[IC] Of Shadow and Flame EP2: Investigation

[Jory]

Rooftop

Bark looked at Vixen with interest, noting how tense the woman seemed to become around the Protectors. Looks like I'm not the only one who's not a fan of them. However, he remained mostly expressionless, not making it public knowledge that the two had met before. With the two of us along for the ride, the Protectors should be able to be kept in check. We lucked out this time. He then put on a sociable expression and grinned. "Looks like it's really a party now! With so many people helping out, we shouldn't have too much difficulty tracking down the Beast, especially one that powerful. And neither will the Preservers, he finished in his head.

[Shamitako]

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.

Kindle nodded, "Yeah, that's why I'm in here, a gem thing blew up in my face."

Names? She did remember Mr. Scraggly's name, but decided against telling Hikaru. He seemed nice enough, but she hadn't known him long enough to be sure she trusted him.

"I don't remember their names, I just called the one Mr. Scraggly."

She accepted the paper with his number, "I'll be sure to call as soon as I can."

She gave a polite bow and waiting for him to leave.

(OOC: Blergh, this post could be better, but it's the best I've got ATM. I assume this heralds the end of the interaction?)

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's group

The silver-haired mage used his own blade to flick Krys's blade toward her, creating a grating sound as the weapon slid along the asphalt of the street. The beast, meanwhile, had been observing the group and decided to strike. It made a rapid, almost unnaturally quick leap, putting it past the edge of Ozymandias's flame barrier, then leapt toward Astros and ergo directly at Krys.

Rooftop

"Good. I already have people covering cleanup here. I also have a person investigating one potential cause for this particular beast's unusual behavior. As of now there are two things that need to be accomplished: track the beast down, and find out why it's acting the way it does. The former is self-explanatory. The latter would likely involve a lot of tracking down Mediators and the older Loners, and interrogating them about these sorts of events." Noriko looked back and forth between everyone present. "If you need to borrow any of my personnel, let me know. Our territory has been fairly quiet, though I still want to keep a significant number of us there just in case." In case of what, she didn't mention. "You have a bit more freedom than us, as your motion through the city won't spark more tension with the Preservers." She turned her head to look at Gavriil. "You, however, have a lot more training to do. I wasn't expecting this when I came to investigate today." She returned her attention to the greater group. "So, who's doing what?"

Hospital

Hikaru smiled warmly at the girl. "Good. I look forward to it." They returned the bow and walked out, at a quick but still smooth pace. Hikaru still had someone to visit here, after all.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"The Beast is mine... I track them for a living I will find it." Vixen said without any hesitation. She was seriously angry it got away once. It wasn't getting away again... not as long as she drew breath. It would draw its last or she would. Either end would suffice. Though... she hoped she could end its rampage and no other innocents would be harmed by the foul creature.

[Hiss13]

Nagi watched as Noriko headed off to where the flare was shot from. She was ready to head back to her place to rest. However, she was still worried. It was fairly obvious Noriko could take care of herself if things got sticky with the mystery person. Still, it would probably be a good idea just to head over there in case some damage needed to be contained.

So, she jogged towards the general location of the building and then searched for the magic signatures in the area to find five on a nearby rooftop. "So, nothing seemed to have happened, huh. Still, I guess there's no harm in joining in."

She moved to a side of the building which had no people nearby and transformed her legs. She then jumped up, creating a platform at regular intervals for her to jump up from. Once she reached the rooftop, she gracefully and silently landed on the rooftop a bit away from the others just in time to hear Vixen's declaration to go after the beast.

"That likely won't fix anything, Ice Queen. If things end up conforming to Noriko's and my hypothesis, then killing the beast on its own would be like cutting off a single arm. The problem won't go away until you get rid of the source. If we simply kill the beast, we lose our lead. In other words, we need to find some way to gain more information about our anomalous beast. "

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I said nothing of killing it." She said, coating in a heavy layer of ice. She was a Hunter after all. She knew best that the beast would be the best lead to what they were looking for. It could in fact, guide them there itself. If something was in control of this thing Vixen hoped the wouldn't be dumb enough to let the beast come directly to them. Then she dreaded it as well. Cause they wither had to be one of two things in that scenario. Incredibly stupid, or so powerful that felt no need to cover their tracks and cared less if people found out. And with how powerful this beast was, it was more likely the latter than some stupid person getting lucky and wresting control of it. "You should know out of everyone here, following a target... is usually much more useful then outright killing that target. Knowing its location and the places it go are just as important as having it gone, especially when we don't know what we are dealing with. I've killed beasts for years... I know what I am doing."

[Pixl]

The scene that played before him was no light matter for him to intrude on. He was, after all, just a new recruit. Once Noriko, Bark, and Nagi all appeared on this rooftop debate floor, the conversation seemed to become more intense. The Russian tried his best to follow everything and remain quiet by Kouta while Noriko sorted things out. She really was incredible, he thought, in her ability to shrug off the undertones of defensiveness everyone held towards her and the Protectors in general, and cut straight to her purpose of action. As she began to set the plan into motion, she spoke to him, and Gavriil knew that this was no matter for him to be involved in. He bowed at her words and replied, "Of course. Whatever you have planned is for the best." In the end, Gavriil knew that he was in the care of this blue-haired girl, the timid boy next to him, and the rest of those back at the base. Being involved in the mafia before, he was good at quickly forming loyalties, so he already felt like he could become a strong member of this community. Whatever lay in wait for everyone on the rooftop in the future would surely be something they all needed to be prepared for. Gavriil gave a silent charge of luck to everyone in a rare burst of sentimentality before returning his focus to analyzing the situation.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Pixl

[Hiss13]

Nagi smiled. "Good. You do understand what you're doing. Then there's no need for me to object to that."

She then looked to Noriko. "In that case, once we have a possible suspect, let me know. Since Ice Queen over there feels comfortable hunting the beast then I see no point in attempting to do so myself. When it comes to beasts, I'm more accustomed to killing them as quickly as possible so any of my attempts to keep watch on it without damage would only slow the investigation down. I'll hunt any human suspects, though. Doing so is pretty much a specialty of mine, after all."

Edited June 3, 2015 by Hiss13

[Sutoratosu]

Faust

"Go right ahead, then." The man gestured toward an elevator, behind and to the left of him. "That will take you downward." As he said this, he leaned toward a console and punched in a quick code. A message flashed across the screen before being dismissed.

Faust nodded as he walked towards the metallic doors. He honestly had no idea who to find or where to go once he got down, but it wasn't like it would be hard to figure it out as he went. He couldn't help but stop for a moment to admire the place's interior though... Sleek, efficient, clean. Just his type of pad. he'd never actually seen the inside of any type of headquarters before; the PKs who had found him had simply given him the run-down of how the non-sense he had been living for the past few months worked, told him it was best to stay away from the other factions if he could.

"It's a bit funny, really..." He thought to himself as he entered the elevator's cabin, awaiting the doors to close. "I was never actually outright asked to join them...yet here I am, standing in this metal box about to attempt to file a report... can't be helped though, I guess." He felt the subtle lurch as the box started it's descent, not knowing what would greet him on the other side when those steel doors opened again. "Compared to what I saw of the Protectors and the Preservers, they definitely seem the most stable of the bunch..."

[Jory]

Rooftop

"I'll join our new arrival in hunting the Beast if she doesn't mind," Bark added. "That way if we need to, one of us can go for reinforcements while the other holds it back."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Rooftop

She did mind, she worked alone. However... she didn't see a point in fighting it, the man would end up going with her no matter what and she knew it. Besides, his point was valid. If one was working with a team... even if she didn't want to, she had to accept this issue was bigger than herself. She still hated that fact. If it was any of those other reprobates she meet before, she would have flat out refused. No questions asked. However, this one was somewhat a different story. He knew what he was doing, or hopefully enough to not do something stupid as all hell. If she was to be stuck with somebody, it might as well be the one who had some inkling of what he was doing. It was still VERY clear she didn't really want it to happen. Even being as cold as she was, it was sometimes very tough to not show emotion especially those of disgust. She didn't protest however, she merely uttered "Fine." and went back to her silent stewing. Now was to wait for the rest of them to get their plans together so she could track this beast.

[Yash]

Takeshi had flicked her sword Thorn towards Krys, but she couldn't catch it properly. She barely had enough time to get her hand on the grip properly when the dog like beast leapt right at her. "Oh, shit! Here it comes!" She tried to step back, only to end up tripping and falling on her ass. She managed to get up her sword and aim it at the beast.

[Cyaloom]

Seeing the Beast attacking Krys, Dexter tried to focus, aiming at the beast with his gun. His objective now was trying to prevent that creature from harming Krys, not necessarily to kill it: Dexter therefore tried to aim at the junction of the right foreleg - which was also a good target because Dexter was not facing the Beast's side, but was only some metres away from Krys, slightly further from the creature.

Dexter shot as carefully as he could, but that shot was still not very accurate. He was using that magic-powered bullet, so he hoped to be able to stop the Beast's assault more easily.

[Chevaleresse]

Rooftop

Noriko nodded firmly. "Good. Nagi, as we discussed earlier, come to the Protector base sometime tonight or tomorrow. You two will need this information as well; here." She scribbled out the map she had given Nagi earlier on two more pieces of paper withdrawn from her pockets, and handed one to each of the other two Loners there. "Gavriil, Kouta, we need to get back to base." She gave one last look to the three mages gathered in front of her. "I'll instruct the rest of the Protectors to leave you alone should you need to travel through our territory. We're not in the business of harassing random magi, but. . ." Noriko fell uncharacteristically quiet. She didn't want to reveal the full extent of her thoughts at this time. "I look forward to meeting with you soon. If any of you find information, let me know as quickly as possible; we can't let that monster claim any more lives." With that, she turned and walked back downstairs into the building, Kouta in tow.

((Feel free to make one post about what you do after this, but don't get into anything you're not alright with ending immediately.))

Takeshi's group

The hellhound snarled in rage as the bullet grazed its side, the shaky shot failing to fully connect. It "bled" more of that strange substance from the wound, but didn't seem to slow down; allowing it to slide right into Krys's blade. The weapon sliced another neat wound in its side as the beast stopped just before impaling itself. It started to attack once more, before being caught by a sideways swipe of Takeshi's blade, the flat catching it firmly and sending the unnatural creature into Ozymandias's flames. The assault seemed to stun it for a moment, leaving it wide open as it thrashed at the fire.

Faust

The elevator opened up into a small lobby, that had a few hallways connected to it. They had small signs indicating which hall led where; there were two on the left, one which led to training areas and another which led to bedrooms. A central hall directly led to the dining and storage areas, and the paths on the right led to offices and maintenance areas. There was an office that was visible immediately upon looking down the hall, though no one was in it presently. A note on the desk next to a stack of blank paper and a computer facing the hall indicated that reports were to be written here.

[Hiss13]

She cut herself off. Noriko definitely cut herself off. Perhaps there was something about the state of the faction she did not want to reveal. Or perhaps, there were some in the Protectors who took it upon themselves to harass random magi. Perhaps there was some inner conflict or tension within the faction itself. Whatever it was, Nagi knew she had to be wary.

However, as of now, Nagi was in sort of an alliance with Noriko. As such, like with a client, there were certain boundaries she could not cross if she wanted to maintain that alliance properly. So, she did not question Noriko's pause out loud. She simply nodded at her last statement before watching Noriko heading off.

She walked backwards to the edge of the roof while facing the other two. "In that case, I will leave you two to your own work. I need to prepare my own resources for this after all." With that, she jumped back over the edge of the roof, partially transformed her legs, and made her graceful landing. Without looking back, she placed her hand on the strap of her case and walked leisurely back to her humble abode to make some preparations.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen sat over the edge of the building looking out over the cityscape in front of her. She idly flicked her zippo like before. *tink* *tink*

The sound of the striker repeated over and over as she relighted it several times. She looked out over the the city wondering to herself... where could that beast be. She then talked without even turning around to Gavriil, the last protector still here and the one that foolishly introduced himself to someone who didn't even give him her name. "You have work to do don't you?" She said in a highly accusatory tune. "You should be catching up to your allies, your team. You don't have the luxury to sit around gawking at whatever it is you are."

[Pixl]

Gavriil heeded Noriko's words and prepared to follow after Kouta when the loner woman spoke to him. He smiled at her words, for even if he kept his cool, there was some slightly sadistic nature in him that took pleasure in his judgments. The Russian walked to the doorway that led to the stairs and stopped inside the open door to turn to her. Although she was not looking, he gave an extravagant bow that looked odd for a man of his large size, followed by his words in an upbeat and cheery tone; "Yes of course! I humbly thank you, miss, for your kind guidance. I feel content under the guidance of such a lovely lady. I sincerely apologize for my daftness..." The stress he placed on the word 'lovely' was meant to highlight his awareness of her previous discomfort with the term. He turned back and walked through the door before finishing, "...and your insecurities." The door swung shut as the last of his words reached the rooftop.

Gavriil was not picking a fight, nor was he trying to get on anyone's bad side. However, he knew what he was doing--perhaps not with the politics of the current situation, but very much so with politics in general. He hadn't said anything he didn't mean to or regretted, and he got all the information he wanted from listening. It was simply that masked nature of his that enjoyed throwing jabs at those he thought were unreasonable. Thinking on it as he walked back towards the Protectors' base, the woman was probably very reasonable, so he settled on the idea that maybe he just felt the need to retort upon insult to his actions. After all, he did not appreciate being treated like a child, though most of the time he would keep his mouth shut about it. He sighed inwardly as he walked and decided that it was just one of those days.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Pixl

[Yash]

The bullet from Dexter and Takeshi's swipe at the beast gave an opening to Krys. With the dog like creature being stopped by Ozy's flames, she managed to get back to her feet. She could see the 'blood' from the creature on the ground near her and on Thorn's tip. Krys turned to Astros, "This would be a good time for you to run Astros. We can hold it back here while you escape." It will probably realise that the cat is gone and leave us anyway. She then turned and charged for the dog, trying her best to stab straight through it's flank into it's body. She was trying to get a deep wound to it's body, hopefully getting a few organs as well.

[Cyaloom]

Seeing Krys attacking the beast again, Dexter stood back reloading his gun. He preferred to wait, so he could see the outcome of that attack and react; he was, however, still aiming at the beast from a safe distance, getting ready to block an eventual counter attack.

I actually planned to wait for the outcome of Krys' attack before posting myself and making Dexter do something, but here's the (short) post anyway

[Sutoratosu]

"No face to face then... all the better." Faust thought to himself, moving closer to the small office for a better read of the note. This was fantastic; this way no one would have the opportunity to blow him off as some crazy mage who had probably stared into the sun too long and fried his brain. "Now... only question is: Do I type it, or write it?" His hand was already moving towards the stack of papers, the other one drawing a black inked pen from his pocket. He went to work on the blank canvas, recalling everything he had seen as he started to transcribe the information..."Screw it, writing it would probably be faster than waiting for this thing here to boot up."

[Jory]

Rooftop

After watching Gavriil leave the rooftop, Bark turned to face Vixen. She still hasn't given her name. Trust issues, much? he thought to himself before speaking. "So, I suppose it's time to get started," Bark said idly. The large man looked down to the street, hoping to see what direction the Protectors would go in. "I know you're not much for giving people your name, but what should I call you?" he asked, hoping to gain at least some modicum of trust.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Names aren't something I am at a luxury to give to most people. Besides, you haven't given me yours that I can remember." the woman harshly remarked. She was not very inclined to reveal that so easily. Her name carried weight... terrible weight. It meant something to most of the factions. While she was still considered a rumour by most, those that had seen her in action knew the legends were true and what she did. Many of the Factions weren't happy aobut a Deviant who hunted their ilk, even if she hunted those that were considered corrupted. After all, they were consdiered corrupted by her and not their own factions. Vixen cared little fro their politics only wanted the innocents to not get caught up in these petty turf wars and squabbles of the Magical world. It had hurt too many already. She would be sure that it stopped happening. "And, you have no faction you call your own do you? If so... maybe I would be more inclined to tell you my name. Otherwise, I cannot."

[Felicity]

"Into the flames with a fury to match!" Ozymandias roared, the battle-cry filling him with a frenzy of emotions, the foremost being a kind of violent joy. He de materialised the flame-thrower whilst immediately summoning his knife, leaping towards the beast and swinging this arm to stab at the beasts heart.

[Jory]

Rooftop

Bark nodded. "You're correct on both counts." He offered the woman a grin. "You can call me Bark. And I'm more of a Deviant these days. Not exactly in good graces with the Preservers and the Protectors won't have me, so it's not like I'll ever owe them anything." The large man gestured to Vixen. "Not much else to tell over here."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Rooftop

"Vixen" the blue-haired woman said. She didn't hesitate this time. This Bark... would hopefully not be an issue, she didn't think he would be. However, one never knew for certain. She kept her gaze firmly out over the city, not looking at the giant man even once. "It be best to not let the protectors know that. Or any established faction for that matter. They aren't exactly fond of the work I do. Well... I am sure the Protectors like the removal of beasts. But probably not the other part."