Echo immediatly scented several other shifters. "Great" she muttered and got to her feet. She shifted uncomfortably as blood began to soak through her jacket and drip down her arm. "Hope this doesn't cause people to ask questions" she whispered and walked ahead. Her left arm was over a knife attached to a belt around her waist. Just in case. That was part of Echo's personality. Always be prepared for the worse. Especially since she was a killer and it felt like the entire city was after her. At least no one knew what she looked like exactly. The plus of being a shifter. Echo had realized over time that this was why the league saw her as such a valuble asset. Shifters were rare. Larger cats even rarer. Sometimes, the girl saw being a shifter as a curse though. She didn't mind the killing but ocassionally she wanted to live her life. All the fun of a childhood had beens stolen from her. From a young age it had been training, training, and more training.

Echo arrived at a subway and walked down the stairs. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw people look down and stare at the trail of blood she left. Echo knew the janitors would clean it up quickly and it wouldn't be a problem. That was why the base was here. Low key and easy to hide in. Echo stopped at an Employees Only sign and opened the door. A large bookcase stood at the other end of a giant office. Echo took out a badge and pressed it against a large red book that read "Alice and Wonderland" There was a rumbling noise and the wall seemed to open up. A steel door slid open, revealing a large hallway. Echo stepped into the base of the assassins.

Hearing a series of avian shrieks, Jake glanced up to see an oddly-colored falcon fluttering overhead. Another shifter, no doubt. Of course others would come. He silently cursed himself for not having considered the possibility. And in retrospect, he'd scented another shifter at the scene, though they'd since disappeared in the opposite direction. A jackal, of some sort. 

The falcon descended toward him. With a growl of frustration, he whirled to meet it, snapping his teeth in warning. 

Fang's POV

I stepped back, avoiding the coyote's teeth. Then I quickly changed into my human form, "Whoa! Dude, cool it! I know you're a shifter and I saw you back there," I pointed with my thumb, "My little bro is scared and he wants to know what's going on." I looked at the coyote again, "I'm Fang, by the way."

Jake shifted into human form and sized up the stranger in front of him. He seemed friendly enough. And he was unarmed, an important distinction. 

"All right, we'll talk," he decided. "Name's Jake. Keep walking, though; I'd like to get farther away from this place."

After a few minutes put them well beyond the range of the flashing lights and blaring sirens, he went on, "Dunno what it was exactly. Some scuffle between a leopard shifter and a bunch of guards. Whatever they were after, I reckon they failed, what with all the noise they made." He paused, and glanced sideways at Fang. "This little brother of yours, is he new to the city? Gunfights aren't exactly rare around here."

Echo walked out of the base with four large gashes across her face. Each was deep and bleeding. What had gone on in there was only her's to know. The girl let her hair drape over her face. Thi prevented people from asking questions. Asking questions meant trouble and often death. Many of Echo's partners had been killed because people asked too many questions. That and it seemed that wherever Echo went, death followed in her wake. Since Echo wasn't completely heartless, she kept her distance from people and friends. Family was a strange word in her vocabulary. the girl's parents had been killed by the league. Echo wasn't sure what to think of the league. It was serve or die. Now it was just a part of her life. She didn't really mind. They provided shelter, food, and education. It was the best she could get. Echo walked up the stairs, wiping blood from her face. The flesh burned and stung with a passion. Coincidentally, her home was near where she had killed all those people. As she approached, she noticed several figures walking away from the scene. Echo kept her head low, hiding her injuries. 

Feylan:

 Feylan stopped in at the entrance to the alley. She could hear Grayson's snores. She sighed in relief that her friends were safe. Feylan shook off the sense of alarm she had felt in the presense of the leopard shifter. Growling softly, she realized just how stupid it had been, to run away. Now the coyote probably thought she was a coward! Not that it should really matter to her, though. Sitting down, the jackal huffed.

 Feylan heard a small sneeze and pawsteps; she smiled, knowing who it was. There, from the shadow of the alley, appeared a grumpy little Fennec fox, Rowan.

 "Feylan?" She grumbled sleepily. Sitting down, she shivered and twitched one of her large ears. "Where've you been?"

 "Around. Heard a noise, went to investigate. I'm back now though, right?" Feylan blinked at her small friend.

 Rowan narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but her curiosity got the best of her. "Where? Can you take me?" The little Fennec twitched her nose and tail in a way that Feylan couldn't resist; it was adorable! Feylan was the only one she used this trick on, and it worked without fail.

 Feylan sighed heavily. "Alright, but I don't think you'll like it... Just don't tell Grayson. Come on..." She turned and led Rowan away into the night.

Rowan:

 Rowan followed her friend into the darkness. To be honest, she'd follow Feylan anywhere. She thought about where Feylan would take her. The Fennec fox was close to bursting with excitement, fur fluffed up.

 An alarming scent hit her nose and gagged her. Her hackles rose. Blood... Whatever Rowan may have been expecting, this was not it. Feylan stopped. "We're here." 

Echo looked over when she heard more footsteps. She was now passing the crime scene. Unfortunately is was the only way to get home. Her sight enhanced and her eyes turned a bright yellow with slits for pupils. She looked around and saw to girls in the dark. Quickly, Echo shoved her hands in her pockets and continued to walk until she had passed the dreaded allyway. Blood dripped from her face onto the cement below. Echo's eyes shifted back to their normal green and she looked ahead. A few buildings down was her home. A small house on the street. She handn't meant for the fight to come so close but what choice had she had. The girl arrived at her home and put her hand in her pocket in search of the key. her fingers met nothing but the bottom of her pocket. Echo searched a few times before sighing heavily. It must have fallen out at the base. At the moment, she was ready to scream or kill someone. Now she was trapped in the open. Quietly, she sat down in the doorstep but suddenly thought of an idea. she looked around before letting her hand shift into a paw, a skill she had learned a year ago. The shifter extended a claw into the lock and twisted the lock. There was a click and the door opened. The girl let the paw shift back into a hand and sighed with relief.

POV Fang

I looked at the boy beside me and decided to trust him, "Nice to meet ya, Jake. We're kinda new to the city, we've been here for at least a year now. Little Crane, he's no shifter, and he's the shy type, studders when he talks and couldn't pick up a weapon to save his life." I laughed, "Well, that's Crane for you."

Jake glanced askance at a girl who slunk by in the dark a short distance away, noting for a moment the slash of bright red across her face as she caught the light of a streetlamp.

Turning back to Fang, he nodded thoughtfully. "Good thing you're looking out for him, then. I guess you'll be headed back to him now? After a killing like this, I get the feeling the city'll be a little less kindly toward shifters. Best you laid low for a while."

My head flicked to where Jake's did and I watched a girl slink by, Is that blood on her face...? I shook my head, trying not to think about it. My thoughts snapped back to earth as Jake started talking again and I replied, "I will. Thanks for the help, Crane will appreciate it." I started trotting away quickly, not wanting to worry my brother, "See ya around!" I called back over my shoulder.

Jake watched Fang disappear into the night and stood still for a few moments, lost in thought. At last, he shifted into coyote form and slipped away in the same direction as the mysterious girl. She was long out of sight by now, but a heavily bleeding person wasn't too hard to track by scent, not for him, at least. The occasional spots of blood left on the concrete also helped immensely.

Jake followed the trail to a small house just several blocks away from the crime scene itself. The light shining through the windows indicated the owner was already home. Avoiding the windows and doors, Jake skirted around the walls of the house, taking note of the garbage bins, the bushes, the small sparse front yard, in case such details ever became useful.

And then, on a whim, he suddenly threw caution to the winds. He shifted back into human form, stepped boldly up to the front door, and knocked. 

Echo looked up and grabbed a knife. The girl had had it with hostiles and just wanted to go to bed. Cautiously, she looked through the hole in her door. What was some boy doing there? She sheathed her knife and walked away from the door. Answering would only bring more questions. Especially with her bloodied face. She sat down at the table with a few pieces of gauze and began to wipe it away. Echo winced as she accidentally brushed against one of the cuts. After several minutes, she had managed to somewhat clean her face. Using medical tape, she placed them over the gashes. At least it would keep them from hurting too much Though they were still kind of obvious. Sighing, she ran her hand through her long, black hair and pulled up her sleeve to look at the gunshot wound. It wasn't too bad. Shrugging, she grabbed a gauze roll and managed to wrap it. "I can go to the hospital later and they can remove that stupid bullet" she muttered to herself.

Jake leaned against the wall beside the door, and huffed a sigh. He debated whether to knock again, or maybe to ring the doorbell. On the other hand, if this girl was involved in the killing at the warehouse, as he suspected she was, he wasn't certain he wanted to test her patience. 

He'd come back, he decided. Tonight the blood was too fresh, the risks too great. In the meantime, he'd try to learn more. 

Shifting back into coyote form, he turned to leave, but paused to scent mark the steps leading up to the porch. No ordinary human would detect it, for sure. Nor was it enough to be tracked by, but enough to indicate that he had been there. Then he descended the steps and loped away into the night.

Feylan:

 Feylan really didn't think it had been a good idea to bring Rowan here. She whined a little and pressed next to her small friend, who was shaking so much she could barely stand. "I'm sorry, Rowan..."

 Feylan sighed. On a whim, she looked up and saw a boy trotting away into the night. He was unfamiliar. The jackal shifted into human form. Rowan took the cue and shifted as well, but still leaned into Feylan for support, as her legs were still trembling badly.

Echo looked up when a scent drifted into her home. Her senses sharpened and a leopar like growl came from the back of her throat. It had either been a stray dog or that boy had been a shifter. Now she was in trouble. The girl jumped up, attaching several knives to her belt just in case. "Don't even think about it" she whispered and walked to her bed. Her mother's bow and arrow were tucked away under it. She lifted out the case and opened it. A perfectly shaped wooden bow with turquoise weaved throw it lay there. Echo grabbed it along with a pack of arrows. She put the case back under her bed and sat down on top of the mattress. Echo leaned the now against the wall before laying down and resting her head on a pillow. Each muscle in her body was ready for combat.