Marcus looked over at Hollie, before looking at Desiree.

"Come along, sweetie." he said to her face.

"We need to go with the lady for a bit." he told her.

"The both of us." he said further.

He then stood up and held Desiree's hand, before sighing.

"Things will get SO much easier once her hearing aids are complete." he muttered.

Marcus froze when he saw the shadow, and held his daughter back from going any further.

"Desiree, stop." he said.

"Stop right there." he told her.

"......" he was then silent, and had both himself and her take some steps back.

"We should take a different route home." he suggested.

"I don't have a good feeling about this way." he continued, daring not to take his eyes off of the shadow.

"......" Marcus was silent for a moment.

"I just have a bad feeling." he said.

"I think there's someone that way that we won't like." he continued.

"Just stay alert and let me know if you see any weird or quick movements." he went on.

"We'll find a different way home, sweetie."

'Damn it.' Marcus thought. 'She's right.' he realised.

"Well, let's just detour a bit." he told her, glancing down a nearby alley.

"...it'll take us a bit longer, but it should be fine." he continued.

'.....no enemies down the alley.' he thought, looking down the alley again, and then back to where the shadow was.

Only to find it not there any longer.

'SHIT.' he silently cursed, as he held his daughter close to him.

".....I don't know anymore." Marcus admitted.

"I don't see it anymore. It disappeared." he told her.

"But I don't know where it went." he went on, as they took careful deliberate steps, trying their best to stay in the glow of the streetlights.

However, that was proving to be a little difficult, as some were blinking and on the fritz.

'Of all times...' he thought, before getting an idea.

"Maybe I can call someone to help us get home." he told her. "Remember, we have friends now from Daddy's work that can use mana to get us home really quickly." he reasoned, trying his best to keep his daughter safe and calm.

As her father got out his cell phone, she swore she saw something.

Some kind of shadow. And it was moving fast. Almost too fast for her to see. But she managed to make out traces of it as it moved about.

But it was getting closer and closer.

It was definitely making its way towards them.

"Damn it." her father cursed.

"Busy!? Now!?"

There was blood coming from Marcus' back, and it looked like he'd been clawed a bit by... whatever it was.

"Ow." he growled, getting to his feet again, and looking around.

'Damn it, where is it!?' he thought.

"Desiree!" he then exclaimed.

"Sweetie, are you all right!?" he asked her, looking over towards his daughter.

"I don't know." Marcus replied.

"But I don't think it's gone." he told her.

He then started to rush towards her, only for the shadow to lunge at him from the cover of the shadows, tackling him down to the ground again, but on his back this time.

When Marcus looked up at his attacker, he saw sharp lupine-like teeth, and golden feral eyes.

".....damn it." he cursed.

"Damn it." he repeated, as he tried to push the lycan off of him.

"......." the lycan was silent as Desiree started to beat on him, before sighing.

"It's almost adorable how pathetic you are." he said, before reaching out and grabbing one of her wrists... hard. All the while, pinning Marcus down by the throat.

"How about you don't interfere?" he suggested, before tossing Desiree off to the side.

"I might not kill you, too."

This caused the Lycan to freeze, when he saw the flicker from beneath the hair.

"...." he silent for a moment, before picking up Marcus' head slightly, and slamming it back down onto the ground, seemingly knocking him unconscious.

"Change of plans." he said.

"I WILL kill you, after all." he growled, as he suddenly pounced for her.