Dimitri

Today was the day Liliya died many years ago. The day Dimitri's mother was murdered by Dimitri's father. The day Dimitri remembered whose blood ran in his veins.

The sun was just rising over the distant mountains, shining a soft light on the living room where Dimitri stood staring out the window. He looked as if he was in a trance, in a different world somewhere.

Anya stood beside her master, looking up at him. He always seemed different this time of year.

Hunter

She moved out to the porch, her arms wrapped around her swelling belly. She to had noticed that Dimitri acted... Different this time of year. She didn't know how to make him better, and sometimes, that broke her heart.

Bright blue eyes stared off into the mountains, a sigh escaping her darkly painted lips. Her hair had gone back to its natural bleach blonde white look, and it was long now, slightly wavy and curling about her face just so.

Eden to had grown. She was six now, and with that three years she had grown to know the family very well and the habits that they had. She stood behind Dimitri for a minute before slipping her glove off and placing her hands oh so gently on his. Its not your fault, Dimitri. She whispered softly. Her hair to was longer now, blonde and curly. Her mismatched eyes stared up at the huge man, but she made no movements besides placing her glove back upon her hand.

Dimitri

Dimitri still stared at the mountains, watching the morning light reflect off of the snowy peaks. Liliya loved the snow...so did Angela. But it was hard for Dimitri to enjoy it now.

He felt Eden's tiny hand touch his. That broke his trance. He looked down at the little girl, still seeming rather distant. "I could have saved her." He replied, barely over a mumble. "I could have warned her." He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He had another thing to worry about too now. What if Damian found out about his new granddaughter? And what if Shaine inherited the insanity that ran in the Novokov family?

Eden

Her eyes raised up to his. Are you psychic, Dimitri? She asked him softly. Hunter had let the young girl touch her growing belly, and Eden had imagined what Shaine would be like, had correctly guessed that it was to be a girl, a girl with a strong personality, but with a love for quietness. What she hadn't told them though, was about the darker side of Shaine. That evil side that Eden had shied away from. How could she destroy the hopes of the two that way? No, she didn't love them as much as she did Sasuke, but she did love them in her own way. Lili loved the snow, didn't she Dimitri? She asked softly. Maybe if she got him to talk about it, he'd feel a little better about everything.

Dimitri

Dimitri shook his head. "No." He answered simply. He never considered himself to be psychic, and he still had some skepticism even with Eden here. He sighed when Eden asked him about his mother. "She took me sledding every winter when I was a kid. She loved the snow. I used to like building snow forts and having snowball fights with her." His breathing slowed as he slid down the wall. He looked at the scars on his wrists where Damian bound his hands with wires to keep him from escaping. He could still smell the blood, the death, the fear... It never went away.

Eden

Shaine won't be like your father. She said softly. She could see the pain in his eyes as she slipped the black leather glove back onto her hand. What else could she tell him? She could imagine Shaine now. Some images of her were laughing and carefree. Others, she was screaming, hurting, raging. Those images of Shaine got locked into a box and put somewhere safe. There was one thing she needed to tell Dimitri though, for the sake of the child. Make sure she never gets as deadly as her mother. She had seen the hours Hunter spent working with her blades, honing her skills, dancing with deadly precision and hitting her targets with deadly accuracy. With that, Eden turned and headed outside, down the steps and towards the shore to sit and watch the waves roll over the gentle snow. Trees blocked her from sight, but Hunter and dimitri had never taught her to swim, nor was she stupid enough to go out into these icy waters alone.

Hunter came inside, her face glowing and her eyes alight with happiness. She came from behind Dimitri and wrapped her arms around his waist, gluing herself to his back with a sigh and breathing in his earthy scent. Hey baby. She murmered softly to him, trying to warm his icy soul with her love.

Dimitri

Dimitri raised his eyes to look at Eden. "And who will make sure she's not like me?" He was deadly. He was trained as a killer, as an assassin. He killed people for his father when he was four years old, even though he barely knew what he was doing. All he 'knew' was that he was doing what he was supposed to, or so Damian told him. He was ridding the world of defective beings. Sometimes it was arsenic in their drinks. Sometimes it was a knife to the spine. And still other times, their death came from a single bullet to the skull. As much as Dimitri had tried to forget that, it always came back.

He looked at Hunter when she arrived, putting his hands on hers. "I don't know what I'd do without you." He said in his thick Russian accent.

There was a knock on the door. The visitors didn't think to wait for somebody to answer. David Volkov barged in, being chased by Adrian. "What are you doing, you idiot?!" Adrian shouted to David. "Are you trying to kill him?!" Of course, then Adrian noticed Hunter there with Dimitri. "I hope we're not interrupting anything..."

Dimitri walked up to David, the one sibling he really, really despised. Adrian was welcome here. But David wasn't. "Get out of my house." Dimitri said in a deadly tone.

"I'm sorry, Dima..." David began with a hint of sarcasm, "...but I have some bad news." Shasta, whom the Volkovs had not seen for a long time, then entered, holding a little girl's hand. "Shasta was attacked by Damian. Three years ago. And she didn't even tell us until now!" David grabbed Erin's arm firmly. "And this, Dima, is your half-sister."

Dimitri paused, as if thinking deeply. After a few moments, he punched David in the face. "Get out of my house."

David, wiping the blood from his face, scowled and left without another word.

Shasta glanced at Hunter. She vaguely remembered this girl, this girl she befriended so long ago. "It's good to see you again." She said with a smile.

Dimitri had no time for chatting. "Sorry about that, Hunter. David is sort of a jackass..."

Erin looked up at her half-brother with her bi-colored eyes. "You said a bad word." She stated, a bit shocked. "Shhhh..." Shasta said quietly.

Dimitri walked to the back door and called, "Eden! Come in here, please!" He knew that, with Shasta and Erin here, Damian wouldn't be far behind. He'd have to be prepared for that. He was searching through the cabinets for something when Shasta spoke up.

"Dimitri, Damian told me to tell you something..." She waited until she had Dimitri's attention before continuing. "He said: 'Vasha oborona iavliaetsia ushcherbnoy.'" She became nervous when Dimitri started staring off into the distance, looking as if he was about to hurt somebody. "What? What does that mean?"

There was a pause before Dimitri answered. "...It means he's coming after us." He grabbed a pistol from a closet and put it into his belt. "We have to get to safety before he finds us." He looked at Hunter with an apologetic look. He didn't want to drag her into this.

Hunter * Eden * Styxx

Hunters eyes smiled at Shasta, though her lips didn't move. She followed Dimitri, but slowly turned and walked away, picking up carefully placed daggers that she had hidden around the house as she went and hiding them on certain places of her body. Silence ensued. She halted and listen. Eden? She called. It wasn't a big house, the girl would easily hear them...

Dimitri! She called as she began searching the bedrooms and kitchen one by one and then rushing out to find Dimitri. She's not here. She must be somewhere on the island! the island was a large place, and the young girl could be virtually anywhere.

Softly she sang, Edens voice carrying on the wind as she did so, her pale skin flushed from the cool air. She was sitting by the lake shore, her eyes on the water and seeing into its depths. In the brush stalked a wolf, a wolf of deepest ebony and with eyes the palest of blue. He came forth, sitting beside the girl. He wasn't a large creature, no indeed. He weighed a mere eighty pounds, and was quite smaller of stature. And for some reason, he didn't feel the need to hurt the girl. Styxx sat ever so still next to Eden, who had cast him a look and shown no fear. If he had wanted to kill her, he would have done so already. Softly she continued to sing before she turned her body to face him. Hi. Styxx cocked his head to the side, his tail waving a bit but not understanding what she said. He had never seen a young human before but she seemed so innocent... Maybe she would grow up and stay that way.

Dimitri

Dimitri ran inside when he heard that Eden was missing. He led Hunter, Shasta and Erin down to the basement. "Stay here." That was all he said as he punched in a code on a keypad, opening up a large steel door. This was the panic room. "You'll be safe here. Don't open the door for anything." With that, he left them, grabbed his trusty AK-47 and ran outside to find the missing girl.

"Eden!" He called loudly. "Eden! Where are you?"

Anya rushed ahead of her master, trying to sniff out the girl's trail.

Eden .+. Styxx

Styxx leaned against Eden lightly by now, her arm wrapped around him and her hand clenching into his fur as she whispered her secrets to him. Softly she whispered to Styxx, who listened obediantly. I say things I'm not supposed to. I think it hurts people. They always end up looking at me that way, like I have a terminal disease and should be pitied on. I wish I was a normal child. One that had no problems. I wish I was back with Sasuke. He never looked at me like that. Tears fell from her mismatched eyes and she buried her face into Styxx's ebony and blue fur.

If Anya were to catch the scent of Eden and come here, Styxx would disappear long before hand. Before any other could see him. He wanted no one to know his prescence on the island. No one but Eden.

Dimitri

Dimitri followed Anya's lead, as the big dog seemed to pick up Eden's trail. Humans were easy to smell here, but Styxx was harder to smell with all the other animal smells spread around the island. Finally, Anya reached the girl and ran to her, wagging her tail and prancing around happily.

Dimitri followed Anya to Eden. "There you are! Don't walk off like that again, okay?" He said softly. "We were worried about you. We have to get into the house now." He didn't tell Eden why they had to get into the house, but she could probably tell.

Eden * Styxx

Edens eyes were glued to the brush where Styxx had disappeared. The tears were still fresh on her face, and more tears were threatening as her new friend disappeared. I don't want to go. She whispered softly. Whether Dimitri heard her or not, she couldn't tell, but she stood slowly and looked up at Dimitri before beginning to walk towards the house, her hands shoved in her pockets and her head down so that her hair hid the tears that were fallign from her eyes.

Through the brush Styxx followed, keeping up wind of Anya but making sure that Eden was in his sight at all times. The child was hurting, could no one else see? And she was different. He could tell she was.

Dimitri

Part of Dimitri's 'training' was making him insensitive to his pain and others' pain. Even years later, it was hard to see when others were hurting. But he knew by the way she spoke that something wasn't right. "What's wrong, Eden?" He asked, stopping and turning around to look at the girl.

Eden

Whats Wrong Eden? How could those words make someone hit their knees and want to scream in pain and rage. Nothing, Dimitri. She said softly, continuing to walk towards the house. She stepped quietly onto the front porch steps, and made her way through the house like a ghost.

Dimitri

Dimitri still thought something was wrong, but he didn't push it. If Eden didn't want to talk about it, Dimitri wouldn't make her. "We're all going down to the basement. Damian is threatening to hunt us down." He led Eden downstairs and punched in the code to open the door to the panic room. He let Eden in first, then he gathered up the various dogs and brought them in. He closed the door. He rubbed his shoulder where the microchip was. Damian didn't have to search. He already knew where his son was.

"He knows where I am, Hunter." He said, seeming a bit exhausted. "I can't stay here. He'll find you. I have to lead him away."

Hunter

Her eyes narrowed and she stood from where she had curled up, anger beginning to radiate off of her in waves. I am not staying here while you go out there. You are not going up there alone to fight him, Dimitri. Edens eyes were on Hunter, and she didn't have to touch the young woman to know that she was serious. Even if Dimitri left, Hunter would just follow and they both knew it. She was seething with anger, and four months pregnant. Neither of which were a good sign.

Dimitri

Dimitri had a choice to make. He could go out there and fight with Hunter by his side, he could stay here and try to keep them safe, or he could just tell Hunter to stay and that everything would be fine. But everything wouldn't be fine. He didn't want to lose Hunter. The best option, it seemed, was to stay here with her.

It was a while before he spoke up again. "I'll stay here. I just...don't want to lose you." He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Hunter

Her eyes softened and her rage seemed to disappear as quickly as it had come. She wrapped her arms around dimitri and placed a gentle kiss upon his brow. I'll always be with you. She whispered softly.

* Minor edits have been made to some posts to keep the theme realistic.