[IC] Of Shadow and Flame EP3: Rising Tension

[Cyaloom]

After watching his friends attacking the the creature, and seeing it react, Dexter jumped backwards almost instantly to avoid the unexpected Beast's attack.

Only after getting out of the Beast's reach he had time to think and plan his upcoming actions. How did it endure Ozymandias' and Takeshi's onslaught and was still able to fight afterwards?

Knowing that Beasts would represent emotions, could this give them various "powers"? Well, that was just the first thing Dexter thought when he was in that newly found safe spot.

"You didn't expect this to happen, did you? Dexter asked Takeshi and Ozymandias, coming slightly closer to them - so leaving his previous position and getting slightly more exposed - and shouting, attempting to be heard.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Cyaloom

[Sutoratosu]

Faust said nothing as he accepted the packet from the older man, giving the contents a quick scan before nodding. "Understood." just a moment later he was walking out of the office, ready to head out to the objective area...

The past week or so hadn't been anything special much. He'd just gotten a more in-depth explanation about everything (and everyone, in some cases...) than the bit of comparatively poultry handwaving,and non-nonchalantly talking about it like it was absolutely nothing, that he'd been given back months ago after he'd first been found. Aside from that he had taken the time to try to go a bit further with his little experiment with recharging; the results so far had been about the same as the first trial with the derelict meter. It worked fine so long as he was able to draw enough, simply using the electricity to provide his cells with power rather than food; hell, could also come in handy if he got overly fatigued, though... he suspected that if he tried to do it for an extended period of time he'd start to develop deficiencies in whatever nutrients or substances the human body wasn't capable of producing itself and had to intake through ingestion, but eh... that was a problem for another time.

Right now, he had work to be done. And he already knew what method he'd go for first, even as he was strolling out of that set of twin front doors: find a vantage point just outside of the range he could potentially be sensed... and then watch. Watch and wait.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"You're giving this to me much to freely. You don't know me. Why tell me these things? If you truly knew who I was... I don't think you would be as willing." the women remarked. It was what she really believed. Many weren't so fond of the things she did once they found out about them. Even if she wanted to join a faction... she doubted any of them would want her around. She openly hunted all of them at one time or another. She removed those she saw as just as bad as the beasts that roamed around and threatened the mundane world. Mediators were no different to her. Some could easily be corrupt and use their powers to trick unsuspecting victims into helping them. She wasn't fond of those that used their power to manipulate and control others against their will or drag them into something they didn't know the consequences to.

"Anyway... this Terrasque sounds like an issue. However, there is an issue that is tangible and quite real right now out there ending lives. I don't mean to be rude... but that beast is what I am tracking at the moment. It is important I put it's rampage to an end." She huffed. She didn't do a good job of hiding she was clearly emotional about the situation. She was still angry it got away in the first place. If she had gotten there sooner... it might have been dead by now and not threatening the lives of even more innocent folk. "If you don't know anything about this creature... point us to someone who does. or at least help us find it. Anything to help really."

[Chevaleresse]

Faust

The rich district offered plenty of vantage points for the Peacekeeper to observe the apartment, especially given the architect's apparent affinity for glass. It might be difficult to get to a rooftop without crossing the line of sight of a security camera, however; the monitoring devices were everywhere. This part of the city might be wealthy, but the rest of it wasn't, and some in the latter category felt the former should "share."

Vixen and Bark

"Well, there's little point in concealing this information, especially since the rule in this situation is to disseminate it as widely as possible. You might call me a fool for sharing it, but claiming that I wouldn't do so if I truly knew you doesn't strike this Diviner as particularly intelligent, if you'll allow me to be frank." Idhrelic thought for a moment. "As far as your other problem, it concerns us deeply as well. I will tell you that this beast seems to have a strange aversion to Mediators, rather than prioritizing them as many do. A Protector or Peacekeeper may know more. You could try asking the Loners in the area as well; they tend to be. . . eccentric, but some have been around for quite a long time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must deliver the message that this location seems to be suitable." He stood up and moved with an unhurried walk towards the door.

[Hiss13]

There were two figures Nagi could see. One was a very familiar figure, a girl she had once carried to the hospital on a dark night about eight days ago. The other was likely the one she was looking for seeing as this person had immediately exuded hostility at Nagi's sight. It was not a terrible situation nor was it one she was not used to. Negotiations with clients had a wide variety of starting points. In the case of hostility, especially when one is trying to open negotiations, it was important to be open and show a sense of openness to allow for easing tension from the start.

Nagi opened up her arms slightly while still keeping them close to her sides and showed open and empty palms out. "Hikaru, I presume?" She talked with a calm, yet welcoming tone. Unlike in normal interactions, she had to be careful with her words as well as her body language.

"My name is Nagi. I am a proxy sent by Noriko, a leader of the city's Protectors Faction, in order to open a dialogue with you."

[Chevaleresse]

Dexter and Ozzy

"Not exactly," Takeshi called back with a strained, almost choked tone. Their opponent apparently decided to return the assault it had received, as roared and released a pulse of inky black energy that expanded outward, sweeping away all three mages and bowling them off of their feet. While they recovered, it pounced on Takeshi, holding him in place with the two outer arms while energy roiled at its vile fangs. The beast's head moved upward even as it looked downward at the pinned mage, preparing to deliver the attack. It seemed to be entirely focused on its current target, and did not appear to be affected at all by the prior assaults. Dexter and Ozymandias were left with a choice: remain here and fight a hopeless battle in the hopes that the beast would deem them too tough to bother with, or escape and leave Takeshi to escape on their own.

[Cyaloom]

According to Takeshi's response, that wasn't a normal Beast. The previous attacks by Ozymandias and Takeshi could have killed a 'normal' Beast easily: this one, instead, endured all of those onslaughts and was having the upper hand at the moment... this, because of the Beast's last attack. Everyone was 'sent flying' by that pulse of energy, and while Dexter and Ozymandias were recovering, Takeshi was pinned by the Beast, which was ready to get its revenge on the mage.

It was just a matter of seconds before the attack was delivered.

"I can't let this happen... again." said Dexter, as he pulled out his pistol, trying to land some shots on the Beast's head as he started to run towards it, in a desperate attempt to save Takeshi. For some reason, his blue eye was glowing more, as his objective wasn't something like hurting the Beast, but only make it so the Beast would let go the guy.

He was hoping to shift the Beast's attention away from his friend, who was visibly more tired than him, and let him escape... but he didn't really achieve that result, as he appeared to be in the position of the one that would save someone else at all costs, saying things like "Want to kill him? Kill me first". (And of course, killing Dexter before killing Takeshi was an easy task anyways.)

"I'll need some help!" Dexter shouted, trying to get the attention of Ozymandias. "After this, we run..."

He wasn't even sure if that could have worked; he didn't plan to do what he'd just done, it was all a chaotic and desperate sequence of actions.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen sighed, no information other than more on something to come. It was nice to know... but it didn't stop the current threat to people out there. "Listen... I only think you a fool because in my shoes... you would be. I don't have the luxury to share any information. I'm the Deviant known as the "Vixen of the Forest." Maybe you've heard of me, I'm not exactly the most loved around these parts. Anyway, before you leave, point me somewhere. You have to know some of the important well known folks around this place. If they have more information about whatever this beast is, I need it. Your Terrasque problem... isn't a concern right now. Maybe once it is I'll be around, but for now I've got something else to hunt. Take this." Vixen flipped him a small stock card, sorta like something a business card would be printed onto. On it was written one thing. Where the stars are best viewed by the sleeping viridian giant. It was a clue as to where to find her later when this terrasque came knockin' and she would be needed for that. There was a small clearing out in the woods somewhere known as the Eye of the Forest. It was a hill that crested bare of trees. It wasn't a hugely known place and was quite far from the city. This is why it was the location that Vixen chose to make camp. It was too dangerous for most to go that far if they didn't know the area. Hell, she wasn't sure if this mediator knew where it was, the clue was a shot in the dark. But... in the dead of night it was the best place to view the stars. The pollution from the city didn't reach,,, and overhead there was no canopy of trees to block your view. It was a beautiful place. "Look for me there and you'll find me when the time comes. FOr now I have to hunt this beast that threatens the people now. But, if in the future this terrasque becomes more dangerous...becomes a very real threat... you know where to find me. I prefer you kept it to yourself until then as well... People hunt me after all."

She turned to look back out over the city, before turning around once more. "Oh... and despite what you've heard, I'm not evil. I only remove those that are no better than the beasts themselves. Sometimes the Hunters of a creature hunt them so long... or protect them so long... they become them. I won't lie... I've killed mediators before, but only those that preyed on innocents or tricked them. I don't think you're that kind of person."

[Shamitako]

Kindle was slightly startled by the intruder. But she quickly calmed down when she saw who it was.

"Ohey, you were at Mr. Scraggly's house." She said, a smile of greeting crossing her lips.

"Anyways, I'm doing great, thanks for asking." She said to Hikaru, "I was even thinking about all this magic stuff and I decided I should try to do something and so I concentrated really hard and now I can do this."

She lifted her hand and held out her middle finger, her face contorting in concentration. After as few moments a small red flame ignited on it. It lasted for about half the time it took to appear and then blinked out.

"Tada!" Kindle said, lowering her hand.

[Felicity]

"Let the cowardly flee, no beast shall make me turn tail, my flames do not run cold as a Cravens blood!" Ozzy bellowed in defiance as he got to his feet, fury continuing to blaze in his eyes. He was in the throes of reckless bravado and he did not care if he saw the next.

Ozzy dispelled the flamethrower he had been wielding, opting for his knife that reflected the warm light of a hearthfire. He scrambled over to the beast and tried to climb to it's back, aiming to thrust the knife through it's eyes with his efforts.

[Chevaleresse]

Dexter and Ozzy

The beast flinched backwards with Ozymandias's strike, evading any critical damage to the eye but still receiving a nasty cut on it's snout. There seemed to be a glint of something reflective underneath, but it was hard to make out what exactly it was, seeing as it was a small cut on the body of something actively trying to kill the observers.

Fortunately for Takeshi, the flinch allowed him to escape the fiend's grip. He stood up as the maw moved away from him, and combined a retreat with a swing at the nearest leg as he jumped backward.

Irritated and pained by the strike, the beast hooked one of Ozymandias's arms with a claw and flung him away - and directly at Dexter.

[Cyaloom]

What had just happened was actually what Dexter wanted: Takeshi was freed without having anyone else hurt considerably, and Ozymandias' attack seemed to actually affect the Beast, unlike the three guys' previous onslaughts. There was only one thing that could have been better... Ozymandias was sent flying by the Beast, and was about to land on the blonde guy, who tried to keep a safe distance from that creature, which he didn't consider a normal Beast like the others he saw.

Dexter could have done two things in that situation: get away without helping Ozymandias, to avoid being hit, or let himself get hit by the other guy, cushioning his fall, but as he only had a split second to decide, the blonde guy ended up colliding with Ozymandias, and awkwardly moving to his side, trying to help him get up while whispering a frustrated "Dammit".

"This isn't your everyday Beast. If you two think you can keep fighting, you can go ahead and I'll support you, but please, be careful." he told the other two people, trying to return to a ready stance.

"Cushioning" is in italics because I had to use Google Translate, but you could suggest better translations.

This will be one of the last posts I can make here before leaving, on Wednesday. Tomorrow, on Tuesday, I think I'll still have some time to post, but it'll be a busy day.

[Felicity]

Ozzy grunted in pain as he landed on his comrade. In the back of his mind he knew a wall would have burt more but that didn't lessen the pain he still felt.

Regardless, Ozzy scrambled to his feet. He was tiring of this Beast and decided he wanted to dispatch it quickly. With a stronger effort than before he dug into the last of his energy that was quickly waning now and materialised what would commonly be seen by most as a launcher of some kind. It was as tall as Ozymandias and as thick around in diameter as his head. Unlike most launchers though thereseemed to be an ever present fire within, burning and flickering in it's depths, eager to escape.

Ozymandias dropped to his knees to steady himself from the launch and roared ferociously, simultaneously pulling the trigger and sending what looked like a miniature star streaking towards the beast. If it hit it, It'd either burn through the damn thing or explode on contact with twice the force of a rocket that the launcher looked to actually be meant to fire.

Ozzy would rather have jammed it down the beasts throat but he lost his inhibition early into the fight.

[Chevaleresse]

((Murdoc gestures!

The thread shudders and begins to move!))

Ozzy and Dexter

The massive, rage-fueled blast left the beast visibly wounded, though not as severely as any of them would have hoped. It had seen the blast coming and warded itself with one fell wing, and the limb attached was pitted and scraped from the blast, another glint of underlying gold showing in the wounds. The wing itself was noticeably torn, but evidently still fully functional as evidenced by the beast's next action; taking off once again in search of easier fare, wind battering the three magi at the scene. Takeshi launched a roiling ball of greenish-teal energy after it, which slammed into the fleeing beast without a noticeable effect as it sped into the sky.

The silver-haired warrior fell to one knee after it left, his whole posture reeking of exhaustion. "Damnit, not again," he whispered, possibly not even audible to Dexter and Ozymandias, who were a fair distance away.

Vixen

The Mediator visibly flinched at the statement that Vixen had killed mediators before. I knew there was something off. A wilder, nothing to keep her in control. "Very well then," he said in an even voice.

There was still plenty left to investigate. He had mentioned speaking with the other Mediators in the area, or the mages they were contracted with. Or, she could try to track the beast directly, though tracing something capable of high-speed flight could be difficult beyond measure. Staying here wouldn't get anything accomplished, though.

Kindle, Nagi

Hikaru's hostile posture seemed to diffuse slightly, though they still appeared decidedly on edge. "A dialogue? I will speak with you, but I will simply inform you that I can be far more dangerous than you might expect." Their normally gentle face held a hard expression; Hikaru's words did not appear to be a bluff or exaggeration. They moved toward one of the seats in the room and sat in it, then gestured to another. "Sit, please." A glance went in Kindle's direction after the girl's comment. "You know one another?"

[Cyaloom]

Dexter walked backwards only to see, from a reasonable distance, the Beast taking off and flying away, and Takeshi's attack hitting it with no considerable effects. He didn't want to continue to battle, even when the actual fight was infuriating. But it was thanks to Ozymandias' attack that the Beast changed its mind; and most likely not because of what Dexter had done until that moment (shooting some bullets and trying to help one of his comrades without succeding).

"We are all safe, at least" thought the blonde guy. "Although I am not as tired as Takeshi and Ozymandias, continuing the fight is pointless. Also, I still have little experience."

Dexter walked closer to Ozymandias, whispering "Thank you" before approaching Takeshi, who was further away.

[Shamitako]

Kindle happily popped into the indicated seat, not even considering whether it was actually her or Nagi who was supposed to sit there.

"Yeah we met the other night when Mr. Scraggly told me I had fancy powers." She answered, "Though I wouldn't really say we know each other, we've just met."

She didn't fully understand what this whole dialogue thing was, but she figured Hikaru could deal with that. Though she hoped he would be quick, she wanted to do more magic.

"I'm hungry." She suddenly blurted.

Immediately she covered her mouth feeling super rude. She wasn't even certain how she got from magic to food, but somehow she had.

"I'm so sorry, that was really rude." She apologized hastily.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen sighed loudly. "I always hate this part. This beast is known for it's flight so tracking it without some sort of magical means is exceedingly difficult. Though it also exceedingly fast. This makes tracking it via Magic also hard, which means I don't have much of a chance on my own. I'm good at tracking people, Hunters, Protectors, Peacekeepers and their ilk, and even most grounded beasts. However, Flying ones tend to elude me." She slammed her fist into the chair she was sitting on earlier. She had been pacing wildly around the room. Her boots smacking against the hard floor ringing in the relative hollowness of the building. She did this as she cycled her thoughts and realigned them. She was probably going to need help and she didn't like that idea. But, too many lives were at stake for her to try and do this on her own. She had told those Protectors she'd work with them earlier but she had no idea where they were now. "I'm going to have to do something to call attention to myself, get people looking in my direction. I don't have time to really go seeking." She grabbed her gear and got moving, either way she couldn't stay here... or could she? After all the man did say he was gathering people to meet here. Other Mediators. Perhaps they would know more about this Beast than he would. Or it'd be a great waste of time and they'd only tell her what she already knew and keep on about their Terrasque problem. However, it was a sure thing... she knew they'd come. Perhaps even a local Mediator would be drawn one that knew something more or if not who to point her too, those who were also hunting this creature.

She decided to wait here for now, She moved the chair over towards the slightly rotted desk near the back wall. She sat down again and placed her feet on top of the desk while leaning back in the chair closing her eyes. And for now she waited. It was better than wondering around for now and attracted unwanted attention. She didn't have enough information on this area to be wondering it or trying to call attention when she had no idea what was here.

Rather than take a crazy risk, she'd spend a bit more time gathering information. Information was power. She'd get as much as she could before heading off into unknown territory.

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi, Kindle

"It's fine, Kindle-san, people get hungry." Hikaru's eyes remained fixed on Nagi as they spoke, however. "The kitchen is just through that arch; feel free to grab a snack from the refrigerator or the cupboards. First, though, can you describe Mr. Scraggly to me? I might know who he is. Your friend could do so too, if she wanted."

Dexter

Takeshi turned his head slightly in Dexter's direction, but didn't look up or rise from his position. "You should leave," he said with a dull, heavy voice. "I can't protect you any longer." Oddly, he stayed transformed, rather than reverting to human form as he usually did once a threat was passed. His hair concealed most of his face as it draped over his shoulders and back, making it even more difficult to try and read his face; though the rest of his demeanor spoke volumes.

[Hiss13]

"I see you're the still ball of energy you were that day when I carried you back to the hospital." Nagi spoke to Kindle. "I can only assume you got discharged from the hospital."

She was curious as to how Kindle and Hikaru came to meet but factions trying to recruit new members from freshly awakened magi was not exactly unheard of so it would be unwise to press on that issue, especially with the negotiations having already started the moment they made eye contact.

"As for the Mr. Scraggly she's referring to, I honestly don't remember much about him. He didn't leave much of an impression to me. He was just some older-looking blond-haired mage in a dilapidated part of the city. Nothing more than that.

"That being said, danger isn't something I'm all too worried about. All I was hired to do was to set up a meeting between you and Noriko in a neutral location. Nothing more beyond that."

[Cyaloom]

Even after hearing Takeshi's words, one or two minutes passed before Dexter, who was busy thinking, moved at all.

Why do I have to leave? And if I leave, where do I go? Does Takeshi really want to...?

Takeshi standing in the same place without moving, staying transformed, and hitting the Beast as it escaped made Dexter come up with a very dark explanation for his behavior. Because of that, the blonde guy figured he was better off not asking him anything, even though the previous fight raised so many questions in his head.

"Astros...?" he said, realizing that the mediator could have likely helped him. He made a contract with Astros, and that was the only important thing he could have done in his life from that moment onwards. It had to be his destiny; while going to school and getting a "normal" job wasn't.

Waiting for a response that he probably wouldn't receive, Dexter whispered "Sorry" - as in his opinion, he could have contributed more in that fight - and got ready to leave that area. Aside from seeing Astros, he could have returned home for at least one more time or try to find some answers to his questionings. But, this time around, he'd have done that alone.

the first time I wrote this it got lost... It could have been longer

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi

"I see. I have wondered if we were ever going to take steps to resolve this conflict, what with all the Mediators on edge about something, they won't say what. So, I believe the next step is to determine what a neutral location is; but I'm getting ahead of myself. Since your intentions seem to be genuine, I've been incredibly rude." The white-haired mage stood and offered Nagi a polite bow. "I am Hikaru, and one of the lieutenants of the Preservers, though you may have known this already."

After waiting a bit for the woman in front of them to introduce herself, she continued. "I believe I might know who you're talking about, but could you describe the magus further? You or Kindle-san, that is."

Dexter

The mediator padded out of the building after a few moments, ensuring the area was free of the horror that stalked the city. He came up to Dexter almost silently, and spoke softly. "We should probably give Takeshi his space for the moment. Follow me around the corner, if you will." Astros walked off down the street a short distance, tail swishing in a fairly non-catlike manner.

((Waiting another round to update Vixen.))

[Cyaloom]

"Alright, I am coming" said Dexter, following the Mediator.

Astros came up silently, almost scaring Dexter, right after the blonde guy called him. He had a lot of questions he could have asked, or things he could have explained, but he waited silently. He wanted to listen to what Astros might have had to tell him first.

[Hiss13]

Nagi put a hand to her chest and sighed. Hikaru seemed to have finally believed her intentions so she realized that her job may go off without a hitch. "That's fine. It's understandable for you to be hostile. After all, some random mage came into your residence without warning."

She put her arms back down to the armrests of the chair and spoke again. "As for a neutral zone, all that is needed is for a location that is not in the territory of any faction. Somewhere like the middle-class residential district is the first thing that comes to mind."

[Chevaleresse]

Protector HQ, time unknown

"I see." Kaito's face looked conflicted in the low light of his office as he spoke into the cellphone. "Doesn't that contradict our previous intelligence? This individual didn't seem to pose a threat previously.

"Previous intelligence is old and inaccurate. What we have now shows a clear and present danger. Act on it, before it's too late." The voice on the other end of the line sounded somewhat gravelly, even considering the distortion caused by the cheap device's speaker.

Orders are orders, the man thought. "I'll send a retrieval team. I already dispatched an operative that will be making contact; they'll be double-timed to compensate."

"Good. The stability of the city is our greatest concern. We cannot let this individual continue unhindered."

Nagi and Kindle

Hikaru nodded at the suggestion. "That sounds excellent. I believe certain conditions are in order, as to ensure our relative safety and, at least for myself, to avoid-" They stopped abruptly. The androgynous mage looked for a moment as if they were listening for something. "Did you feel that? A power spike, almost like-" This time, they were cut off again by a buzzing object, almost appearing to be some sort of metal feather. It still buzzed faintly with electricity, sticking into the flooring after shattering the window that looked out over the city.

Hikaru reacted immediately, coming to their feet and transforming in one motion. From head to toe, their clothing was replaced with something that looked like it might have belonged in a historical painting, if not for its unnaturally brilliant shade of white. The outfit resembled the traditional wear of samurai when they weren't in armor, though only a foolish observer would assume they were unprotected due to this. An equally traditional looking katana appeared in their left hand, matching the blade of the newcomer who flew in the breached glass on a gust of wind, singular wing carrying him into the suite. He was followed shortly thereafter by two other magi: one holding a modern submachine gun and dressed in a black trenchcoat that seemed to flow near the edges and within, not having a definite border, and the other with a similar outfit, though he held a rifle.

A glint of recognition shined in his eye for a moment when he glanced at Kindle and Nagi, but it was replaced with nothing but purpose when his gaze returned to the Preserver lieutenant before him. He started forward with a powerful diagonal slash aimed at their torso, which was met with a parry at almost blinding speed by Hikaru. As the two blades clashed, unnatural steel ringing on unnatural steel, a strange effect propagated from around Hikaru's feet, a sheet of blank white space spreading around the room and climbing up the walls, eventually replacing everything in sight with the same.

Hikaru sliced horizontally and leapt backward, using the recovery to proper themselves away from their opponent. The white samurai set themselves in a solid, two handed guard, then rushed forward into the group. The two gunners took aim, but couldn't keep up with Hikaru's agility; they were already on top of the one-winged mage, their much smaller frame unleashing a series of three powerful blows at blistering speed, forcing the receiver back as he barely managed to guard himself from the attack. Each strike sent out a shower of sparks, chipping away at the weapon of the electromancer. The last strike was powerful enough to send the German reeling.

By now, the two gunmen had taken aim. Hikaru released half of their grip on the blade to make a gesture; a hand rising upward, balling into a fist, and pulling downward. For each of the pair, three thick lines of black light seemed to spring out of the ground - as difficult as it was to determine exactly what or where that was, given the environment of undifferentiated white space - and wrapped around their weapons, pulling them and their surprised holders to the floor. Hikaru's free hand then made another gesture, a sweeping one beginning behind and sweeping in an arc through the air and toward the ground in front, ending with their flat palm leveled at Faust. To match, another series of lines, these red, blue, and green, rose from the floor and arched toward the Peacekeeper, crashing into a wing thrown up in their patch and charged, impacting with a great deal of force before fading from sight.

Hikaru took a passing second to glance back and confirm the safety of Kindle before launching themselves at Faust once more. All six of the people in the apartment had been pulled into this strange space of Hikaru's making; the question was what they would do now that they were here.

Dexter

"I suppose I should take a moment to tell you about Takeshi's past, or at least what matters to this occasion and the state he's in. All his life he's had very few people close to him; I've never once heard him speak of a relative, even before I recognized the potential within him, and during that time I didn't see him speaking with many. I suppose that's the fate of a mage, after all; there's something about the power that drives those with it to the edges of society, or perhaps being on the edge of society causes it to manifest. Which it is is regardless; that is a question for the Diviners to ponder, when they're not fretting over local fluctuations in the background energy field or what have you.

To get back to the point, the only people that the boy seemed to consider friends were the three boys in the car with him on the day I contracted with him; I've never been able to pry exactly what happened out of him. I found the dissipating energy of a magical beast and a car in ruins, crashed into the wall of one of the buildings off the street; or, at least, that's what it looked like. I won't regale you with the details, but it was messy. Takeshi was relatively unharmed, or so he claimed, though I distinctly remembering him favoring one leg for several weeks on top of the cuts and bruises he received. The others as you might have gathered were in lesser condition.

After that, I took him to the Protectors. They showed him a bit of their stuff, but he couldn't stand the idea of somebody telling him what to do, so he left. Since then he's helped train up some other mages like yourself, but the Preservers started chasing them off before he could really befriend them. In essence, he's been almost entirely alone for most of his life, and I think what he sees as a failure to protect someone he was beginning to get to know has cut deeply into his psyche." Astros left his other concerns unvoiced; namely the fact that seeing Dexter again might cause him to react somewhat unpredictably, whether due to the boy's lack of action toward the beast or the fact that Takeshi was entirely convinced that Dexter wasn't ready to survive on his own.

Vixen

It was a couple hours before the lone hunter was greeted with what appeared to be a familiar face. From his reaction - brief surprise at her presence, then a brief word to an unseen listener behind him - it could be gathered that this was, in fact, still Ihdrelic. The procession that followed him would have seemed incredibly strange by the standards of most people: a diverse mixture of about twenty people, some appearing to be homeless or at least extremely poor like Ihdrelic, a few that looked like businessmen, and three pigeons. The group filed into the room, each shooting a look of confusion or concern at Vixen, but saying nothing.

"Pay no mind to the magus in the corner. I've had a conversation with her previously; she is simply interested in discovering more information about one of the beasts in the area that has proven particularly elusive."

One of the other (presumably) mediators spoke up, in a gravelly voice that didn't seem to quite fit the appearance he had chosen; a fairly nondescript businessman, clean-shaven with hair that looked to be fading from black to gray. "You know very well that this is not permitted. The very existence of this meeting is not to be widely known."

"Perhaps we should change that," a female voice chimed in. A ragged-looking homeless woman, a bit skinnier than looked healthy underneath a baggy set of clothes. It seemed to be a common theme; her voice alone sounded like it belonged to a different person, with a strong, yet refined note to it.

"Hmph. At the very least, we should not be letting magi sit in on meetings where the dissemination of information to them is being discussed." The gravelly businessman had selected a seat and sat down, a suitably irritable expression on his face.

"Normally I would agree, but I believe that discussion has a foregone conclusion. All of us know what we've read, what we've sensed. Izalym, even you have to see this. However, there are preliminary matters that need attending." Ihdrelic gestured at the group, indicating that they should all sit if they had not done so already. "Now, any problems with any of the currently active aliases?"

Another businessman raised a hand, then spoke. "I'm afraid Mr. Ishida has been voted off the board." He showed a faint expression of embarrassment.

"No matter, we can likely find a way to monitor the company in the meantime. For now, continue posing as him. Anyone else?" When nobody spoke, he clapped once. "Ah, excellent. Now, before we get into our discussion, what is your question for the Diviners, magus? I assume that is why you are here."

[Cyaloom]

Dexter listened carefully to the mediator, sometimes whispering distracted "I understand" or "I see" as Astros was speaking. After that speech, he replied.

"Well, it's likely that I'm feeling the same way as him. I failed; I could have done more but, being less experienced and more afraid, I didn't really help the others. I've been selfish there." The guy paused for a moment. "That aside, it's like I have no more a purpose in my life, other than to protect people and, more importantly, you. But I'll need some help... And there is another thing: have you ever seen a Beast resisting various strong onslaughts by Takeshi and other mages and being able to fight back, without really looking seriously hurt?"

Looking at the mediator straight in the eyes, he whispered one last thing before waiting for a reply. "I made a contract with you: I can't take this role lightly."

I wrote this post once before and it got lost, so I had to do it all over again. So it's not including most details that I'd have liked to add.