[b][NYRA WILLIAMS][/b]

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our show!"
A burst of blazing-white butterflies flew up from the stage, dazzling the audience with a wave of rainbows and light. 
That had been 40 minutes ago. Now, Nyra sat in her room, playing with the performance mask in her hands. There had been the usual applause, the signing of tacky merchandise, fan photographs and escaping to her backstage room to remove the mask that hid her identity. After all, it was far nicer shopping for groceries in peace.

The problem was that this time, she'd felt a sense of unease. It was hard to see with the mask obscuring her vision, but Nyra could've sworn that there had been what she could only describe as 'shady' people, watching her from a corner of the room. It just didn't feel right. After leaving with the rest of the staff, she hurried home, and after a tiring train journey found herself standing outside her apartment, keys in hand, staring at an open door.
"That's not right...." Nyra pulled her concealed handgun out. Gingerly stepping into the darkened flat, she cast her eyes left and right, scanning the room for any intruders. "I know you're in here, you thieves - come out and I won't put a bullet in you!"

What happened next all seemed like a blur. The intruders had revealed themselves, narrowly avoiding getting shot, and after an intense discussion about Axis and some story about a dangerous fourth realm, Nyra just laughed in their faces. As if she'd give up her spotlight to get chummy with some shady organisation! Problem was, after the 'will you help us' card didn't work, they'd resorted to threatening her little cousin Charlie.

So now here she was, walking down some hallway filled with strangers. Scowling, Nyra slammed open the door to the conference room, grabbing a chair furthest from the rest of the group and began to flick through the documents in front of her.


[hr]


[b][TARN BREVIT][/b]

[i]Another boring day at the office....[/i] Tarn sighed, answering what seemed like the millionth call from yet another angry customer.
"I'm sorry for the wait, how may I help you?" He winced, pulling the headset away from his ear as the customer began yelling, "yes, I'm very sorry sir. It just states in your contract that - " The phoneline went dead.
[i]Huh.[/i] That was weird, usually he had to listen to the usual threats of 'this company is useless', 'get the manager' and 'unacceptable!' before they gave up ranting at him. Tarn would also be answering another call by now, but there was nothing but static. Leaning back on his chair, he yelled down the line of office cubicles, waving at a man by the water cooler.
"James, I think this headset's broken!" The technician hurried over. "It's gone all silent - "
"Hello?" The sound flared back into life, and James rolled his eyes, muttering something about wasting his time.
"I'm sorry for the wait, how may I help you?"
"Haven't you been noticing strange things lately? An increase in unexplained deaths on the news?" The voice said.
"Ha ha, very amusing, it's not like this company ever gets prank calls. Unless you have a real problem, I'm going to be hanging up now - "
"We know who you are, Tarn Brevit". 

He froze, eyes growing wide with fear, pulse rising. There was a loud crunch as the desk beneath Tarn's fingertips split, wood splintering as the emotions causing his nails to turn into demon claws.
"What do you want?" Voice shaking noticeably, he began to gather his belongings together, ready to flee at a moment's notice. How did they know?
"Relax, you don't need to run. Let's have a chat first." Tarn gritted his teeth. Of course they were watching him, his mother had warned him about Axis, and despite all his care he'd ended up found out anyway. If he tried to escape now, they'd probably just find him again.
"...ok."

---

It had been quite a surprise. Tarn had been convinced that it was the end, that he was going to end up in some horrific experiment, just like in the rumors spread round the half-breed world. Instead, he found himself walking into a conference room. Free of shackles, no guns pointed at him, nothing. It was all completely unexpected.
The caller had 'explained' a lot to him, and although Tarn still felt suspicious, he'd decided to play along. Sitting down, he eyed the others in the room briefly before checking the documents on the table, in particular his own - and smiled as he noticed that they knew about his claws but not his tail.
[i]So they don't know everything.[/i] Truth be told, he was more relaxed about the fact that he hadn't been watched in the shower, as this was the one time his tail - currently wrapped around his torso - was exposed to see. Glancing up, Tarn looked at the others.
[i]Who can I trust?[/i]