in the same beat, lunging down and to one side in hopes that it will simply pass him by. He wheels on his feet, snarling as he turns to face it again. He'd at least gotten an idea of how it moved in that first pass and if it made to do so again, he would not hesitate to hit it head on.

Growling low in his throat he crouches, tail lashing as his ears flatten against his skull. "Not like any wolf I've ever seen," he grates out, voice thick and angry. "And I've seen all sorts.." His lips pulls back, whiskers fanning as his hisses softly. "Afraid to play with the big dogs, pup?"

[keep_hallways]

The charging shadow wolf bares it's teeth and snarls as it reaches Alex. However, where there should have been contact, some form of impact as one reaches the other, none comes. Instead the wolf dissolves, rushing around, and through Alex like smoke.

Once it passes him, the wolf stops to glance back before darting off down the hall and out of sight.

At the far end of the hall, the holder of the torch has come a little better into view. He is tall, armored, and wearing a blank, flat, white mask void of features over his face. Spikes protrude from the back of his head and trace their way down his back. "Oi!" the masked man calls.

[timid_kitty]

Alex returns snarl for snarl, his lips pulled back and fangs bared in threat. However he's not expecting there to be no impact, the smoke wolf passing through him instead of hitting him directly. He would be lying if he was not disappointed atleast a little bit.

"What the hell," he mutters softly, watching as the wolf glances at him for a beat before turning and taking off. Alex is still pent up on adrenaline, unwilling to accept that it was going to be that easy. And sure enough, the light that had appeared grows brighter and seems to be in possession of a rather fierce looking man.

A low growl rumbles in Alex's chest and throat as he turns to face the man, posture low and taunt. His tail gives q few lashes back and forth as he stares down the hallway, unblinking.

[bloodtothebest]

Dos jogs down the corridor, torch bopping in his hand as he lugs along. He slows as he nears Alex and then scowls at the darkness behind the werecat. "Yeah, thanks for the help Duran. Go find her like you're meant to be doing."

It doesn't matter to him that the wolf is likely already long gone. With a grunt, the mask on his face flickers like a glitchy hologram and when it dies out, a rather human face is viewable. Two eyes, a nose, a mouth, the spikes on his head vanishing as the mask does... well, almost human. Dos grins a toothy smile and locks his black eyes onto Alex. "I'm not your enemy, kid. Neither is Captain Douchebag who got you all riled up and ran off."

[timid_kitty]

Alex's ears pin against his skull as the man nears, lips peeling back from his fangs, but he doesn't attack. There is too much that he doesn't know about this place that he has been brought to and it would be most unfortunate to attack someone that he really shouldn't.

Whether or not the cat wanted to have a go. He was more than the beast rolling within him and refused to let it make all the decisions.

The man shouts, but it's past Alex rather that at him and the tension in his form begins to ease .. a little. His lips draw back down, though he's still watching Dos closely.

It's only after the mask flickers away to reveal someone relatively human looking that Alex's whiskers flare slightly and he eyes the other man dubiously. He begins to slowly straighten, filing away the name of the mist like wolf. Duran. Alex snorts softly, the sound clearly unimpressed and maybe just a tiny bit doubtful. "Charming way of showing it," he says softly, his voice rumbling in the back of his throat.

Once he is standing normally he eyes the man, looking over that armor with a mixture of caution and curiosity. One brow arches slightly, "I don't suppose you can tell me what the hell is going on?"