The Dark is {{Everywhere}} (Robin, open)

[strix]

As far as Cardiff's nightlife went, it was still early, only eleven or so. The rain that afternoon had left behind a light fog that seemed to subdue both sound and human activity. At any other time, Seth would have found it comforting. Right now, however, he just found it bleak and oppressive. Truth be told, Pat's meeting with him earlier that evening had left him rattled. He knew something was wrong, others knew something was wrong, and it was only a matter of time before all hell would break loose. Seth had to get out of the city before someone else forced him out, or worse. But that wasn't right. Why should he be the one to leave? He had as much damn right to be here as anyone else, regardless of species. They were the intolerant ones. They were the ones who had made his life hell.

Seth hissed quietly, only to force it back down as he realized what he was doing. No. Humans were not the enemy here. If he treated them as such, he'd be no better than them. It was just that...thing...talking. The madness. Seth leaned against a wall, eyes closed, trying to push the anger away. It was several minutes before he opened them, surveying the alley around him. In all honesty, he didn't know where he was. Upon leaving the Gatekeeper his route had been blind and hurried, taking him through tiny side streets and winding alleys. Not that it mattered--he wasn't about to go back to his hostel, not in this state.

To hell with this city. It had caused him nothing but trouble, from the accidental shifting to his premature moult to the amazing number of people that had called him out as an alien. Seth had only been here a few days, but that had been more than enough to see how disgusting it was. This time, his quiet hiss went unchecked. It wasn't just this place, of course. It was humanity. A thousand little hurts came to mind, from childhood taunting to almost getting burned at the stake. Small kindnesses were always followed by requests, or worse. Seth paced back and forth, silent, angry, and wraithlike. Humans were anything but humane.

Although Seth's shift to his natural form was uncontrolled, it was not unwelcome. If he was going to protest humanity, he'd need a good set of claws. Besides, in this form the night was so much clearer. He could hear and smell things humans could only dream of. Like footsteps approaching. His head swiveled toward the sound, listening and sniffing intently. Human, female, young. Perfect. Seth disappeared into a shadow, mottled grey feathers and scales blending seamlessly with the rock wall behind him. The tip of his tail flicked back and forth slowly, but otherwise the alien was completely still. A chill calm swept over him. All that was left to do was wait.

[mikku]

Today had been alright, Robin had to admit, but she still felt like it could have been better. She had gone to her job, gotten paid, didn't get hurt, but nothing else had happened. For a moment, she had thought about going to the car shop and seeing Alex, but she had decided not to yet, maybe tomarrow. The rest of her day had been taken up by one of the local arcades, where she poured all her remaining quarters into one of the fighting game machines for almost two hours.

Right now she was walking down one of the empty streets of the city, it was late and Robin needed to get to the bus station quickly. She had taken what she had thought was a short-cut, but now she was starting to doubt her sense of direction. She sighed and looked up at one of the street signs, she didn't recognize the name of the street at all.

She really should have picked up a map back at the record store, but she had been so sure of the way she knew where she was going now, she hadn't bothered. With an angry 'huff', she leaned against one of the brick walls lining the street and stared ahead of the street, trying to remember the way she had gotten here, or anything that could help her find the bus station before it closed. "Think, think, think..." She muttered to herself, just then, she remembered her cell phone and pulled it out of her jacket pocket.

[strix]

Crouched against the wall, Strixatan was motionless and almost invisible. The only hint of anything more than shadow came from his orange eyes, but even they were narrowed down to slits. He watched the girl approach with a chill patience. As she neared the alien tensed, ready to spring. From this distance, he could probably pounce and tear her throat out before she had chance to react. But no, he considered, that wouldn't be right. The human needed to suffer first. He wanted her to scream, and run, and think that she had some chance of survival. He needed to be paid back in terror. He could feel his blood pumping faster at the thought. Yes, this would be much more fun.

The girl had pulled out a phone, but continued to stare right past Strix, which some part of him found faintly amusing. He might not have the bright colors of some of his kind, but the blacks and grays suited him now. The alien waited until she had dialed and looked back up before he let out a low hiss, hopefully just loud enough to be heard over her phone's dialing. After a second's pause he stepped out of the shadows, feathers raised and tail swishing. To those used to this form he would have been menacing; for most humans Strix was nothing short of a nightmare. The muscles at the corners of his beak twitched upward into an oddly human smile. He'd been using their expressions for far too long. "Run," he hissed quietly. The chase was on.

[mikku]

Scrolling down her contacts, Robin found her aunt's number quickly and dialed the number in. The place was starting to creep her out, like all those dark and dank alleys in horror movies. 'I'm just being paranoid...' She thought and listened to the dial-tone as she began to tap at her leg. she could just barely hear a noise, almost like a snake, just over the sound of the phone. The sound almost made her jump, but she wrote it off in her mind as nothing more then a squealing pipe and an overactive imagination.

...So when the big black monster appeared in front of her, she quickly changed her mind. The cell phone dropped from her hand as soon as she saw the creature, the sound of her aunt's voice just audible as his crashed to the ground. When it spoke, Robin opened her mouth to scream, but no sound could come out of her lips, she was too frightened.

Instead, she took the nightmare's advice and turned tail down the alley and back the way she had came. She wasn't even sure where she was going anymore, turning corners as quickly as she found them. Not that she cared where she went, just as long as it was away from that...that thing! No...She forced her mind to put itself together as she passed by her second abandoned street. She had to think of somewhere to hide, or a place the monster couldn't find her, but where? She slowed her run and ducked into an alley to catch her breath. She made sure not to stay there long, running back into the street and forcing her legs to go in the direction of the nearest police station. Hopefully she'd be able to outrun it, or it'd get bored of her. She was not going to get eaten by any monster, not today and not ever!

[strix]

The human might not have been able to make any noise, but that was okay. Strix made up for it with a scream that echoed off the buildings, hawkish and capable of making a Dalek tremble. Thankfully the girl took the hint, and sprinted off down the alley. Strixatan took after her at an easy lope. She might have been fast, for a human, but there was no way she could be a match for him. He let her put a little distance between them, just enough to make her think he couldn't keep up. Every time she turned a corner he slowed up a little, letting the girl increase the distance between him. It wasn't like losing her was even possible, not with the noise and smell she let off. No, Strix was just in a malicious humor. He wanted to play for a while.

The girl had stopped to rest, and Strix chuckled to himself. Stupid. If he actually wanted to catch her, it would have been more than enough opportunity. Of course, if he actually wanted to catch her, she wouldn't have made it out of that first alley. Strix waited in the shadows, ever-so-patiently, for the human to force herself into a jog again. He appeared behind her a second later, as if he had just caught up. She might have been running low on energy, but Strix was just barely starting to pant. This was far too easy.

It was only after she turned onto a wider street that he realized his mistake. Although there wasn't anyone in sight, it was now a distinct possibility. Damn. It was time to end this before he had witnesses. Finally the alien made full use of his speed, overtaking her easily. Strix hissed again, blocking her path and turning to face her. His claws extended, he tensed, and pounced.

[mikku]

As soon as Robin starting running towards the main street, she started to get more confident. If she could find a policemen, or even just someone with a gun, she'd be able to get away. Waitaminute, she was going to kill it? Robin may have moments of temper, but she wasn't cruel enough to let something get killed. She glanced back behind her, gaining a glimpse of the monster gaining behind her. When had it caught up with her?! Just what was this thing anyway, an alien, a demon? It sure looked like a demon...

She made a little whine deep in her throat, Robin was starting to panic again. It was going to kill her, it didn't take a genius to guess that much. Well, if it was going to play like that, then Robin had every right to fight back. Her resolve a little stronger, she looked back ahead of her. Alright, the nearest station was...a block away? No, it was two and a half blocks. Ok, so find an officer, grab his gun, and shoot the thing. That was a good enough plan for now.

In her concentration, she almost missed the sound of the creature passing her. Luckily she caught herself just in time to it right in front of her. This time she could hide her fear, and let out a shriek that even the biggest-lunged woman could envy. In her fear she wrapped her arms around her head and threw herself in between a mound of garbage and one of the walls on the building next to her. She tucked herself into a tight ball and prayed the monster would leave, that it didn't notice her, but she had a feeling it wouldn't go away. She looked around the mess lying around her and grabbed at an old hammer. It probably wouldn't hurt it, but maybe it could scare it.

She peeked over the piles of waste and raised the hammer above her head. "Hey, Aragrag." She called, faking bravery as she aimed as quickly as she could, She probably wouldn't even hit it. Please, let this hit... "Eat this!" She threw the hammer towards it with all her might, breaking out into a run in the opposite direction from the way she had been running earlier. She was running on nothing more then adrenilne now, and now that she thought about it, she stunk.

[strix]

In panicking, the girl did the one possible thing that could save her: she screamed. To ears meant to hear a field mouse a block away, it was...unpleasant. Strix took a step back, stunned, hissing quietly. Ow. For a second he felt disoriented. He recovered quickly, thankfully, and he found her curled into a tiny ball. Good, his prey was giving up. At least one thing right. He hissed again, louder, and advanced. Strix hesitated, head swiveling around. He thought he'd heard something, but the street was still deserted. Perhaps an echo of that damned human. Well, he'd deal with witnesses later. Right now there was a more pressing problem.

Of course, it was the one time he turned away that his prey decided to fight back. With the girl's shout Strix's attention snapped back to her, just in time to catch a heavy projectile to the chest. He stumbled; felt something rip. Damn, she was stronger than she looked. He watched the girl flee, but didn't give chase. There was, after all, no way she could outrun him--even injured. He took an experimental breath, found only a faint pain. Good. The act also brought in more of her scent, with all sorts of interesting details. Most importantly, that she was running low on fuel. The only thing that kept her going right now was panic, and that wouldn't hold out forever.

Still, this was a dangerous spot to be, and he needed to finish this. And now, more than ever, he was convinced he needed blood. Strix's feathers sleeked back against his body, and he crouched until his back and tail were one straight line. He found a momentary calm in the stillness, and then pushed off into a sprint that any human would envy. And fear. His claws dug into the cement as he dashed for the girl. He didn't slow down as he approached--ramming wasn't the most elegant of tactics, but it would work. Besides, who was around to critique?