House of Night *Started*

Mark

I collapsed in my bed after 6th hour. So far, the day had sucked. At first, I thought it was it was one of the ritual days and was about to go to the temple, but remembered it was tomorrow. Los was curled up on my chest happily asleep. I gently rubbed his head before his purring made me drowsy. Tomorrow was suppose to be one of the days where we spent a while with out mentors. I had Dragon Lankford, who was the fencing teacher. I sighed and closed my eyes. I was asleep for about an hour when Pharaoh came in and was moving stuff. I pretended to be asleep, listening as he ruffled through clothes. It felt as if he looked at my to make sure I was aseep. After a minute or two, Pharaoh left. Frowning, I ignorned what just happened and went to sleep.

Kelly Myers

After 6th hour ended, I rushed to my room in a hurry excited for my first real date in the last few years. My roommate no where to be found still, I started to wonder about what's to her. But I quickly turned my attention to my cloths, with some dilemma trying to figure out what to wear from casual to formal, I decided on casual, a summer pure white half jacket with a tight dark gray t-shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and finally my stiletto heels. And then I moved onto make up and hair, I went though and remembered to apply a heavy amount of power to cover up my mark for this date. Once done I left out the door and went to wait for Pharaoh by the entrance, I passed a few other fledglings Zoey being one of them at the entrance I see him already there. And for the first time I could look into his eyes with out being totally distracted by his mark.

"Hey, you ready?" I ask taking a deep breath.

Pharaoh Draco

I was dressed in light blue- muscle shirt and matching jeans, typical of me- with my Mark thoroughly concealed. "I was born ready. Let's go." I took her hand and we snuck out to the local coffee house. We sat down at a shaded table and talked for several minutes without a care when I saw a familiar face. I stood up and knew who that face was. None other than my mother. "Hello, Mom."
Mom glared at me with a look that shot daggers into my body. "I thought you were involved in a new routine, Charles."
I cringed a little at the sound of my old name. "Please, Mom. Don't embarass me in front of my girlfriend." I looked around. Angel normally showed up after Mom at this time. "Where's Angel? Doesn't she usually come after you do?"
Mom slapped me across the face. "You're the cause of all this, Charles. Because of you, Angeline detached herself from the family. She was detached from the family until last week. She disappeared then, which no doubt was your doing."
I tried to stand my ground. "Mom, I don't think-"
She slapped me again, cutting me off. "You're worse than your father, Charles. Your father thought there was a way to coexist with those blood-sucking demons that you became a part of. He left long before you were ever born. He claimed there was a way to coexist with blood-sucking demons and human in harmony. If I were to choose, I'd kill you and your ilk over peace."

Kelly Myers

Charles? I've always knew him as Pharaoh, but I guess that was his real name he must bad memories. with that name, I could understand, I had idea's of changing my name to something else like Katie or something, just to escape my past before. But as I watched I listened to Pharaoh's mom blame him for Angel's disappearance, for her becoming detached from the rest of Pharaoh's family. But what really caught my attention was the mention of Pharaoh's dad, he believed there was a way to coexist? Was is possible? The thoughts spun in my head at these possibilities. But she continued the blame her son for her problem's taking no blame for herself.

"Hey now just wait on a second, your blaming your son, your own flesh and blood for her disappearance? I could understand her becoming detached but blaming him for her disappearance? Now that's just ubserd! All your doing is using him as a scapegoat for problems you neglected to take care of until it was to late and then blame it on Pharaoh for her detachment and disappearance!? Because He was marked? Angel grew detached because of you disowning Pharaoh, because you wouldn't accept your son for who he was, because you couldn't come to terms with your own husband!" I yell my anger rising fast.

Pharaoh Draco

Mom hissed, "You stay out of this, witch. This is family business." She returned her gaze to me. "You deliberately swayed Angeline into thinking you would come back. None of her sisters would make her leave you. You became a demon right in front of me and the girls and only Angeline fell for your tricks. You're much worse than your father, who deliberately left me four times in a row- all those times were when I was pregnant."
I growled, then slapped Mom across the face in retailiation. "How am I worse than Dad when you hated me as much as you hated him? Every day of my life since I knew about him, I tried to convince him to come back and raise me and the girls. Ever since I was Marked, Angel still loved me because she's just like Dad- a firm believer in harmony among humans and vampyres. I was Marked for a reason and I hope to the Goddess you accept the fact that I have someone to support me. For the Goddess' sake, Mom, I've been trying to reconnect with the family while I still had it, but you keep shunning me away. Did you forget I'm your only son?"
Mom was about to slap me again, but I caught her wrist before her hand got close to my face. "You've become a demon, Charles. A demon that has no right to be in my family."
I sensed she was furious, but also frightened. Furious because I hit her, frightened of what I might be capable of doing. "I'm your flesh and blood, as my girlfriend told you. Like it or not, I'm your eldest child and only son. If you can't accept me the way I am, then consider me gone. However, I hope you remember that Angel and I have our father's willpower as well as his near-likeliness. When you see Angel, I hope you see Dad in her place." I wasn't done with my comeback. I had just one last thing to say. "And don't call me Charles ever again. I've changed my name because of Angel. The name is Pharaoh. Accept it or drop it, Mom. I may be a fledgling for now, but when I'm through with the Change, I'm heading straight home to have a talk with my sisters. After that, I'll find Dad and we'll have a chat that's long overdue. When that's done, only Goddess knows where life will take me next."
Mom left without another word, still furious at me but surprised because I stood up to her for the first time in my whole life.

Kelly Myers

I saw the look on Pharaoh's face, it was one of pride possibily because this was the first time he had stood up to his mom. I leaned up against Pharaoh in hopes to make him feel better. And I also thought about Angel and Pharaoh's dad, he truely believed that vampyres and humans can truely exist together, was it possible? hopefully.

"Don't worry Pharaoh, if it's anything I'm proud to be marked by the goddess." I said.

Just then from my own words I couldn't believe I was saying, I had always hope that the process could be reversed and I can turn back to a human. But that hope feels cracked now, and from my own words no less.

Sorry I haven't been on in ages, I've been distracted with a new puppy dog. Wow! Things have progressed while I've been off. P.S I've decided against Athena seeing auras, so she just has spirit and 'drawing the future' and sorry for the length

Athena

My eyes opened to the wonderful face of one of the nurses of the HoN infermary, Saphire or something along those line.
"Athena? Can you hear me?" Goddess her voice was so clinical, too... something. The word escaped me.
"Yes, and I can feel all of my extremities. I can wiggle my fingers and toes along with all the rest of it, please get of my face," Nurses always brought the worst out in me, bad expirences when I was a child. She looked shocked at my brashness but moved away never-the-less. I stood and stretched my stiff bones, cracking them loudly. Gathering my clothes, I moved off into the bathroom to change. Everything clattered to the floor when I saw my face. I practically had my face pressed against the mirror with one hand on the left hand side of my face the other on my reflection.
"Holy hell," I whispered, then my awe turned to anger, "I completed the change and wasn't even conscious for it, gre-" My words were interupted by a scratching and whimpering at the door, I opened it to find Cassidy sat waiting patiently outside.
"You'll have to take him out of here. He's an unsantitery creature,"
"Yeah, yeah..." I murmered in reply, then more quietly, "More santitery than cats though,"



I walked through the doors to the dorms feeling like an outcast, something that didn't belong in this place any longer. No-one really looked up at as I passed the groups huddled around the tellies and couches. I found my way up to the room Kelly and I used to share and stepped inside to be confronted by darkness and emptness.
"Oh..." Part of me, the lonely part of me, was sad that I wouldn't be able to say good-bye properly to Kelly, we'd grown fairly close as friends over the few years we'd both been here together, "I'll leave her a gift, just something small..." I rumaged through the set of draws on my side of the room and fished out a little sketch book I'd only started using last year, opening it to one of the pages inside. The page it landed on was an image of Kelly and Pharaoh kissing, an image with which I used to tease Kelly every now-and-then. I scribbled a note: 'Sorry that I couldn't do this in person Kells, but I've completed the change. Don't know if I'll be back but here's a gift to remember me by. Athena and stuck it in the sketch book as a bookmark on that specific page. I went into the bathroom to find my toothbrush and other stuff and found Kelly's jar of concealer out of it's usual place and it's lid to one side. So that's where she is...
I walked out of the room, suitcase and dog trailing behind me, and almost walked straight into Neferet.
"Appologies, priestess. Forgive me, I wasn't looking," I went to step around her but she moved to block my path.
"Dear Athena, it is no worry. Tell, me what are your plans now that you've completed the change?"
"Well,"
"And what a fetching mark you have. Quite unusual... Ah, but forgive me, pray continue," I had to stop myself from shivering at the tone behind her words. There was something not quite right about her...
"Well, I was going to go see Lenobia but after that I don't really know. I had an idea that I would like to become an art teacher. Here actually, so that it's somewhere I know already," I had a forced smile on my face.

~Neferet~

"Of course, child. Being comfortable with your surroundings is always better for you than being somewhere new, though not always best," Neferet noted, mostly to herself.

"What do you mean?" Athena asked, simply curious. Neferet hadn't meant anything secret by it, she was going to simply advise the girl to move somewhere else, but that would make it seem too obvious.

"By that, my dear, I mean that moving on from this House of Night will help you move on from the things here and the people in this town. Of course you know you will outlive all of your family as well as your old friends. Moving on now would help you deal with that loss later," she advised, then changed her direction. "But, of course, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish. I can arrange for you to stay in a guest room until you make your final decision.

Neferet knew this girl would want to stay, of course she would want to stay, but that was just part of the plan. Though this girl, Athena, might not know it yet, Neferet had big plans for what was to happen to her. Big plans indeed.

Rave

"Damn girl, what else are you good at?" I asked, trying to catch my breath and keep my leg from hurting where she'd kicked me. Of course I was good at fighting, but I'd never done it with rules. So Tae Kwan Doe was a pain in my attractive ass.

"You'll find I'm good at a lot of things," Calypso said with a cute little wink. I shook my head and gave her a cocky smile.

"I'd like to see what else you're good at." I saw her cheeks go pink and thought it made her look younger, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It was cute. Not that I was into little girls, I wasn't a pedophile. Calypso wasn't a little girl, thank goddess. She was hot and completely amazing. I found myself telling the truth. I did want to see what else she was good at.

Zoey

Last hour had to be my absolute favorite class of all. Not because I liked the teacher, even though Professor Lenobia had to be my favorite, but because of the horses. I found horses to be soothing, calming. I could think while I brushed the horse I always took care of.

"What do you think about Ethan?" I asked Persephone, patting the top of her head. It seemed I'd been thinking a lot about him lately. Ethan was one of my best friends. He was cute and funny and an all-around good guy. I couldn't help but think that maybe there could be something between us. If not now, then someday.

The mare replied with a head bob and a little snort. I laughed and began brushing her with the curry brush, humming The Only Exception by Paramore.

In the last week--the only week we'd been friends and my first week at the House of Night--I'd thought a lot about Ethan. Lately I'd find myself watching him, the way he moved, the way he smiled, the way his eyes sparkled when he was really happy. And to think I'd made him smile most of the time. Just thinking about him smiling at me, made me smile and blush.

"He's something else," I told Persephone. "Something that I might like."

Pharaoh Draco

I put my hand on Kelly's shoulder. "For once in my life, so am I." I sat back down at the table and took a sip of lukewarm hazelnut coffee. I almost couldn't believe what I just did. For once in my whole life, I stood up to my mother and felt proud of it. Dad and Angel would've been patting me on the back for my sudden courage. The rest of our date went by in silence, then we headed back to the House. We knew we needed our sleep. I led Kelly to her room and kissed her lips. "Sleep well, my princess." As soon as she closed the door, I went to my dorm and slipped to my half of the dorm. Mark was already asleep, so I cleaned my face of the concealer and went to bed myself. Angel- my little tabby cat- pounced on my bed and cuddled up against my side as I went to sleep.

Kelly Myers

With the rest of our date going by in a flash, I wish it could go on a little longer the fight with Pharaoh's mom was not expected. I had looked forward to meeting Angel but only to find out she had disappeared, I walked in after a so wonderfully great kiss with Pharaoh. I walked over and saw the sketch book from my roommate, I opened it with a note inside and the picture of me and Pharaoh kissing. she had somehow sketched this like she had fortold the future of me and him dating, before the kiss I thought she had sketched it up to mock me with since me and Pharaoh were so close to each other, now I think it was something radacally different. I opened the note and it read:'Sorry that I couldn't do this in person Kells, but I've completed the change. Don't know if I'll be back but here's a gift to remember me by. And than the picture. Athena had completed her change? When? It would explain why she had disappear for so long, but the picture was still how? I decided to go find Pharaoh and show him this and Athena's note to me. I cleaned off the consealer first, splashed a little bit of water and then cleaned off with a towl and then left to Pharaoh's room. Hopefully he was still awake.

Pharaoh Draco

I tried to fall asleep, but Angel's tail kept flicking in front of my face, making it hard to go to sleep. I got out of bed, then sensed anxiety from the other side of the door. I opened the door and saw Kelly. "What's up with you, Kelly? You're anxious about something and I don't think it's regarding my real name."

Kelly Myers

Before my hand could even knock on the door Pharaoh had already opened the door, I guess he wasn't asleep I showed him the note and picture. He looked at it in disbelief but in a almost happy look after reading the note, I unexpectedly blurted out something regardablely stupid.

"So why hide your real name?" I asked bluntly.

Pharaoh Draco

I sighed. "Before I was Marked, my other sisters Amy and Veronica would tease me about my name. They'd call me Chuck or anything else they could think of just to make me tick. Little Angel lived up to her nickname all the time. So kind and pure to me, standing up for me when I should've stood up for myself, and self-sacrificing for all the things I did wrong. Like an angel, she watched over me and helped me learn right from wrong. She treated me like royalty sometimes, but still knew me as her big brother. Amy and Veronica never liked me, but Angel did. Out of all three of my little sisters, Angel was the kindest and had such a heart of gold. In a more considerable sense, Angel was my favorite. She never called me Charles or anything else, but either Big Brother or Pharaoh." I studied the picture. It was about the night I kissed Kelly, same exact time and location. "You don't think Athena's a Prophetess, do you?"

(Angel, I don't have a schedule yet. Did you ever get the preferred classes I sent you? Anyways, I'm gonna go with a fifth/sixth hour of my own choice. & switching to first person.)

Serena -;

The entire lunch hall seemed to be mesmerized by this guy, who was hitting it up with Calypso. He was giving her this cocky, seductive smile and she was batting her eyelashes and giggling like a groupie who just met Justin Beiber. Ugh.

Right off the bat, I didn't trust him. Not. One. Bit. He radiated arrogance and stupidity, and I'll bet my soul he was just another teenage boy in it for some "pussy". And Calypso was falling for it, which didn't surprise me. She was so.. promiscuous. That honestly was the best word I could come up with, seeing as I didn't want to make a habit of calling her "The Whore" or "The Slut" in my head. Nyx knows that if she were to speak to me, I would accidentally blurt it out.

And there goes the bell. Everyone seemed disorientated and unsure of themselves. I scowled lightly and left to go to my fifth hour, which was fencing with Lankford. As I got into my fencing jacket and carefully placed on the face mask, I saw Calypso and the guy waltz in. Well, a good time to spy on them, if ever. Unconsciously, I sent a order to my foil and it sprang from the ground and into my hands. A couple of girls behind me gasped, but whether it was from my display of powers or the guy, I'll never know.

I shook my long hair out of my face and strolled out into the opening, attempting to (and failing) to be nonchalant. Seeing this, Lankford came to me.

"Serenity." He said, with an edge of disapproval in his voice. "Are you goofing around?"

"No, sir." I smiled slightly at him, and was rewarded with a grin from my mentor.

He motioned to my foil. "You take such good care of your weapons."

"Thank you, sir." I smiled again.

He flashed me a smirk, which sent my stomach ablaze. I had always thought he was very handsome in an older way. No, not handsome - positively smoking hot. "Prepare yourself." Before I could question him, he raised his own foil. "En garde!"

I quickly raised my foil and blocked his lunge effectively. He nodded. "Not bad."

"I'm quick." I shrugged lightly as we paced in a circle slowly, our eyes locked on each other.

"Don't be so cocky. And don't use your powers!" He growled and faked a left, then lunged to the right.

I managed to dodge it in time. "How many hits are we going for?"

He sighed, exasperated. "Points, not hits! We're just practicing for n-!" He stumbled as my foil caught him off guard and poked him in the chest. "Not fair."

"Sorry, Dragon." I laughed lightly and lowered my foil. "Does this mean I won?" I taunted.

Dragon growled quietly. "Don't you wish." He ran forward and jabbed me in the side with the tip of his foil.

"OW!"

"Oh please. That didn't hurt." Dragon laughed loudly and patted me on the back. "Nice going, Ser."

"Thank you, Dragon." I put my hand over my heart and bowed respectfully.

He looked around, as if noticing the class for the first time. Some had stopped and stared as their teacher and one of his fledglings practiced together. He raised an eyebrow and the students shuffled their feet awkwardly and stared at the ground. He cocked his head to the side. "Bell's about to ring, so go get ready for sixth hour. Class dismissed."

"That was fun." I said quietly.

He nodded and smiled softly at me. "Go on now, Serena." He then left without a word.

I pursed my lips and turned on my heel, angling to walk back to the building to get dressed. On my way, I passed the flirting Calypso-and-Rave duo. As I heard them laugh about something he said, I rolled my eyes in disgust. He didn't seem evil, at least, not in a alarming way. He just seemed stupid and so.. guy-like.

Ethan

Spells and Rituals had to be my favorite class next to fencing but for some reason I couldn't concentrate on a single thing Professor Lankford said. Well, that was a lie, I knew exactly what-or should I say who- had me distracted. Zoey. I spent all week trying to work up the nerve to ask her out on a date but everytime I tried I chickened out or someone interrupted us. But today was the day. After last hour I would march-or cower depennding on my nerves-right up to Zoey and ask her out. Then if I was lucky enough to have her say yes, well I hadn't thought that far but I would figure something out. I was so absorbed in my inner ramblings I didn't hear Prof. Lankford calling on me until she came and slammed a hand on my desk. I looked up dumbly.
"Umm , I'm sorry, what was the question?"
Prof. Lankford sighed. "The question Ethan was what must one always do before closing a circle?" The answer appeared in my mind in a instant.
"When closing a circle one must always remember to dismiss the elements." I said all scholarly. Prof. Lankford shook her head at me but I could see a small smile tugging at her lips. The bell rang dismissing the class and I hurried outside to the stables.
I was walking so fast I almost bumped into Zoey who was coming out of the stables. She smiled as she saw me approach.
"Hey Ethan what's up?" She said and my nerves started getting the best of me. What if she says no? what if she laughs? My mind started coming up with a bunch of negative outcomes. You'll never know unless you try. A voice inside my head said and I took a deep breath.
"Umm Zoey... I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out on a date with me tommorrow night?"