[IC] Of Shadow and Flame EP3: Rising Tension

[Cyaloom]

"Fine..." said Dexter, with the voice someone would commonly have when trying to tame a pet. "I can't keep going any longer."

He paused for a moment and continued with a darker tone.

"Do you know my story? Well, it is the reason why I was thinking about joining the Protectors. I don't know if, in the grand scheme of things, it will be the right thing to do, because I don't know much about the nature of these Beasts, but it seems like a good choice for the present."

Enough with delaying the inevitable.

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi and Kindle

Hikaru crouched down and wrapped their arms around Kindle. "It's not your fault. You were just protecting me, protecting yourself." They sat there silently for a moment, trying to offer any comfort they possibly could to the distraught girl. Finally, they spoke again, softly. "This is my fault. I pulled you into this, only thinking about my own well-being. If you have to hate anyone, hate me, not yourself." Hikaru looked up at Nagi. "This is why we so desperately need to stop this before it gets any worse." After waiting a few more seconds, they stood up and turned to fully face the assassin, taking a deep breath to steady heaving emotions. "Two guards should be enough for each of us; three is the size of a normal patrol and shouldn't attract attention. There's a park near the northern edge of town; it's in neutral territory and quiet enough that we should be able to speak without being interrupted. Noriko should know the place." They turned to look at the two downed mages, each looking rather pitiful at the moment. "And, tell her about this. I don't know what this means, but it can be nothing good."

((everyone else's update is pending, just rather short on time at the moment.))

[Noir]

Stefan, Lucia and Adero

The mysterious man guided Stefan and the two others within the alley, shifting his armor into a more casual attire as he began to explaining the strange occurrences they had witnessed just a while ago.

A game of cat and mouse? Stefan's confidence seemed to waver, knowing that his encounter wasn't one to be taken lightly. That arachnid, whatever it was -- he knew it was something he couldn't handle alone. The man spoke of their roles, to hunt or be hunted, kill or be killed. This person named Ryuu seemed only care of driving them away, however, like animals to their own habitat. Except they weren't just animals -- they had raw potential to kill, and Stefan wondered if he would've died if Ryuu and his team didn't stop them. Stefan would much prefer their deaths over driving such monstrosities away, though -- how were they to know if they wouldn't resurface?

He wasn't getting enough clarity from all this. "What's in it for us?" He asked.

Edited February 14, 2016 by YagamiNoir4896

[Chevaleresse]

Vixen

"The sword is METAPHORICAL! Before I inform you on your mighty quest we must COMMUNICATE IN THE LANGUAGE OF BATTLE! Only then can we truly know and trust one another!" He managed to gesticulate wildly while still maintaining his increasingly ridiculous looking pose while shouting at the top of his lungs. It was almost a feat of endurance. "Now, you shall KNOW the FURY of the thunder upon the wind, the lightning that blasts the trees, the KNIGHT of STORMS. HAVE AT THEE!" With that, he finally broke the pose, leaping at Vixen in an overhand strike, the blade he was holding crackling with electricity.

Dexter

Astros looked at the boy for a moment, scanning his body, assessing his feelings. "There's no real incorrect answer. Both factions have their troubles. . . though I'd trust Noriko over Haruto, personally, so I would be inclined to agree with your choice. That boy. . . there's something wrong with him, I think."

The cat hopped down off of the chair and moved to the window that he had come in. "This should serve as both good training and to get you to your destination. I will broadcast my presence to you, and you should be able to follow me. It might be easier to do so if you transform - that will additionally make it less difficult to match my pace. Just, how would I say it, reach out with your third eye? The same way that you might reach into yourself to transform, try to reach outward toward me." Astros looked Dexter in the eye, and the boy would have felt a strange pulse, something pressing against his consciousness, before the Mediator broke eye contact and the sensation faded. "That should be enough to familiarize yourself with my distinct energy, for now." With that, he turned and hopped down off of the window. "Do try to move quickly," his voice echoed from outside. "One can never know what stalks the night."

[Cyaloom]

Although he was still in his human form, Dexter felt clearly Astros' presence. They were both staring into each other's eyes and beyond, like if they were sharing their own energy equally with each other. Dexter's eyes were sparkling weakly as the mediator pressed against his consciousness, without finding much resistance.

Undeniably, a weird sensation.

Dexter was reflecting about what Astros said previously as he closed the house's door behind him. The Mediator was already rather far as the blonde guy finally transformed and tried to find his companion by letting his energy go outwards, like soundwaves. This allowed him to know exactly where Astros went: Dexter didn't waste any time and caught up the mediator as soon as he could. They were quickly moving - unnoticed, hopefully - across the sleeping city, as most of its sights disappeared in the distance. One was following and trusting the other, although he didn't know what his trust would have got him into.

[Grizzlybrand]

"So you're sort of like...magical wildlife preservers?" He tilted his head, index finger and thumb on his chin in thought. Turning to the kid-who introduced herself as Lucia "I'm sure it's not that simple, but even if it's got 20 limbs and breathes fire, they don't seem much different than other animals. You're just as likely to be hurt by an angry bear than a...whatever that was if you're not careful." He shrugged, making his own sense of the factions explained to him. "I suppose we've got something to gain from not actively hunting down beasts, he who fights monsters and all."

"I suppose a better question to ask here is, now that you've explained all of this to us. What's going to happen now?" He reached into his pocket, instinctively groping for a box of cigarettes that he tossed a while back. A finger slipped through the hole of one of his brass knuckles idly, violence not on his mind but nerves keeping his hands from being idle. There were always certainly strange happenings back in his home village, and his travels have not kept him away from seeing some weird things. But suddenly, hitting him (literally) like a car was proof that magic was real and some wizard with a talking rodent speaking about wizard factions and classes of mage.

This was certainly not how he planned today to go.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen

Emotions running high... Vixen was really getting tired of today. This just too much for one day. Her head was screaming. Perhaps a headache starting. She didn't really care. But, she knew she had to do something here. If it was a fight she had to do to get her information, well she'd have to. Guns weren't really going to be useful, at least not her rifle. For now the man was much to close to her to draw her revolver and fire so she have to use her transformations.

Her arm glowed a pale white as ice formed over it. It grew quickly and aggressively, even surprising Vixen. Her emotions were just that shot that she was more powerful than normal. After all, emotion fueled the Magi after all. In her palm formed a knife made of pure ice, it was wicked, and quite big for a knife. It was a large and perhaps could almost be called a small sword. It was of a rather popular pattern collectively referred to as Bowie Knives. It was made purely of cloudy white ice though one would be foolish to think that made it structurally weak. After all, this Ice was summoned from magic. It wasn't ordinary. But, not only was it summoned from magic, it was summoned during a fever pitch, when Vixen's magical power was probably at its highest point. She was going to be very tired after today. She circeled it around and then threw it to her other hand. A Mirror Image of the Knife she threw remained in her other as the original landed in her other hand. She now had two of the exact same blade. It was a trick that Vixen had learned awhile ago when manufacturing bullets. She could echo them with magic to make another to mass produce them more easily. However, for bullets it didn't really work very well. It ruined their potency pretty quickly and made them near useless. She could only really echo something once without it breaking down it's magical potency to a level where it ceased to be functional. So, mirroring this knife was about the limit she could do. However it would suffice as she only needed two. She was glad she put in the effort into those bullets despite it being a fruitless endeavor since she had learned to apply it to other things. She growled at the Ridiculous man now.

"Fine, if it's a fight you want it's a fight you'll get."

Vixen of course, saw the over head swing coming. It was almost always a mistake to strike in such a fashion. It left one wide open to an attack. Vixen side stepped the blade trying to get behind the Storm Knight. she didn't make a strike. She waited to see his reaction what he would do. She had no idea jsut how reckless he was and she wanted to confirm that before she struck herself. She made a mental note that his ability to control lightning could become much more meta-physical in nature as well. He could possibly speed up to a degree which most others couldn't account for. Vixen however being a well practice Mage killer, knew that it was a very real possibility. So she made sure to make just enough room in case of any unexpected surges of speed. She'd make note of them if they did happen. She would discover his style while trying to give off as little as she could about herself. After all, he probably didn't even expect her to be truly a gun wielder. Other than her rifle of course. Her using Knives first would give the impression this was her way to deal with close up foes. This left her revolver a trump card for when she needed it. She had fought so many Magi. She knew the ins and outs here and she wasn't about to get sloppy. Defense was the game until she knew just how to approach and dismantle his style.

[Chevaleresse]

Stefan, Lucia and Adero

Ryu raised his hands in a placating gesture. "We're trying, we're trying. Haruto is doing his best, but we can't exactly just march up to the so-called Protectors and tell them to stop killing beasts. "Though uh," one hand reached up to scratch his head, "I wouldn't exactly call most of them defenseless. Make no mistake, we're quite aware they're dangerous, but so are a lot of animals."

"As far as what happens next," he continued with a breath, his hand once again falling to his side, "well, I was hoping to recruit you guys. Arch has enough energy stored up to contract with all of you" - he glanced down at the ferret, who nodded - "and we can get you training right away. That's what's in it for you, by the way; you get the powers and you can do pretty much whatever you want with them, as long as you a. do your best to protect Mediators and b. don't go wantonly showing it off to non-mages. Who knows what would happen if people got word about us?"

Dexter and Seth

Astros took a high route, running along the tops of buildings and jumping between them much as Takeshi had Dexter doing for the first portions of his training. He picked up his pace slightly when he sensed Dexter closing, his form barely visible as it streaked through the night, far more quickly than any ordinary cat could move. It was clear why he elected to stay out of the streets, watching him. However, he did attract a different sort of attention - a trio of. . . birds? began to move toward him, aiming to intercept his path further ahead. Their bodies seemed far too long and narrow to be normal birds, though any detail was difficult to make out when moving at this speed in the darkness of the night.

A passing magus, up late and lost in thought, picked up Astros's signal as well. If he glanced up, he would have seen the catlike being streak past along a rooftop, followed quickly by the beasts in pursuit.

Vixen

The flying magus crashed down hard enough to crack the pavement and send dust flying up. However, instead of having to recover after the heavy landing, the magus killer found the blade in his hand swinging with all the momentum it had previously possessed in her direction, a backblast of electricity and raw force illuminating the street behind them as it kicked the rubble generated by the landing backward, peppering the building behind him with shrapnel and cracking a window.

((This turned out a lot shorter than I thought it would, sorry for the wait.))

[Sutoratosu]

Seth

"Well, Hong Kong is officially bust too. Good riddance, just another shithole of a place I now have an actual reason to never go near again" Seth muttered to himself in the night air, hands tucked into his pockets as he strolled. It felt good to walk a bit, try to clear his head. Especially after that fiasco a few days ago- who knew even westernized chinese mages could be so damn touchy about their precious "tradition"? Hell, and after all the trouble he'd gone through to explicitly avoid the mainlanders for that very reason, he still ends up making new enemies. "Typical. Just freaking typical; naive fools, just like the rest. I swear, after this place, I'm done with the eastern hemisphere... just screw it, I'll try the Americans next. The bastards have always been known for being a bit unconventional and ballsy- maybe someone will actually listen for once over there."

He almost stopped short as he detected the five signatures, before he actually caught sight of their owners rushing in the distance. "Please don't be a mediator, please don't be a mediator, please...ah fuck a duck." He didn't know why he had even bothered with quiet prayer. He could tell there was one among them from the moment he'd picked it up. It was official- yes, he indeed had to get involved now. Whatever... all of this going down right here even was. If his rep was this bad now when people thought he was either bonkers or just plain delusional, it certainly wouldn't improve if they found out he'd walked the other way after seeing a mediator about to get turned into kibel...

Not that he much valued something as fleeting as reputation much anymore at this point. But the incident certainly wouldn't help any attempted diplomacy in the future... He'd never really liked the little bastards too much though. From most of his past experiences with their lot, alot of them seemed to apparently think that, just because they were technically invaluable and were protected by terms of contract, they also had free license to be as big of a dick to anyone and anyone's mother as they so pleased. Those types had become more of an annoyance over the years than anything else, truth be told. Just like when some snobby rich kid starts talking smack and you want desperately to slap the very words out of their mouth, but can't, knowing that if you do they'll practically own your ass by the time the civil suit is over...though with mediators, this is no financial debt... you just become public enemy #1 among magic kind. Most mages wouldn't accept "Well, they were being a little arrogant shit so I just put em back in their place." as an acceptable excuse.

He closed his eyes, breathed a single sigh. Within the mere span of not even a full second, the power erupted from his mortal coal, surging around his body in a miniature storm as his feet touched off the sidewalk and he hung there in the air motionless, black, almost inkling lines projected their way down from his eyes and snaking across the entirety of their skin, though most of whatever patterns they might have formed on his body lay hidden beyond his the fluttering, tattered white scarf, heavy spun black shirt, dull silver blazer and matching trousers he wore, all of which remained virtually unchanged. He opened his eyes, revealing inhuman irises of verdant green, surrounded by a sea of pure black: scleras darker than sin itself.

Just as quickly as it began, the surge halted, the verdant green settling in a harsh aura around his form. He made no effort to mask his signature now, chances were that the mage and mediator alike could probably sense it... and probably the beasts as well. It would've been hard to believe they wouldn't, actually; as many times as Seth had been around the block over the years, even in his normal human form, the energy would've practically been a beacon when not actively suppressed. He reached out with a single hand, mocking up his fingers in the shape of a gun and taking aim at one of the darkened shapes soaring after what he knew to be the mediator. The energy seemed to almost swirl and entwine around the digit as a sphere formed at it's tip, quickly bursting outwards in a solid, radiant line of green that arced towards the flying creature, heading right for the main body, it's wielder's intent on nothing but tearing through the chimera.

"Hey, bub!" He called out telepathically to the magus he picked up on- there was a bit of annoyance that could've been sensed in the mental hailing. whoever this guy he sensed was, he was relatively new to this... Seth could tell from the bloke's signature. And the fact that those birds had apparently managed to somehow sneak up on the duo in the first place. "If that's your contract, you might want to do a better job staying vigilant!"

[Hiss13]

Nagi and Kindle

Nagi noted all of Hikaru's conditions in her head. After running through each of the conditions, she nodded. "Alright. Two bodyguards and a certain part at the edge of town. I shall relay that and this incident to Noriko."

She then turned to look towards Kindle for a second before turning back to Hikaru. "Hopefully, the kid can overcome the trauma of killing someone for the first time…I'd hate to see someone like that turning into another me…"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen

After all, she had anticipated an attack coming. Ones that followed an element were typically unoriginal. Lightning was always fast nothing else. She sighed. It was really sad that it was that easy to predict. Then again, someone like her had been fighting magus so long that they rarely could surprise her anymore. She had seen it all at this point, or at least most of it. Fire, lightning, ice, any conceivable element. She had seen ones with things that resembled super powers the like... of comic books and movies. All she knew though, was that she had seen mostly everything. Whether from afar or up close and personal. Honestly the beasts were typically more varied than the Magi were. Vixen always found that odd.

However, she still needed to focus to defeat this man. She was pretty sure her victory would be easy enough, but overconfidence was not something to have right now. Vixen... she wasn't even sure she had to beat him. Just fight him. With his metaphor he only mentioned that they must speak with battle or... whatever. However her pride told her she couldn't lose. Losing, just wasn't her style. She dodged the blade flying her way, stepping quickly back a single step. She had given herself just enough room to do that. As the blade whistled past she dove underneath with one of the two icy knives cutting at the underside of his arm aiming for the tendon. after all, it was hard to wield a sword without your arm working properly. It was a bold move, but it was a calculated one. You couldn't hit someone with a sword if they were behind your sword. She knew she had to make use of this advantage and get within his range. She had the information on how fast he could move now, so she could adjust for that. It was time to make a move of her own and see how he'd react.

[Cyaloom]

with Astros and Seth

The sudden call startled Dexter. What happened next, it happened in an instant.

The blonde guy looked behind him and finally noticed the three bird-like creatures. What are they? was the first thing that came to his mind, right as a green beam of light pierced one of his pursuers. The origin of this beam, Dexter could sense it without seeing it: there was another magus - the one who called him - whose energy was spreading around the area. An experienced magus, to be precise.

"Astros!" Dexter called the mediator, trying to do his best not to give in to panic, and moving even faster in an attempt to reach physically the one he'd been following.

He didn't really know what to do at this point - approach the other magus or keep moving - but he didn't want to get separated from his mediator.

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi and Kindle

Hikaru sighed again. "Hopefully. Noriko must be as desperate as I am if the best messenger she could come up with is a trained killer. No offense to you, of course, but this is not generally how one opens up diplomacy." A slight twist showed in their face, though. They were a Preserver, after all. "You need to go as quickly as possible, though. I have a plan for dealing with these," they gestured at the unconscious guards, "but who knows what will happen in the future? Something is deeply wrong if we have Peacekeepers openly attacking us."

The magus looked back toward Kindle. "We should head somewhere safe, for now. I'm so sorry I've dragged you into this. . ."

((Going to try and wrap up this episode, I think, so unless you had something else in mind to do, just post a reaction to this that wraps it up nicely.))

Dexter and Seth

As the creatures were illuminated by the blast of mana, their nature became clear. They had the wings of birds, yes, but the sinuous way the creature moved around the bolt belied their true nature. Dexter was close enough to make out the bodies of snakes sliding through the air - and they were changing directions. Astros took the opportunity to dash straight down into a gap between buildings as they swung around, hissing as they darted toward their new assailant.

Vixen

The veteran mage found herself tossed bodily through the air just before her knife made contact. Her opponent spun himself in a full circle with his swing, the blade whistling slightly as it cut through the air. "You won't get the best of the KNIGHT OF STORMS that easily!" he shouted, pulling another dramatic pose. Something seemed different about his outfit now, however, as lightning arced a few times between his limbs before ceasing. His face seemed to be reddening as battle got his heart pumping - this combined with his constant blustering. The cloth covering his upper arms was tight, revealing that he was indeed quite well muscled.

[Grizzlybrand]

"So to keep up the masquerade you're offering us a piece of the pie?" Adero weighed his choices. He could do the sane thing, the rational, reasonable thing and decline and continue to spiral down on the path he's taken. He was so close after all, just one more day and his journey would finally come to an end. But maybe this was another path, he had become so content with vengeance to be the end of him that he's suppressed all mortal ways of it going another way. But rage is a flame that can only flicker for so long, and replaced itself with exhaustion; all at this point he wanted to do was finish what he started and die.

Maybe this is a hope for a new start, a flame of a different kind burned in him. He could make a difference in something.

"Doesn't sound too bad." The large man grinned, "I'm in."

[Shamitako]

Kindle shakily stood up.

"S-safe, right." She said numbly.

She tried to take a step towards the door, but fell back to her knees with a cry of pain as her injured leg gave out underneath her. But her face was no longer coated with anguish, it now held determination. She forcefully wiped her teary eyes and stood up again. She clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles started turning white. Her entire body shook with the flurry of emotions that shot through it. And then, she very deliberately lifted her uninjured leg, letting the weight of her entire body rest on the injured one, and stepped forward. After this first step was complete she stood still for a short while, afraid that if she took another she would collapse again. But eventually she began to walk and strode carefully to the door where she waited for Hikaru to follow.

(OOC: I'm assuming Hikaru will just escort her home for now, so this can be considered "wrapping up." Unless you had something else in mind)

[Cyaloom]

with Astros and Seth

Astros seemed to be in a safe place and the other magus was now the new target of those creatures, so Dexter approached him and took some distance from his Mediator.

He readied his pistol - which was more effective at longer ranges - but didn't attack the beasts right away. He wanted to wait for the other magus to do something: he was more experienced, and the blonde guy didn't want to act as a hindrance for him.

I found some time to post something - as you might have read from my status, I'm rather busy...

[Noir]

Stefan and Adero

Stefan surmised on the power he could wield, even if a fraction -- of these people that managed to stop something as deadly as a giant arachnid, perhaps more of its capabilities he had yet to see. Guns weren't enough for the path he took; the path he took to restore his family's name from the people who tarnished it, and lo and behold, an opportunity walks on his pedestal beyond his anticipation. Of course, he was requested to keep such newfound power inconspicuous; thought it inspired a frown at such a thought, he ultimately decided the products he would garner were worth his hassle, wondering what benefits a gunslinger would add to the mysterious organization.

"Have it your way." He muttered, placidly. "I'll join you, then."

Edited April 10, 2016 by YagamiNoir4896

[Hiss13]

"You could say that. Considering that the Peacekeepers were attacking…" Nagi paused in thought. "Well, it does not matter. I'll just relay the message to Noriko."

With her rifle case in hand, the twin-tailed sniper headed out of the door. "This has gotten more complicated, huh." She sighed. "Well, at the very least, I can't say it won't be interesting…and I'll at least get to see to it that some hidden scum is annihilated." The judgmental assassin let a twisted smile form on her lips as she let that thought sink in.

[Sutoratosu]

Seth and Dexter

"You all truly are a disgusting lot, you know that, right?" Seth snarled as the chimeras turned heel and headed his way. Even now, after all this time, he still felt the flames of hate broil within his soul, their dark influence like fuel to a reactor as the markings covering his entire body began to writhe uncontrollably. They screeched, hissed as if they were alive, fighting to break free of the surface until at long last, there they were, erupting off his skin like living ink, pitch black tendrils thrashing about him as he rose himself higher into the air.

"Abominations upon the land, ruiners of souls... I'd kill you all if I could, but we already know how that type of philosophy plays out, now don't we?" He laughed, bitterly. His eyes burned like verdant green coals plucked straight out of the bowels of hell. "No, no... killing you all will never work. It's like a fuckin' hydra, cut of one head, and before you even now it, there's two more...if only the others could see it. How they're busy wasting their lives with this endless war, when they'd be better spent trying to find a way..." The ground around him shook. Green vines erupted from the pavement, one by one, thick and jaggedly spiked. At Seth's gesture, they lashed out in the air, hungering for the blood of the flying Beasts, two pursuing each of them as they soared like starved and rabid dogs finally unleashed from their cage, determined to destroy all that dared stand in their way "to stop the miserable process by which you keep spawning!"

"You there!" He ordered, gaze shifting to the other mage for only a moment as the blunt of his focus remained on the serpents. "Where the hell is the mediator you were with? While you're standing here gawking at me, he's probably being gobbled up by another group of monsters! Get your ass in gear, soldier; this is absolutely unacceptable! were you apart of my squad, I'd have your balls served on a silver platter before the chief! Hurry up, find your charge and defend him like you're supposed to!" The harshness of his voice was only amplified by the rage in his eyes, though that was far more directed at the monstrosities than the fool on the roof top. He gnashed his fanged mouth impatiently nevertheless though "I SAID MOVE, BOY!"

The black tendrils sprouting from his being were moving into defensive arrangements all the while he shouted, automatically anticipating the evasive actions of his foes.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen

That taste of iron. just a dash of blood from biting her tongue. She spat out the crimson fluid. She knew the attack would come of course, but she didn't expect the speed. However, Vixen was done playing the information gathering game. In fact, her emotions were welling up and she wanted to end this fight. She was so fed up with today. Her soul was bleeding... she needed rest. In her heart was nothing but pain.

Energy welled within. So much in fact, that it started to rain. The downpour of tears... was now within the world to be seen. Her emotion itself was everywhere. Vixen knew this would probably help a wielder of lightning... but she didn't care. After all, she was one herself. At least in part. It wasn't an element she had a great deal of control over... but she still knew quite a lot about it and it's properties. However, she just didn't care right now. She was finished, at the end of her rope, the end of the mental and emotional pain she could take today. This man was about to feel the wrath of The Vixen of the Forest. He wouldn't die, but would probably get t be bloodied rather badly.

She screamed "I don't have time for this, PEOPLE WILL DIE!!!" she pulled out 6 rounds. None had magic infused already, though some latent magic always joined with the bullets when she fired them. They just wouldn't take on any special elemental properties. that is... normally. A flash of cerulean blue happened as she loaded each bullet into her revolver. Six quick flashes. So fast even she hadn't seen them.

She aimed directly for him, right at his chest, and fired. A Great stream of Blue rippling energy lurched forward, speeding for the man. VIxen only thought one thing. "It's... you again."

[Chevaleresse]

Stefan and Adero

Ryu grinned as the group accepted the offer. "Awesome. Alright, Arch, you can take it from here." He took the ferretlike Mediator out of his jacket and lowered him to the ground with one arm. Arch took a few strides forward, and gazed upward at the two he was about to contract with. The serious expression on his face might have looked rather comical, really; having a ferret glare at you was rather unusual. He started with Adero.

The mediator's eyes seemed to glow with an inward light - or perhaps it was just a trick of the sun. Either way, the man would have felt something strange infusing his body, as the pulse from the Mediator cleared the path for his own magical energy to free fully. It might have been pleasant, even euphoric, it might have been a process of searing pain. The reactions always varied.

After he was finished with Adero, he turned to Stefan and repeated the process.

((Other stuff coming later.))

[Noir]

Stefan and Adero

As the two men accepted the preposition, the mysterious man then inclined the mammal-like figure to stand before them. For several moments, the man beside him -- Adero -- stood still as the ferret's glowing eyes peered into his, as if to transfer or imbue something into him.

Eventually it was his turn.

Taking a deep breath, Stefan's scarlets met the ferret's eyes. The latter's glowed, and a strange, verklempt sensation began to envelop the young man; he stood still, unable to move, unable to dart his eyes to test the reaction, nor move a limb to interrupt it. Something was flowing within him -- it was warm, warm to the senses, almost painful after several moments; his eyes urged to cringe in an attempt to quell the pain as it grew, but the fact that he couldn't move made it all the more excruciating.

Eventually, it stopped. The relief of the pain gratified him, somehow, as he set himself still.

"What have you done to us?" Stefan asked, as his session ended, trying to collect any change his body displayed after the puzzling ritual.

Edited April 23, 2016 by YagamiNoir4896

[Chevaleresse]

Vixen

The man gasped before a sound somewhere between shattering glass and clashing metal sounded, heralding a burst of electricity that rendered the man invisible for a moment. The surging energy clashed with Vixen's assault, sending a narrow shockwave tearing down the road to their left and right. When the dust cleared, the self-styled Knight of Storms was standing in the street, his armor replaced with clothing (though still of the same bright teal color, and definitely not a modern style) and his blade seeming to have lost a fair amount of mass. Shock showed on his face for a moment, before he turned the sword over and placed it tipfirst into the ground, seeming to steady both himself and his expression.

"Very well, you have spoken to me in a way that I understand." A great deal of his bluster seemed to have vanished despite his words sounding like they came out of a bad fantasy novel. "Come, follow me, and I shall share my knowledge with you." He turned on his heel, glimmering for a moment as he finally reverted to nonmagical form, and disappeared into a nearby alleyway.

Dexter and Seth

Seth's vicious assault impaled one of the snakes, tearing the thing to bloody pieces that dissolved into the air before they hit the ground. The others, however, were rather quicker to react, one of them simply dodging sinuously away from the stabbing attack and the other coiling around the tendril, slithering down it towards their attacker. A strange light began to gather in the maw of the one still in flight.

"I'm quite fine for now, thank you, but I would agree with the idea of actually attacking these beasts rather than simply looking at them aggressively." The Mediator's voice echoed from a nearby alleyway dryly.

[Sutoratosu]

Seth and Dexter

His mind shifted fully into War-mode as the beasts dodged, gaze burning into one serpent as it slithered down the black appendage. "Did I say... you could have a ride? I think not." "Time to feed, children!" In that same moment, the tendril seemed to lose all tangible mass as it shimmered, the sky suddenly becoming visible behind it's translucent form as the snake was denied any solid surface to continue it's approach. The rest of the Black Vectors wasted no time, acting on their own initiative as their ends swelling into miniature spheres of darkness before finally bursting, jagged fangs of pitch black erupting from each of them and gnashing hungrily as they screeched and squealed like animals. They surged for the flying snake with fierce vigor, black ichor dripping off jaws their as countless maws opened wide like Piranhas in the middle of a blood bath.

By the time he even glanced at the other serpent, the Vines too had long since moved of their own accord, instinctively regrouping to defend their lord and master and coiling before him in the air, forming a thick semi-sphere of enchanted plant matter and jagged, stiletto-like thorns as they took on a sickly green hue, their surface glossing over like metal. No sooner than it had, the thorns launched off the shield and flew towards the serpent as it prepared whatever attack it intended to launch, streaking green trails behind them like sickly tracer-rounds all the while...

[Cyaloom]

Seth and Astros

Now on the ground, some metres away from Seth and - yet - fairly close to the alleyway Astros hid himself into, Dexter couldn't help but panic even more. The rage and the disappointment towards him that Seth expressed with his callout was one of the causes - he was an experienced magus, so his words were true - and being just a beginner was not a good excuse anyways.

By the time Dexter assumed the current position, one of the beasts was already gone - and this contributed to make the blonde guy feel useless. Maybe he was just a nuisance to the other magus. But then there was Astros, who was telling him that he was fine and that he should have attacked the two beasts that remained.

Dexter tried to mantain some kind of contact with Astros telepathically. After all, they had kept doing so since the time they left the blonde guy's home. This way, he could know if the Mediator was endangered or not. Astros was the only other being that Dexter could lean on, and the only other being he was living for. At the same time, he tried to track down the movement of the two beasts left - the third one had already been eliminated by Seth. Doing so many things at once would normally be impossible for Dexter, but not this time - maybe because he was transformed, maybe because he was so terrified by everything.

While one beast was further away - it wasn't really clear with the scarce light of the night - one was about to attack Seth with some kind of ranged attack. Seth, in the meantime, was counter-attacking, using very powerful Vines and some other black "moving things", barely recognizable by Dexter. Seeing how easily those beasts could dodge attacks, the blonde guy's first thought was to slow them down somehow.

He finally used the pistol he pulled out before, as Astros suggested, hitting the beast that was preparing its attack (or at least trying). The few bullets that were fired at first sight didn't have anything strange, except for the fact that they were glowing - there were, in fact, some yellow sparks of electricity around it. If the beast would have been hit, it would have also been immobilized for some time, making Seth's attack way harder to dodge.

Dexter also kept one eye over the other beast, ready to stop that one as well and, in his heart, hoped to have done the right thing for once.