The house of rhapsody (Book 1 Of The Sanctuary and War Series)

A Raised Alarm

The Kitchen

Humming softly with a light smile, a five foot and seven inches tall woman whom looked to be either eighteen or nineteen, seemingly danced around the kitchen. She had a song stuck in her head. Soft earthy brown hues looked around from behind large glasses. Her long and wave brown hair was tied back into a messy ponytail. With a delicate frame that held subtle feminine curves, Shantellias was the oldest member of the house. Others thought of her as an undying immortal. But truth was, she was an ancient Kitsune. She just didn't really want people to know about it.

Besides her real form, there were secrets she held. Ones that were not hers to tell. That aside, she makes a few sweetened candies for the ground's keeper. She didn't know him too well, but she would at least make him her specialty candies as an ice breaker. Besides...who didn't like sweets? She pops one into her mouth and has the silliest of grins on her lips. The sweetness of the candy tickled her cheeks lightly and warmed her heart some. While waiting for the others to finish being made, she thinks about the next prank to pull and comes up with an idea.

She may be older then everyone in the mansion, but that didn't mean she couldn't be mischievous and pull their legs from time to time with tricks. Waltzing around the kitchen hyperactively, she plans out the phases of the next prank. The record's keeper liked things to be neat and organized it seemed. Understandable. Shantellias planned things out. First the books would vanish, then reappear when she wasn't looking, but be in a completely different order. Brilliant! She giggled to herself while thinking.

But then her nose began to bleed. She stopped immediately everything she had been doing or thinking, and ran to grab a paper towel to clean up the crimson and iron scented blood. Looking around, and reaching for the enchanted black silver dagger attached to her right upper thigh, she unsheathed it immediately and looked around after the nose bleed stopped. It was a warning from the enchantments in the forest. Being the one who placed them there to bolster the house's defense. Something unwelcome had gotten through a loop hole it seemed. Pushing the bloodied paper towel into an inside pocket of her blue jeans, she quickly checked her black lace blouse to ensure no blood had gotten onto it. She didn't want anyone to know what she was..

She heads out of the kitchen, the first instinct was to ensure everyone's safety. So the woman quickly began checking rooms. Starting with the medical staff, and residents. Later she would have to check the enchantment room to see where the loop hole had been coming from. The magic was fortified in defense, that was true. But even the strongest of defenses had it's weaknesses. And if the hunters had found it this time, there was no telling if they would find it again. So the intruders would need to be dealt with swiftly.

As she passed one of the windows in one of the winding hallways, she glimpsed hunters outside. Instant fury coursed through her veins. But she still could not reveal herself. Instead, she began to sound off the alarms. "Hunters!! There's hunters!! Enforcers, stay with the residents!" Shantellias began to systematically alert all of the house's enforcers. She headed up to the library to look for Temin to ensure she was alright and not being harmed. The records vault would have to be sealed.. But more then that, she needed to know the record's keeper was alright. Afterwards, she planned on checking the ground's keeper, the veiled sentinel, and of course their head of house.

The hallways

This wasn't the way things should be. It saddened Elias to think of the state of the world now, of the relentless hunting and the near fanatical zeal with which humanity had taken to eliminating everything supernatural it could find. Their response wasn't surprising by any means; humans were never particularly good at embracing what they didn't understand. Unfortunately, the feeling that they were no longer at the top of the food chain had led to them proving why they still were. At it's base, the humans would always outnumber supernatural beings by a very heavy margin. Secrecy had been the best policy for everyone involved before it had been ruined. Elias truly would have liked to know how that happened... but it wouldn't change the present.

He'd come to the sanctuary as another refugee, a loner turning to others for mutual protection. Elias was an old bear, he'd been walking the Earth for a long time, and Earth willing he'd continue to do so for a long time to come. The spirit of the Earth was within the bear and the spirit of the bear was within the Earth. It had made him a natural fit as the sanctum's groundskeeper and it allowed him ample time outside, enjoying what freedom could be had in a world under siege. He didn't know his fellow residents overly well yet but was glad, at least, for interesting company. The bear loved stories and people who could tell them. He hoped to make the most of this exile to learn even more tales from those around him.

Elias was up late. He often was. Not sleepless but simply enjoying the night. He was dressed comfortably in a pair of well worn jeans and hiking shoes, a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves cuffed at his elbows, and a vest around his torso. It was part hipster, part old west, but all him. He'd decided he liked a certain style and had stuck with it. Bears were stubborn as the Earth too. Once they made up their mind, it was like catching an avalanche to change it again.

He held a mug of coffee in one hand, standing near the window. The warm aroma of hot caffeine wafted up to his nose pleasantly and mingled with the smell of pipe tobacco. His pipe was clenched in his teeth, like the man's miniature funnel and he the locomotive, glowing faintly as the embers burned and faded with each inhalation and exhalation. Elias half closed his eyes and sighed when he heard someone begin yelling from inside the manse. They weren't particularly close but given the abundance of supernatural senses at play in this place, he heard her clearly.

Hunters.

Lovely.

Elias sighed again, more in frustration this time. They'd better not be destroying his lawn and landscape out there. The bear put a lot of work into it since he'd arrived and he didn't want to see that go to waste. The border would be secured soon enough... those who kept them safe did so with great skill. That didn't mean a threat didn't exist though. The humans were, if nothing else, very good at coming up with new and improved ways to kill others.

The bear felt his anger slowly fanning inside his heart, like a billows. He resented having to run. Having to hide. Having to conceal himself when he'd been careful to do so all his life. Angry that he had been forced to be angry. Elias was a calm, placid person by nature. Like a bear, he was happy to live and let live as often as not. That wasn't an option with hunters though. More death. More souls grossing the gate to Mangi.

Elias had a deep connection with the Earth and was in tune with his surroundings. It was a magic of sorts, perhaps, or a universal awareness of the all, or... he didn't try to specify or correlate it. It was a sense like any other. He felt the floor beneath his feet, the air around him. His senses reached out to his immediate vicinity and scanned for threats. Unfortunately, it seemed two had gotten close... very close indeed.

With an annoyed grunt, Elias put his mug and pipe down atop a non-flammable surface. His body was already changing, shifting, growing larger and stronger. His head nearly brushed the ceiling now as Elias made his way down the hall, thick layers of brown and silver fur-like hair covering his entire body. His fingers ended in powerful claws while his jaw crowded with sharp, ursine teeth. Whatever magic he had inborn which allowed him to violate the laws of conservation of mass saw his clothing simply enlarge to accommodate his frame. Not quite a full transformation... this house was too small to hold his war form and being a bear would be too restrictive in its halls, but the near-man was enough to deal with most threats. Power, senses, instinct...

Over five hundred pounds of muscle and fury made their way towards the nearest source of threat. It was coming from... there. Each of Elias' strides were the same as four or five for a normal sized person. If there were stairs, he took them four at a time, his body hulking forward slightly with its increased mass. Dark, green eyes from behind a heavy brow scanned for threats as his nose sniffed as well. Close... closer...