and so i cry sometimes when im lying in bed;; open

[Ridley Duchannes]

It was easier than she'd expected it to be, adjusting to becoming a monster again - Ridley wasn't exactly sure that was a good thing, but she'd been putting off worrying herself over it. She was no longer bound by the frustrating limitations of being a mortal - the maddening decrease in strength and speed, the constant fear of getting hurt and the inability to defend herself, the staying-behind-while-everyone-else-got-to-go-adventuring. And, most importantly, the part where she wasn't good enough for Link - he was an Incubus, fast, strong, alluring, and she'd just been...human. Nothing special. He'd proclaimed that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, like the idiot he was - she had nothing to offer him, as a Mortal. But as a Caster...once she'd gotten her abilities back, once she was special again, Ridley had thought things would be different.

Things had been different, alright. Instead of looking at her with that dopey, playful sort of affection, he'd just looked at her in fear and disgust. He'd rejected her. And she'd ran. The same way she always did, when things got tough. She was sure no one back home was surprised.

Well. At least she wasn't Mortal anymore. Her magic had returned, and she didn't have to worry about dying in, like, seventy short years. Her skin had...gone cold again. Her eyes had turned back to their glowing, haunting yellow. The...the darkness had come back, full force, dulling her emotions and compelling her to lash out at every turn. This had been what she'd wanted, hadn't it? Of course.

But she should have figured just running off, after she'd agreed to ally herself with Sarafine again, wouldn't particularly end well for her. She'd only been on the run for five days - using the tunnels to get out of South Carolina, catching a train, and ending up in Sunnydale, California, of all places (just what she needed - another cutesy small town) - when Hunting's Blood Pack had caught her scent. The band of Incubus Demons took pleasure in both their hunts and their kills, and Ridley somehow doubted that her aunt had ordered them to bring her back alive. They'd found her twice now. Both times, she'd gotten right into their heads and 'convinced' them to forget about her. But her mind tricks didn't work on Incubi the way they worked on humans; it was only a short time before they came to their senses, and they were building up a resistance to it. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up.

Surprisingly, the people of Sunnydale seemed blissfully unaware of the pack of demons traveling through their town. To be fair, it was the middle of the night. Mysteriously, the town seemed to clear out as soon as night fell, as if all its residents were afraid of the dark. They were smarter than they looked, Ridley guessed as she ducked down a dark alley. Some ways off, she could hear the faint rrrriiip that signaled Incubi teleportation - they were close by. She bit her lip slightly, her eyes narrowing behind her designer shades (which were getting increasingly impractical as the night wore on - she could hardly see where she was going). With no one around but the creatures who were already well-aware of who and what she was, though, she supposed she could risk taking them off. Snatching the glasses from her face, she folded them and carefully tucked them into her bag. Already, she felt exposed - like her golden-yellow eyes were illuminating the darkness like headlights, even though their glow was, in reality, fairly mild. It didn't matter whether the Blood Pack noticed, anyway - they could probably already smell her.

She tensed, readying herself for the moment they'd appear in the entrance to the alleyway. Time to face the music.

[The Kurgan]

The open road was nice, but for the Kurgan, it was boring. He was confused as to how he had arrived here, cause when last he was here, he was fighting Connor MacLeod in New York for the Prize, and he had lost. The Highlander took his head and all of his Quickening. But what was interesting, was that he died and was now alive, on Earth again. Granted, it was twenty-nine years later and things had changed greatly.

Kurgan did what he did best, cause pain, suffering and mayhem. Chaos and he relished in that. But he had to find Immortals and so he went traveling. He had heard of a powerful Immortal, the oldest one known as Methos. This would be fun, taking his Quickening, would make him powerful, and than all others would be prey to him. Smiling, he drove the car he had acquired, after getting the owner to sign it over to him, before he was killed.

This car was perfect, fast and was nice. Leather interior and had a very good radio, which was turned up load, with heavy metal music playing through the speakers. In the back of the car, was his sword and he was out hunting. As he drove, the fuel light came on, and he saw it. Cars today were smart and this one had a GPS, an electronic map that was voice activated. Knowing he needed gas, Kurgan got the direction to a town known as Sunnydale and he smiled as he liked the name. "A nice town to have fun in," he said to himself as he drove into town.

Going to the gas station, he looked around and read the note on the pump, prepay or credit card. Thinking, he walked towards the building and paid for fuel, and a snack. Walking out, he fueled up the vehicle and got direction to the nearest hotel. Arriving there, he paid for a room, in cash and took his case, and went to his room. Once inside, he took a shower and put his sword together, and smiled as all the pieces locked together. He stood and swung it a few times, testing the balance and weight, before he left his room and went for a nice walk through town.

Maybe he would get lucky tonight. Maybe he would find an Immortal here, that he could have fun with, and lord knows he was looking for one. Especially if he had any idea what was truly with this town. Nobody was out, and those that were, were something that people feared. And those that were here, would need to fear him as well.

However, as he thought to himself and walked, he did not see a lady go into the alley, nor the fact that she herself was prey, but not his unless she did something to him or he felt like she would be an easy prey. But the odd sound he heard was enough to cause him to stop and draw out his sword and find a place to hide as he looked around "I wonder what toys I will play with tonight," he said to himself as he went back towards the alley and stayed within the shadows, not breathing as he watched the girl who was walking and looking around, like she was an animal trying to find a hiding place.

[Ridley Duchannes]

It was really starting to look like she had only two options here. She could keep right on hiding and wait for them to inevitably find her - an option that seemed distastefully cowardly - or she could meet them halfway. Either way, they were going to catch her, and the second option of confronting them seemed considerably more...badass. She was Ridley Duchannes - forget Light or Dark, she came from one of the most powerful Caster families known to this world. Hell if she was going to give a bunch of Incubus dogs the satisfaction of cornering her. It was hardly a choice at all.

Unaware of the newcomer who was observing her now, she drew a breath and pried herself away from the wall. Feigning unwavering confidence, the Siren sauntered forward into the light just as the Blood Pack skidded into view. Or...part of the Pack, anyway. Ridley scanned their ranks briefly, her golden eyes glowing still. Hunting wasn't even among them. What a shame. It was almost insulting to think that their leader hadn't even thought it was worth showing his face in order to catch her. Still, she wasn't going to be sore about it - Hunting and part of the rest of the Pack's absence actually increased her chances of survival rather dramatically. A mocking smirk crossed her features. Infuriating them into attacking her seemed an infinitely better option than waiting for them to play with their food before going in for the kill.

"Congratulations. You boys finally caught up. Took you long enough." she drawled, her smirk widening into a grin. Well, not quite a grin - a flash of teeth that was more a threat than a friendly gesture. Of course, as disconcerting as a Dark Caster could be, even with her eerily colored eyes Ridley knew she didn't have much on a pack of Incubi - especially where teeth were involved. She wasn't too keen to get a closer look at theirs.

One of the biggest in the group stepped forward, his voice a low snarl. "I'll give you three seconds to wipe that smug look off your face before we do it for you, witch."

If there was one thing these thugs were, apart from dangerous, it was predictable. She pretended to pout at his words. "Aw, come on, I know you brutes aren't known for bein' the brightest crayons in the demon-box, but I woulda thought you'd at least be gettin' the terminology right by now. It's Caster." she punctuated the last word with a particularly disdainful glare "Now why don't all of you run home before I have to convince you to?"

The Incubus' black eyes flashed dangerously, but he let out a low chuckle. "If you could, then you would've done it already - just like you did the last two times. Not getting tired, are you sweetheart?"

He'd called her out - but her expression didn't change. She forced herself to continue staring him down, head tilting slightly to one side. "You wanna test that theory?" He probably did - and it was probably going to suck for her. As much as her abilities had developed over the past few years, even she wasn't quite at the point where she could take on a Pack of Incubi three times in a row. But given just a bit more time to recover, maybe she'd at least be able to do something...

It didn't look like it was going to matter much now, though. They were closing in on her now, forming a sort of half-circle.

Her options, to say the very least, were becoming limited.

[The Kurgan]

Listening to the talking of these mortals, these casters and whatever they were. Smiling, he listened to them talk as the group moved towards the lady. Thinking, he steps out of the shadow and speaks "I think that this will be a grand show," he says as he plants the tip of his sword onto the ground and looks at them. Grinning, he thinks for a moment as he studies each of those here.

Looking at the group, he sizes them up and shakes his head. "You are weak, and will be beaten easily," he simply states as he moves forward slowly, the tip of his sword scraping across the ground and he moves slowly, with perfectly measured steps as he looks at them, being 6'3 and a half feet tall. Stopping he smiles at them, the scar across his throat showing and in view as he looks at Ridley.

"Now you, you are ... Hmm strong and lost," he says to her as he turns his attention back to the group, "Why don't you boys go home and play with your toys? The streets are not safe for you," he states simply as he stands there waiting and watching. The Kurgan is ready for a fight, no itching for a fight. He has not had one in a long time and this could be a good relaxing moment. He misses the fights form the time when he killed Connor MacLeod in 1536 when Clan MacLeod and Clan Fraser, since they were or are enemies at the time. A smile crosses his face as he remembers that fight, and how the easy it was for him to kill MacLeod, the Highlander and that he would have been an easy kill, if other members of MacLeod did not interfere with what he was about to do.

Thinking of that, his smile turns into a frown as he grabs his special two-handed broardsword handle with one hand, and with little effort, lifts it and swings at the closest people of the group, and he was in the fight. If Ridley wanted to get involved, now is the time, as The Kurgan is gonna enjoy this.

[Ridley Duchannes]

Ridley spotted the stranger being the Blood Pack did - her eyes narrowed faintly, dubiously. A human - walking straight towards unimaginable danger, as humans were wont to do. By now, several of the Incubi were turning towards them, all of them tense - bristling like pack of wolves waiting for the order to attack. And not that she wasn't grateful for the distraction, but what the hell did this guy think he was doing? Her gaze dropped to the sword he was carrying. Wasn't going to help him much, not when he was up against a pack of incredibly strong, incredibly fast immortal demons.

But she wasn't going to stick around and explain what was what to him. If he wanted to get himself torn to pieces, it would give her the time she needed to get away. And that suited her just fine.

She quirked an eyebrow as he turned and addressed her briefly. "And you're..." A brief pause followed as she tilted her head slightly to one side. "...either really brave, or really stupid." Hunting's Pack, however, were less than amused. In fact, it didn't look like they were in much of a talking mood anymore - the moment he swung his weapon, the nearest of the Incubi disappeared into thin air with a distinctive rip. It might as well have been the signal for all hell to break loose. Ridley darted backwards the moment the stranger attacked, taking the opportunity to distance herself from the Pack while they were still unsure of what was happening. They were distracted by the human, for the moment, at least - they'd reappeared around him, forming a semi-circle just out of immediate reach of his sword. She watched tensely as one of them flicked a hand, using his telekinetic abilities to try and send the man tumbling out into the street.

Yep. He was screwed. Which meant she had a pretty good opportunity to get the hell out of here. She'd barely moved for the opposite end of the alley, however, when an Incubus was upon her - lunging forward, teeth bared. She just barely managed to step out of his way and grab the lid to a nearby trashcan, slamming it into his face when he lunged for her again. The Incubus reared back briefly with a snarl of pain - and Ridley knew better than to stand still. She took the ability to duck under his arm and flash past him. The problem was, he - and several others, now, were still in between her and her escape route. She needed something - anything, to buy her time. A Cast? But which one? When you were dealing with demons, you needed not only power, but a whole lotta luck to get away unscathed. Maybe if...

...Yes. That might just do the trick. Ridley began slinking backwards, murmuring the words to the Cast under her breath. It looked like the Incubus knew exactly what she was trying to do because he suddenly sprung again, this time managing to grab her and pull her close to him. She closed her eyes tight, able to feel his breath against her neck - he was going to bite her, drain her of all her blood. But instead of thinking about that, she focused on the Cast, murmuring the words more quickly now.

...And then, gradually, she felt his grip loosen. He stumbled backwards, seeming dazed...bewildered, even. She watched him uncertainly for a moment, just about holding her breath to wait and see if it'd worked, using her mental powers of persuasion to nudge him along - and then, sure enough, he turned around and snarled at the illusion that had appeared behind him: a false image of Ridley herself, running off into the open street. In a flash, he took off after her, with several of the other Incubi on his heels.

An Illusion Cast. It seemed to have done the trick - and it had effectively split the group in half. The remaining few, however, still had their attention focused on the man with the sword....