Somewhere in Croatia

[Kovach Twins]

It was a beautiful day. The wind was blowing gently at her dress and the sun felt so warm and comforting against Jalora's olive skin. With a basket in hand the young girl had decided to wander off a little ways from her family's farm house. Just far enough to pick some berries so they could make a pie or maybe jam. Something sweet on such a wonderful day. Of course after all of her chores it was mid afternoon and the sun was beginning to set by the time she made it to the clusters of berries. She knew her twin brother Juraj would be coming out to find her soon, so she had to hurry.

"Jalora?....Jalora?" Juraj called out for his sister as he walked through the tall grasses of the wood. He was still dressed in his work clothes, though with the warmth of the day, he had long been without his shirt. It was like this every day almost, any free time his sister had would drive her out here. And then he'd be stuck dragging her home before it grew too dark. "Ollie Ollie Oxenfree." A cheerful smile came to his lips as he finally saw his sister bent down while picking at a bush of berries. Mmm, good idea sis. Just as his eyes lifted up from the form of his sister he noticed something off in the woods. It was a glint of light, and as he continued to walk towards Jalora his eyes narrowed more and more to try and figure out what it was. Juraj's smile faded as he saw some manner of beast leap out from the wood behind his sister. "Jalora!" Juraj broke out into a run, rushing to his sister's side but he was too late. By the time he got there the beast had already started tearing at her. He grabbed at it's furred limbs and tried to pull it off of her. The creature's strength was too much and quickly turned on him.

It wasn't too long afterward that the twins' father had set out to look for his children. His wife wouldn't stop nagging him if he didn't go out to see what had been keeping them. He figured that they just got side tracked, which was easy for Jalora to do at times. But it wasn't until he stumbled upon the horror of blood and ripped flesh that he knew something had gone terribly wrong.

Days passed in a nearby hospital since the accident to find Jalora's wounds had miraculously healed like nothing had ever happened to her. Unfortunately Juraj wasn't as lucky. Weeks passed before he could finally be released from the hospital. Even then he was still covered in bandages here and there to make sure infection wouldn't take place.

"You want some stranger to take our children away?" The mother of the twins asked in distress as she stared at the nurse before her.

"It is only a boarding school. I have the headmistress coming to talk to you. She'll explain everything. I promise that it's for the best." The nurse smiled as comfortingly as she could while the forms were filled out and the children were finally able to go home. The nurse knew the children would adapt and enjoy it there, after all...she did.

Jalora's eyes watched the nurse as she helped her brother walk out to the old truck. There was something strange going on, but she couldn't quite place it. Oh well, it didn't matter right now, she had to make sure her brother would be okay.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Oh god more dogs?" Talon whined as they teleported into Croatia after dropping off Roisin. She looked mostly human, with her sunglasses on and blood feeding a healthy appearance.

"Just one more for now." Briarthorn replied. "The, after one or two more, we will pick up Gabby." The two walked up the doors of a nice farmhouse on the borders of some woods, and Briar knocked on the door. After a few moments, a middle-aged woman answered the door.

"Hello Mrs. Kovach." She said, answering the woman's wary look with a steady smile. "My name is Briarthorn, and this is my associate Talon. I believe we were expected? I am the headmistress of a private school that, among other things, accepts children in your children's positions."

[Kovach Twins]

As much she had remembered the nurse mentioning the school, she didn't think that a person would actually show up. Let alone the headmistress. "Come in," Well Mrs. Kovach wasn't without her manners as she opened the door for them to enter. The house was somewhat on the small side, but was cozy with a fireplace in the corner. A door led off to the kitchen and a small hallway let up to a staircase to the second floor. "Have a seat, I'll bring in something to drink." The woman left for a few minutes before she returned with a tray of coffee. Though she didn't feel like drinking any herself she didn't want to be rude. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean by my childrens' 'position'." A bit of a frown came over the woman's face as she watched the two women that sat across from her. What position were her children in? Granted they both just recovered from a very traumatic event...but how could a school possibly specialize in such a thing?

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Mrs. Kovach, the animal that attacked your children was not a normal animal." Briarthorn replied. "It was...there is no easy way to say it so I will simplay have to say it. Your children were attacked by a werewolf. Now, before you start accusing me of lying or witchcraftery or what have you, both of your children suffered horrible injuries. Your daughter, on the other hand, healed almost overnight, while your son is still wounded. This is because your daughter was bitten. She has now caught lycanthropy and is, thus, a werewolf. I'm sorry, but so far removed from the event, there is no cure."

[Kovach Twins]

Mrs. Kovach stared at the two women with narrowed brows. A werewolf? "Hmph, a werewolf? How dare you come in here and make fun of the tragedy that happened to my children. Do you have proof of such a thing?" The woman frowned as she held her hands in her lap, silently hoping that her husband would come in for a break from the chores, which were tripled now that the children were injured. Well Jalora was fine but she was put in charge of taking care of Juraj for now.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"I would think that the fact that your daughter healed life-threatening injuries in a matter of hours after a wild animal attack would be proof enough." Briar replied dryly. "But if you insist. Talon?"

Talon removed her sunglasses and let the blood-fed illusion drop away. Her mouth was full of fangs, her fingernails very much like claws, her skin now unmistakeably corpse-like. The solid black pits that were her eyes began to spread a little, just a hint of blackness running through her veins, and little bits of what looked like shadow evaporating from her eyes.

"As you can see, Ms. Talon is a vampire." Briarthorn said. "Please, don't be alarmed, she won't hurt you or anyone in this house. While abrasive and vicious, she is a woman of her word and she has given hers to do no harm."

[Kovach Twins]

The sudden transformation of the vampire did indeed startle her. The look was so...grotesque. Whatever happened to pretty vampires? After a few moments of wide eyes and tenseness in her muscles she settled and brushed her hands over her skirt.

"That still doesn't prove that 'werewolves' exist, and that my daughter is one of them. It was a miracle they both survived that attack." She hmphed slightly and looked away from them for a moment. "My children cannot possibly go with you. Without them our farm would go to ruin. My husband cannot do all the work by himself."

Jalora had slowly snuck herself out of her brother's room and rested at the edge of the stairs. She quietly listened as the strange woman discussed the school with her mother. A werewolf? That...explained a lot...unfortunately.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"If I could talk with your daughter, and put this amulet on her, I could show you. Unfortunately, I must insist that your daughter come to the school. While I am capable of using my magic to block most of her transformation, I cannot block the moon's pull from her. She will turn into a wolf every month, on each night within twentyfour hours of a full moon, and she runs the risk of turning anyone she bites into something like her. Without training, she can never know how to control this tranformation on her own. However..." Briarthorn said as she contemplated something for a moment. "In my school is a room in which there are mirrors that allow transport to anywhere there is a mirror to recieve them. I could give your children special permission to use these mirrors to return and help with farmwork if you wish, so long as it does not interfere with their schooling."

Small, glowing lights swirled around Briarthorn, forming intricate patterns and shifting from one color to another. "And to anticipate your next question yes, magic is real. I am afraid your son and daughter have taken their first step into seeing just how large the world actually is."

"Those pretty vampires are all pansies. Spend too much of their power trying to look like living people." Talon muttered.

[Kovach Twins]

Jalora continued to watch from the stairs as her mother and the women spoke. It wasn't too long before Juraj was stepping up behind her to see what was going on. He was a lot better than he had been, and besides a few bandages and buises, the only thing that really showed off the ordeal was his arm still in a sling. He could sense the stress welling up in his sister and placed his good hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to comfort her.

Mrs. Kovach remained silent for a long moment, thinking about what the woman had said. Well it wasn't like they didn't go to school as it was now...so she supposed the idea of them coming home to help with the farm would be alright. But she still didn't like the idea of her children running off to some strange school and with all manner of strange creatures. She didn't like not being able to protect them. "I need to speak to my husband about this."

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Please, do so. I am in no hurry." Briarthorn replied, her steady smile never leaving her face.

"Might as well get the two kids in here. They've been listening in for a while." Talon said with an almost bored voice.

"Don't be startled." Briar called out. "There isn't much that can esacpe Talon's senses. You may as well come in and talk to us about the prospects of schooling, the both of you."

[Kovach Twins]

Juraj frowned slightly as the one woman announced their presence. Not that it really mattered since it was about them anyway. But as he decended the stairs he rose up his hand a little to pause his sister. He couldn't help not trusting these people, after all if they knew about the things that attacked his sister, it was a possibility they were lying.

Juraj walked out and smiled slightly to his mother to soothe the worry on her face to his walking about by himself. Though the smile faded as he turned to look at the women that sat infront of him. His hair was tussled a bit still from laying in bed but he didn't bother to smooth it out. "My sister isn't going anywhere without me." Of course the one woman had said the both of them...but he just wanted to stress the fact that he wasn't letting her out of his sight.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

Talon burst out laughing at that. "You. Are trying to intimidate. Us. Bwahahaha!" She almost doubled over before wiping away a bloody tear. "Oh, I like you, kid. You should be in my class next semester."

Briar glared briefly at Talon before turning to the youth. "You are as welcome as your sister is. My school is open to both those who are human and those who have been changed into something else. You are free to come as well. We would be happy to have both you and your sister."

[Kovach Twins]

Juraj frowned as Talon started laughing at him, it even caused his good hand to clench a bit before he decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to get in a fist fight with a vampire. The tension in him lessened a little as his attention turned back to the headmistress. It lingered there for a moment before he turned slightly to look at his mother. With his age he was old enough to make his own decisions and as an elder brother those decisions could stand for his sister as well. "We'll go...." Then those piercing eyes, which were quite good even for a human, turned back to the headmistress again. "As long as we can help at home.."

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

"Yes, of course. If everything's settled we need to drop you off after your parents are done conferring. Go pack your bags." Briar then called out to the parents, "You are, of course, on occasion, allowed to visit."

Briarthorn then pulled a card from her tarot deck and studied it for a moment before turning to Talon. "If I cast a teleport on you for you to fetch the next child, will you do so without upsetting her?"

"...why are you sending me alone?" The Vampire asked.

Wordlessly, the headmistress held up a tarot card. It featured a girl with butterfly wings and a blindfold charging headlong into a storm. The arcana was The Fool.

"Right. Okay, you deal with fussy mcprotectivepants here and I'll pull the pipsqueak out of the fire." Talon replied, and in a flash of light, she was gone.

[Kovach Twins]

Juraj frowned at Talon's attitude and if looks could kill...well she would be twice dead, but then again that look followed after her disappearance. He turned to his mother and smiled softly to her. "We'll be okay. At least this way we can get the help we need." His mother was still wearing a worried frown upon her features but she seemed more calm now.

Mrs Kovach sighed softly and nodded, "Alright. I'll tell your father you'll be home for chores tomorrow.." That worried look softened slightly into a smirk. Her son was strong and she trusted his insight for his age. Kept reminding her of his father...

Juraj nodded, he knew his father would have twice the fit his mother did if he got hold of this information in time. At least if they left before he knew of it then he couldn't do anything about it. And as long as the farm would be okay...what was the harm? Leaving the livingroom he started back up the stairs, smiling to his sister before he passed her. "Come on, we have to pack."