[IC] Of Shadow and Flame EP2: Investigation

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen stood with her back against the wall at the corner side of the door. She leaned up against it in that casual, way, not trying to look overly-threatening or anything. After all she would have to work with this people for awhile most likely. She played with her zippo lighter sparking it over and over again for no particular reason than to give her hands something to do. She straightened out her electric blue hair as the others approached.

She only slightly cringed at the words "Lovely Lady." If this... Gavriil knew her... he wouldn't say those words. A flower could be pretty on the outside... but damaged elsewhere. "You wouldn't be saying that if you knew who I was." she said rather coldly. Like always her first course of action was to figure out what these people were like. Though... she always did it her way. She didn't like being close to people in any snese and she was going to amke sure every one knew that one way or another. Hopefully... she wouldn't have to pin cushion this one with needles of ice. "Anyway... we share a common target; That beast. And it isn't ordinary. It is very powerful... and something is... different about it. In all my years of hunting beasts..." Vixen nearly slipped and said and their hunters, referring to Protectors, but caught herself before doing so. She didn't figure they would be too fond of knowing she hunted their kind... even if it was just the corrupt ones. "...I have yet to see one quite like this." she continued without missing a beat. It would take skilled ears to have noticed her fumble. "I have been tracking it for awhile... but not certain if it has a discernible pattern to its route or where it goes other than it goes to areas with people."

[Shamitako]

(OOC: This doesn't exist, you're imagining it, Lexi never posts. Also, first paragraph is mostly flavor stuff, it's not important to read to understand the post, but it doers give some insight into Kindle's life)

Kindle groggily rolled over in her bed.

Crap, I have to wake up. She thought disdainfully.

Despite always wanting to sleep in, Kindle was diligent enough to wake up anyways. She forced her eye open and reached over to her nightstand for her eyepatch, which she failed to find. A confused look spread over her face, where could it be? She decided to find it after she got a shower, she couldn't search while half asleep. She slid out of bed, but instead of the now familiar feeling of her hospital gown falling loosely over her knees, she instead felt the rough scratching of denim.

"That can't be right." She mused aloud, "Why am I still dressed?"

She looked down at herself, and indeed, it was so. She was still fully clothed. That was silly, she was certain she would have changed before going to sleep. Unless she had been up late.

Oh, right, crazy beast monster. She remembered, feeling sheepish for forgetting.

With that mystery solved, she headed off to the shower.

"Kindle?" Rang out a raspy voice over the shower.

"Yes?" Kindle yelled back.

"The nurse said you were awake and could have visitors, I didn't realize you were in the shower."

"It's fine mom, I'm almost done."

Kindle quickly finished her shower alongside silence from her mother. Once she was fully cleaned up and dressed in clean clothing (which looked suspiciously like her outfit from the previous day, except that she was wearing pink, low-heeled sandals) she exited to bathroom. Her mother was sitting on the edge of the bed playing a game on her smartphone. Kindle's mother was a short, blonde-haired woman in her mid thirties. She was wearing altogether too much makeup to cover the signs of her aging. She wore a loose-fitting black t-shirt with the insignia of her current favorite rock band on it alongside a pair of blue jeans that were faded and ripping on one knee. She also wore the ugliest pair of shoes Kindle could possibly imagine, a pair of orange and purple sneakers that she had worn for almost four years. One day Kindle would convince her to buy new shoes, one day.

"Hey mom, whatcha playing?" Kindle asked cheerfully, a hint of sarcasm touching her voice.
Her mom looked up, startled, "Oh um, nothing." She said, turning her phone off and faking a smile.

Kindle had to restrain herself from saying something disrespectful. She had learned long ago that her rants fell on deaf ears when it came to her mother. Besides, the woman was making an honest attempt to look like Kindle actually had her attention, even if it was a bad one. Sometimes it seemed like she actually cared, sometimes.
"Right, so, I'm going to head down to the cafeteria, you think you could call dad for me?" Kindle said, starting for the door without even waiting for a response.

"I will honey." Her mom called after her, and as soon as Kindle was around the corner, she heard the jingle of points racking up.

A little while later, Kindle was sitting in the cafe eating some kind of spicy Chinese chicken dish that she had fallen in love with but still couldn't remember the name of. Her father, a rather stout man who despite being only 5'10", managed to seem like he was ten feet tall by the way he carried himself. It was from her father that Kindle got most of her appearance, most notably her hair. He also had the same silly little freckles coating his body. He currently wore a long-sleeved, white button-down shirt with khaki dress pants, telling Kindle he had recently left work. That meant it was it sometime in the early afternoon. His sharp green eyes were adorned with equally sharp black rimmed glasses that seemed to Kindle much to thin to see anything through. And he carried at his side a small wooden box, which he promptly open over the table, spilling out the blue and gold chess pieces within.

"Hey daddy!" Kindle said cheerfully (and sincerely so this time) as soon as her mouth was no longer stuffed full of rice.

"Hey Firecracker." Her dad responded with his pet name for her.

"I'm going to beat you this time." She taunted as he set up the chess board.

"Oh no, what new strategy have you devised to overcome me this time?" He responded with obviously sarcastic fear.

"It won't work if I tell you. But rest assured, you'll never know what hit you."

Her father sat down, gesturing to the fully prepared board, "Ladies first."

"Checkmate." Kindle's dad said triumphantly an hour and a half later.

Kindle let out an exasperated sputtering sound, "I got closer this time." She said, trying to be optimistic.

"You did, in fact, had you simply moved your bishop here," he pointed to a spot of the board, "and captured my knight three turns ago, you would probably have won. Though of course a lot can happen in three turns."

"Awww." Kindle said, realizing he was right.

And of course he was right, he was her father. He had a well-paying job as a math professor, volunteered at the local library, and always said he had the brightest little Firecrcker in the world. There was no man more perfect in Kindle's eyes than Abner Hope.

"Oh dear, look at the time." He said, disrupting Kindle's reverie, "I still have to get a shower before I head to the library."

"Alright, bye daddy, I love you." She said, standing.
"I love you too, Firecracker." Her father said, standing as well.

They embraced, her father giving Kindle a soft peck on the forehead. He then packed up the chess game and left, heading off to be amazing.

Kindle sighed happily, it was good to have someone wonderful like her dad to offset the mess she called mother. She couldn't imagine what she would do without their lunchtime games of chess.

With her father gone and her mother otherwise indisposed, Kindle supposed the most reasonable thing to do would be to purchase more of that delicious chicken. She returned to her seat with another plate of food, yet found her mind wandering too much to actually eat it. She hadn't told her father about her apparent magical powers, and she wondered if she even should. Would he believe her? And even if he did, what then? She wasn't sure she wanted him involved with this world of monsters she had discovered, she wasn't sure she wanted to be involved herself. She buried her face in her hands frustratedly, what was she supposed to do now?

[Chevaleresse]

Kindle

From across the hospital, a person was looking at Kindle with an odd expression. Wait, that girl. Could she be. . . They walked up to the table at which the girl sat as quickly as they could manage without tripping. The person was dressed in a loose-fitting but high-quality white button-up shirt and black slacks of a similar quality. Medium-length, neatly kept hair framed bright blue eyes with a piercing, intelligent quality to them as they moved toward Kindle. "Excuse me, but. Well, this might sound like an unusual question, but. Hmm. How do I phrase this properly? Have you ever seen an animal that you've never seen before, even in pictures? Or touched a gem that disappeared on you?"

Rooftop

Kouta followed Gavriil up somewhat hesistantly, still not entirely convinced he wasn't about to be blown up. Though Vixen attempted to look non-threatening, her words still put the boy on edge. "I-I don't know. We haven't seen something like this b-before. It m-must have moved here recently. N-Noriko-sama might know more."

Noriko, meanwhile, was headed up the elevator. She waited impatiently for the machine to move; it would have been faster to scale the building, but not particularly efficient or stealthy.

[Shamitako]

Kindle looked up at the stranger, normally she wouldn't talk to strangers, but their words intrigued her. She sized them up. They reminded her of her dad, but with a really girly face.

"Dude, what's with your face?" She slipped, immediately covering her mouth.

She gave herself a second to calm down, and continued to look him over.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, that was rude." She gushed, releasing her hands from her mouth, "I'm just, gaah. How about i just answer your question? The answer is yes by the way. Though I'm curious as to how you would know and why you want to know."

Kindle finally finished her analysis of this new man, or was he a woman? He seemed, lacking, in the womanly areas, and he had a similar air about him as her father, but his face seriously looked like that of a woman.

"Also, um, this is rude too, but are you a boy or a girl?" She added somewhat nervously.

[Jory]

Outside the Alleyway

Bark took his hand off the building and opened his eyes. The last several minutes played through his head. After leaving the alley, he'd stopped and turned toward the building. Placing his hand on it, he'd closed his eyes and listened hard for the vibrations given off by voices. He'd managed to detect two conversations. So they're here hunting the Beast after all. And with so many people, I might be better off working with them. He grimaced, thinking of what he'd heard Kouta say to Vixen and her reply. He may not know it, but she's shaken from that. And she wasn't even on the ground. She knows we're dealing with more than just a Beast.

The man sighed. I hate this part. He walked back into the building, following Noriko into the elevator and wearing a far more amicable expression on his face than last time. "If you're going to be tracking the Beast, I'm sure you could use an extra hand. I know we didn't get off on the right foot and I'm sorry about that. It's simply the fact that even with Protectors, you factions are kind of a mixed bag. All sorts of goods and bads just thrown into a sack and mixed up like some kind of high school word problem. You people seem to be better than most, though. So whether or not you want my help, well..." he grinned. "You have it."

[Chevaleresse]

Kindle

The person speaking with her laughed off Kindle's fumbling. They were used to this sort of thing at this point, and they were too distracted to get upset anyway. "To make a long discussion short, neither. My name is Hikaru. More importantly, though, the reason I ask these questions is because I happen to have powers similar to the ones you probably have. Here; how about we go back to your room? People might think I belong in the psych ward, talking like this."

[Shamitako]

Neither? Kindle thought, furrowing her brow at Hikaru's laughter.

Kindle decided it was best not to question it, she could quiz him on the matter at a later date. Instead she shoved one last piece of chicken in her mouth, grabbed her plate, and stood.

"If thif way." She said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of her room.

By this time her mother should be gone, so it should have been a safe place. Then again, her mom could easily still be tapping that stupid little screen of hers without any regard for the time. Kindle couldn't restrain a sigh of relief upon finding that her mother was indeed not in the room any longer, though that could mean she was just out for a smoke. Spinning around, Kindle flopped back onto her bed.

"Better make this quick," she said without sitting up, "my worthless mom could get back here any time, though chances are she went home."

[Chevaleresse]

Kindle

Hikaru frowned slightly at the girl's words toward her mother. That's a pity. Though, it would certainly make this life easier to handle if one disliked one's parents. "I suppose I should start with who I am. I am what you might call a mage; I can transform into a stronger version of myself, and use various powers while doing so to fight magical beasts. I'm sure you've seen or experienced this to an extent? Either way, this allows me to sense the same sort of potential in others. You could gain this ability as well, with some tutoring and experience." They paused for a moment, looking for a reaction.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"And where is this...Noriko you speak of? Somewhere nearby I would hope." The blue haired woman said. She didn't really speak directly to either of the men in front of her as per usual. She avoided eye contact entirely like always.

"This one really is hopeless... scared shitless by only me. Much too timid and certainly shouldn't be a part of this fight. But I suppose he is one of us now... so he is forced to do this even if he doesn't want to. Better to be in numbers than alone for survival... for the weaker ones anyway. People like me need to be alone most times... less lose ends. Less caring about people to get in the way. Less complications. It is better that way." Vixen thought to herself. This kid was just going to get in the way... but she didn't feel like saying it to his face. He probably would have agreed with her... probably ended up forced into this situation. So, she didn't say anything about it. She could only hope this Gaveriil and the third of their band of three... this Noriko, knew what they were doing.

[Cyaloom]

After obtaining the answer to his question from Astros, Dexter didn't have any more questions... maybe just a small doubt: Dexter didn't know if all humans could see the beasts - that was what he understood, but he wasn't certain - and just decided to ask something again.

"I remember I saw the beast in a vision: I could then describe it but no one would believe me, of course. But, did all of those people still see that or did they see something else, like a natural event? I also remember some news about storms - or something like that - the day I 'saw' that creature."

[Felicity]

"Well, I'm liable to piss most of 'em off anyway" Bobby murmured to himself. He was feeling even better now than he had when he woke up and felt ready to start roof jumping now. Then again, he always had a habit of getting ahead of himself. Who really knew if he was ready to go? Bobby pushed those thoughts away. Roof jumping was fun without the nagging voice saying he was gonna go splat on the floor below...

[Shamitako]

Kindle

Hikaru frowned slightly at the girl's words toward her mother. That's a pity. Though, it would certainly make this life easier to handle if one disliked one's parents. "I suppose I should start with who I am. I am what you might call a mage; I can transform into a stronger version of myself, and use various powers while doing so to fight magical beasts. I'm sure you've seen or experienced this to an extent? Either way, this allows me to sense the same sort of potential in others. You could gain this ability as well, with some tutoring and experience." They paused for a moment, looking for a reaction.

"Yeah, there was a big fight thing with a beoar last night and I got to see some magicalness happen." Kindle said.

She had sort of figured Hikaru, like Takeshi, had been able to sense her magical powers. Now she wondered how many others might have done the same. How plentiful were these magical people?

"After the beoar fight we all went back to Mr. Scraggly's house and he did some plot exposition so we all knew what was going on. Oh and there was a magical cat thing. And then I got brought back here because it was late."

Feeling she had explained the situation adequately, Kindle sat up and looked at Hikaru, her eyes ripe with curiosity and anticipation. Though she was uncertain she wanted to be part of this magical world, she was very interested in learning more about it.

(OOC: Just to be clear, the plot exposition bit isn't fourth-wall breaking, it's just Kindle's choice of words for the scenario)

[Yash]

Krys was smiling at his explanation, and then Bobby being funny. By then she had noticed Astros join them. "Hi, Astros. I guess what you say makes sense. My parents thought I was insane when I told them about a beast I had seen." She suddenly became very quite, remembering her past life. It made her sad and angry, and she shut out everything, ignoring the others.

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's group

Astros started to speak before Takeshi could answer. "As I said before, chances are that some people did, in fact, see it. While magical beasts can interfere with normal perception, the biggest factor in all this is simple human psychology. You - and we, but this particular example pertains to humans - are afraid of what you do not know or understand. A magical beast is exactly that; there is no logical explanation for their existence or the destruction they cause. So, the human mind invents an explanation. Instead of a street being destroyed by a rampaging creature of some variety, a gas line ruptured and exploded. Close examination would reveal the differences, but why would one bother doing so when the explanation comes so readily? And in the rare case that a human does decide to investigate further, we Mediators intervene." His tail continued to flick back and forth randomly as he explained the phenomenon Dexter described. It was one of the few things (other than the blatantly obvious) that hinted at the true nature behind his feline form.

"Takeshi, I believe we have an issue, however. Can you feel that?" Astros's voice had a tone of concern this time.

"No, I can't." The teen's brow furrowed in concentration. "Still nothing," he said. "Maybe if I transformed. . . oh." Sensing 'it' had become suddenly irrelevant as a canine growling echoed from behind them. Takeshi turned to face the source of the noise, gaining height as the transformation progressed from his toes and fingertips inward, turning the hoodie and jeans into well-fitted black clothing and plates of armor about his torso, shins, and shoulders. His hair lengthened and lightened, and the transformation completed with greenish-teal motes of light coalescing into a long blade in front of him. "I recommend standing back a bit, unless you feel like joining in. Pay attention, though."

The party responsible for Takeshi's preparation was a creature that looked like some nightmarish rendition of a starved dog. It had short, patchy brown fur and a long muzzle with entirely too many teeth crammed in at much larger than normal angles. The limbs were unnaturally long, but the head still hung low to the ground due to the creature's stance. Short, but wickedly sharp claws that definitely didn't belong on a dog jutted from its paws, and its ribs were clearly visible as they were outlined by the creature's stretched flesh. It had a larger than normal chest, which only exaggerated how much the belly was sunken inward.

Takeshi set his blade in a high guard, blade pointed at the beast.

Kindle

Hikaru stood silently for a moment, trying to sort through the girl's explanation. So, she encountered another mage, saw him and possibly others battling a beast, then he invited them over to his dwelling? A Mediator was present as well. Odd behavior, for a Loner, but I would guess the Mediator pressed him to find new recruits. "I see," they finally said. "Well. I'm sure either he or the Mediator present - did you catch either of their names, by any chance? I can ask you later - told you about what this magic business entails. You already have power, but you didn't mention a contract, so I assume you found a shard - the gem that I mentioned earlier - and it awakened your powers. If you would like, I could teach you more about the magical world and how to use your own magic. Would you care to visit me once you're out of this hospital? You don't look hurt, or like a terminally ill patient, so that shouldn't be too long. Here." Hikaru searched for a moment and came up with a pen and paper. "Call this number, and I'll come and get you wherever you are, assuming you don't decide to go on vacation in the near future." They chuckled a bit at that thought.

[Yash]

Krys snapped out of her daze when she heard the beast. Suddenly she was alert and turned to see the dog like creature. Takeshi seemed to be geared up. Should I stand back? I mean he could handle the creature himself, specially considering the way he killed that last one. I should at least transform and be prepared. She concentrated and could feel the familiar sensation again. This time she found it easier to transform, and was clad with her red armour over a black mesh of her clothes. I need my weapon though. I need Thorn. She tried again, and this time summoned her sword. It materialised in her hand. She stood facing the beast, but further away than Takeshi, trying to mimic his stance.

[Felicity]

Bobby immediately transformed, once he figured out how to trigger that same wash of power he had experienced prior. The flaming hair and fiery coat flared out behind him as Ozymandias took no time in declaring his intention, summoning the contraption he had learned to summon earlier. The Flamethrower. "Sir Takeshi, if this Dog pounces, do I have permission to smite it?" A wide grin slid over his face as he lit the flame within the machine, ready to launch a fireball into the face of the foe.

[Cyaloom]

Dexter ended up being the furthest from the Beast. "Already in a fight? It's only my first day..." he thought at first, frustrated, then looked at the others and at Astros, who answered him again before. The two Beasts he had seen before that day, the contract with Astros, and his new found "friends" gave him the confidence he needed, and were the thoughts that would allow him to transform. As he was walking towards the others, he could feel the energy inside of him, so as he stopped walking and stood still near Krys, he was completely transformed, holding his shotgun in his hands.

"Alright, I'm ready and I'll do my best." Dexter declared, facing that Beast. Probably an extra magical person wasn't needed, as Takeshi seemed fairly experienced, but you could never know... The two guys ahead of him might have needed some help, and Dexter was there for that.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Cyaloom

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's group

The mage swung his blade at the beast just as it leapt in his direction. It recoiled from the strike, avoiding having any limbs or other bits removed from it. However, it took a nasty cut from the weapon as it swung through the air. It "bled" similarly to the creature from the previous night; the substance was brighter than blood, and it seemed to drift upward and fade away rather than falling to the ground. "Be my guest," he stated in reply to the questions he received. "Best way to learn is by doing." He remained in striking position and range, however, ready to intervene if anything went wrong.

Rooftop

In the elevator

Noriko looked at Bark with a hint of distaste in her almost unchanging stern expression. "Perhaps you should base your opinions on what's in front of you." She said nothing else as the elevator ascended to the roof.

Roof

The pair in the elevator arrived at the roof just in time for Noriko to catch Vixen's question. "I'm right here," she replied, ascending the stairs. "I'm assuming you already have a general idea of who I am. My question for you is this; are you willing to assist us in tracking down and eliminating this beast?" Noriko wasn't exactly one for formalities.

[Yash]

Krys saw Takeshi attack the beast, and then step back giving an opportunity to them. She looked over at Bobby and Dexter, then back to the beast. Time to attack. Just because I am a girl, I won't let the boy's have all the fun. Plus with Astros and Takeshi here, I don't think I will be in trouble. The presence of the veteran and the Mediator definitely gave her confidence. She was resting her sword on her left shoulder and then stepped forward and ran towards the beast. Just as she was going to reach it she swung her sword in a downward arc from her left to right, straight at it's head. Here I come, Cujo.

[Felicity]

Ozzy was just about to let loose with a gout of fire when Krys ran forward to strike at the beast. "Gah, what do you think you're doing?" He yelled. "Do you want to be burned to a crisp?!" He yelled as he aimed the fire upwards rather than at the beast and now Krys.

[Cyaloom]

"This doesn't seem an extreme danger situation, as it is right now..." thought Dexter, for the moment letting the shotgun vanish and readying his pistol - which was much better for saving energy and more useful in longer fights.

He saw Takehsi attack the beast, then Krys' charge - she seemed so confident now, unlike him - therefore the blonde guy waited for the attack of the girl to actually hit the beast before doing anything, but was already pointing at the Beast with the gun, ready to intervene.

The problem is that the bullets were just ordinary ones... seeing that he had some spare time, as the Beast was not focused on him, he tried to put to good use the "lesson" with Takeshi. He said you could create your own weapons with energy, like Dexter himself did before by materializing the shotgun. But what if something else could be created with this method?

Dexter, without knowing exactly how, was in fact able to materialize some kind of bullet in his hand: he replaced the ordinary one with it just in time to re-adjust the aim before the Beast's reaction at Krys' attack.

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's group

The blade caught the beast right in the teeth as it rotated its head for an attack. Unfortunately, its teeth were likely one of the strongest parts on its body, and the attack bounced. The doglike creature began to lunge, but instead flinched backwards when the gout of flame rose into the air. It growled ferociously at the rest of them, however, and it used the distance to begin circling about them. Its gaze was not focused on Krys or Ozymandias, however; it glared straight at Astros, who had nervously shuffled as close to the group as possible.

[Yash]

As the attack bounced of the teeth of the creature, the recoil hurt Krys' arms and she dropped her blade. While she did have greater strength, her endurance for pain was still low. She cried out in pain and stepped back, when suddenly Bobby sent out a gout of flames over head. Owww... What the hell happened? I hit it's teeth and couldn't even manage to knock one out, much less damage the beast. I mean a swing like that would probably have cleaned out all of my teeth. I guess I'm really weak, I should probably just step back. She moved towards Takeshi while watching the beast. It growled at the flames and then tried circling them. All this while it seemed focussed on Astros. Oh, no. It seems to want to attack Astros. I must protect him. She stood between the cat shaped mediator and dog like creature. Damn, my sword. She looked at where she had dropped it, trying to think how she could get it. "I'm sorry guys, I guess I'm too weak. I couldn't even knock out a tooth. I even dropped my sword. Somebody please pick it up and pass it along." She observed the circling beast, trying to save Astros with her body. "Though I don't know if you noticed, it seems to be ignoring us. I think it's after Astros." She waited for one of the three boys to hand her the sword.

[Felicity]

Ozymandiases face became more serious now. If it was after the feline then the objective was clear; They needed to keep the beast at bay. "Well then, it'll have to get through a wall of fire first." He said as he sprayed another stream of bright orange and red flames towards the beast, aiming more at the floor between them, creating a small curve of flames between them and the circling beast, radiating heat as they ate at the floor. "Of course, if that wall gets too big I'll end up suffocating us instead..." He noted. Flames were best utilised in an open space really.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Considering I have been tracking this creature the past few days... of course. There was a reason I came into town. There is a lot of beast activity in this area... this one more so then others. Though I am sure I don't need to tell a Protector about that now do I?" She kept fiddling with her zippo. "Hmmm... Quick to business... that at least is good. How reliable this one will be I don't know though. If her followers are to be counted... not very. Though they do seem to be very new to the job. Would the Protectors really give a Veteran a bunch of newly minted kids to train? I highly doubt it. They are a huge Organization, even if they tend to be fragmented they would never be that disorganized." Vixen thought to herself. She doubted how strong these Protectors really were, audibly sighing in disappointment. She could probably end all of their miserable existences right now if she wanted... before they had to witness the true horrors of this world. Save them from what being... whatever this was. But... they were already probably too deep. They were tracking... this creature after all.

"Anyway, Who you are isn't important. This beast needs to be dealt with. I am willing to do so, but I need information as I am sure you need manpower. I am willing to work with you, but don't expect me to be friendly... I am not here to be your friend. I do my job and then I am outta here, no questions asked." She needed the no strings attached. It wasn't lucrative to be stuck with Protectors, especially if they found out who exactly she was. The Vixen of the Forest... The impossible to find. She who appeared only when she wanted to be seen. Hunter of Beasts... Preservers, Peacekeepers, Deviants, Loners and Protectors alike. She was the one who hunted the ones that said they protected Humanity... the ones more corrupt then the beasts themselves. It was a good way to make enemies, and a rather hard life to live.