Reserved

@CornixElecti

Kain let out a slow painful sigh as he rolled his eyes.
"Natasha! It's me again, Kain. I can't get hold of my brother, this is important. Get him to call me. Thanks."
His tired agitated voice argued with the answering service. It was late at night but Kain didn't care. He hadn't seen his brother in years but right now he just needed someone to speak to. He was desperate for something safe and familiar.

"For fuck's sake." his words sifted like acid in the cool nights air as he whispered curses at his lack of luck and for the things he was about to do. Things had become erratic. He was desperate and not thinking clearly.

He slipped his unhelpful phone back into the pocket of his worn jeans and peered through the open curtain drapes. With his suspicions confirmed slow careful strides took him through the garden beds toward his goal, the garage door.

He frowns as the roller door opens to his touch. It was too easy. He didn't feel the security measures were enough. He steps inside and carefully closes the door behind him. The automatic lights flicker to life and Kain is embraced by the still empty silence provided by the rooms thick sound dampening walls. The garage was large, larger then it needed it to be. It made Kain wonder what they might have intended to build or work on when they constructed the building.

Those thoughts fell aside when he came to stand next to a hidden car beneath a large cover in the far corner of the garage. He trails his fingers slowly across the fabric for a short distance before suddenly stopping and dropping to his knees. He reaches up under the skirting and smiles as his fingers find the sleek cool metallic surface.

Kain closes his eyes and a grin comes to his face. Without even having to look at it he could picture the car perfectly in his head. He had seen it often before but had never been allowed close enough to touch it.

---

@Polaris North
A few hours later the BMW OHV V8 engine of the 1958 507 series 2 roadster spurred to life. It ran so smoothly and purred with a dormant power. To Kain this machine was art.


With a bruised hand Kain shifts the gear stick back before wiping away the blood growing in the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Through a swollen black eye he looks back at the garage behind h as a wave of fresh air sweeps over him.

It hadn't been the clean getaway that he had hoped for but long awaiting childhood issues had been resolved that night.

As the car rolls out, Kain awkwardly shifts in the seat, leaning his head out over the door he spits out more blood that splatters across the pristine driveway.
Looking back at the closing garage door one last time he speaks to the cold night.
"That's what ya get, dad." his voice filled with resentment and a spiteful sarcasm. "You fucking prick!"

With a short press on the accelerator Kain speeds off down the street, leaving behind the building he once called home.
Now even more than before Kain needed to see his brother. He hadn't seen him for quite some time and the last meeting didn't end too well.

The cold nights air was rustling heavily through his hair, it burnt against his warm skin, swollen and bruised. While he couldn't get in contact with his brother luckily he had a pretty good idea where he might be able to find him.

Kain floored the car all through the night to arrive in New York by mid morning. It was there, lost in the secluded back ally streets of gang territory that something had suddenly overcome him. He and the expensive stolen roadster suddenly shot straight up the walkway and smashed head on into a large solid pylon.
Steam and smoke sprayed violently from the crumpled bonnet of the wreck. Behind the cracked windshield Kain's head fell heavily onto the steering wheel and subsequently the cars horn.
The loud droning sound of the horn echoed out down the dirty back streets calling attention to them.

@Dark Light

Natasha woke to the sound of a car horn blaring, as if right next to her building, she almost dismissed it until she noticed it didn't stop. Prick. she thought, finally eyeing the blinking green light on her phone. She pulled her arm from underneath her and reached for the phone. She pressed the button at the bottom of the screen and winced at the bright light. She squinted, the screen read Kain. She paused, her heart skipping a beat, That's Kevin's younger brother. she thought. She quickly typed in the four digit code to listen to his voice mail, "Natasha! It's me again, Kain. I can't get hold of my brother, this is important. Get him to call me. Thanks."

Her heart wrenched as she bit her lip, she held her phone up and pressed the 'call back' button. She quickly dressed, pulling on skinny jeans, a black tank top and a long sleeve shirt. She ran a hand through her hair as she pulled her shoes on. She waited for Kain to pick up as she stared at her right hand, the red mark taunting her, she pulled her gloves on, the phone between her shoulder and ear. When the call went to voicemail she sighed, "Hey Kain, I'm sorry I just got your message. Call me back, we should meet up, talk." she said, pressing the red hang up button. She sighed and closed her eyes, the blaring of the horn getting on her nerves. She stood up, "No use in trying to sleep now..." she grumbled.

Natasha grabbed her keys, phone and the small, black handgun from her bedside table. She check the safety, then checked to see if she needed to reload. She stuffed the keys and phone in her pocket and holstered the gun. She looked disdainfully at the belt she'd been given with the gun before dashing out of her apartment, down towards the blaring car horn.

She stepped out of the building and looked around, the streets were dead, no one was out this early in the morning except the drunks getting home from a late night at the bar, or where ever they had come from. She walked down the street, pulling the hood over her head, hands in her pockets. From the sound of the horn, it could be a couple blocks, but with her hearing she could be wrong, it could be farther.

---

As that matter was resolved, she finally was able to relax again. The club was once more blaring with lights and sound with people dancing like there's no tomorrow in the middle. She could only see silhouettes because of the strobe lights, but she didn't mind. Himeko walked towards a free table that was the farthest from the dance floor and settled there. She was offered a drink by one of the waiters and she waited there.

At least nothing bad was going on.

At some point or another, she had drifted off despite the loud music. There was no danger present in this club for her. No one would dare touch her. Not if they valued their hands that is. She had roused herself from her sleep. Same blaring music, same blinding strobe lights, same partying people who were drunk, high, having fun or all three. She stood up and passed by the bartender's counter to which the bartender acknowledged her presence. "Goin' out Princess?"

Himeko yawned and stretched her arms. "Yeah." She shouldered the bokken's case so she didn't have to carry it in her hands but still would be readily accessible when needed and set off. The morning was silent once she distanced herself from the club. No one was around since it was still so early - besides the drunks who were stumbling all over the place but they wouldn't remember anything. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt something shift on her backside and she opened her eyes again - a cat tail now present and swishing from side to side. "It's still equally cool and weird." She muttered to herself as she reached to touch the tail.

It had only been a few days since she had gained her powers. She wasn't sure how it happened, but when she woke up to the clubs in shambles, she had a monkey's tail. She had panicked, originally, but realized that she could 'remove' it. After some contemplating with her smarter acquaintances, they tried different experiments like aksing her if she could try different animals or if she could transform into a full monkey (sadly, she can't) among others. They deduced that she could take on some part of an animal but not transforming into the animal itself and that she is quite limited in selection.

She jolted up when she heard tires followed by a crash. What the-

It was then followed by the honk of the horn... continuously, without stop. Himeko quickly moved to the source which was pretty damn close. She saw an expensive and rather old looking car lodged into a pylon. She saw a man with his head on the steering wheel, causing the horn to just continue releasing sound. There was smoke rising from the car. Fearing for the worst, Himeko quickly made her way to the man. The seatbelt wasn't jammed so she was able to take it off quickly. She opened the door (thank God for it being an open air kind of vehicle) and then pulled him out to a safe distance and silencing the horn in the process.

She leaned him up against an alley wall. Himeko surveyed his injuries. There were some that didn't look like it came from the crash. She wasn't the type who could suddenly dress an injury properly so she was very unsure. She didn't even have the right equipment to dress wounds. So she stood guard by the alleyway as she phoned one of her subordinates who might know what to do. Though hopefully, someone gets here... because that person isn't answering his phone.

@Polaris North
Although the horn was now quiet, it hadn't gone without first drawing some unwanted attention.
Staggering down the street, drawn to the commotion, was an inebriated man loudly slurring lewd comments in Himeko's direction.
He wasn't traveling extremely fast but neither was the occupant of the vehicle. The man continued to shout inconceivable nonsense as he closed in on the alleyway, either too drunk, too foreign or too cocky to know who he was shouting at, meanwhile Kain didn't even flinch as he just lay there completely unconscious.

---

@CornixElecti

The horn finally stopped before Natasha could reach it but the quiet did not remain long enough to be appreciated. Sudden loud aggressive shouts exploded into the air from the near distance somewhere around the block corner. However that would be the least of her worries. From the shadows of an alley way emerged three suspicious scrawny men in oversized tattered pants and big hoodies. There movements while attempting to seem casual were very deliberate and fast paced as they followed and began to flank Natasha.
An extremely nice passing sports car stole their attention for a moment, but not very long.

---

Himeko cursed under her breath when the phone wasn't answered and had to leave a message. She placed the phone back in her pocket, now knowing that there was absolutely no hope in contacting that man. Though she should have guessed. He was either too drunk, too high or too asleep to even answer his phone. Such irresponsibility.

Upon hearing someone else's voice, she sharply turned her head to him - her tail disappearing from sight. Could this be someone who could help? That would really be a stroke of luck huh? As the words became understandable, her hopes were crushed and it left this annoyed feeling in her chest. Added with the fact that he was making lewd comments only added to the fury already building up in her. She looked back at the man who was unconscious and it didn't look like he was waking up anytime soon.

"You're either brave or extremely stupid to do this old man." She then took out her bokken, but had second thoughts of using claws instead. "Though, I think you're too drunk to even understand the situation you're currently in." She was prepared to strike this man down and teach him a lesson. She leveled her eyes to his, her hands tightening the grip around the handle of the wooden sword.

@duskshine749
The sound, it just never stopped. She could hear everything from her neighbors talking, TVs going, bugs and vermin scurrying around, buzzing electric lines, the list goes on. None of it was particularly well defined though. It all muffled together in a cacophony of chaos. Quinn felt like she was losing her mind. She barely slept for the last couple days, not since for a whole day seeing weird things going on. Eyes and movement in the shadows, odd reflections, weird crap. She'd thought that maybe she'd been drugged but there was no proof and it didn't explain the noise now. She was also afraid to go to sleep, because the last time she went to bed she swore that the shadows came to life and tried to kill her.

The woman wasn't particularly superstitious but by this point Quinn couldn't put aside the chance that her apartment was haunted. Not after all of that. Against her better judgement she called up a number she'd seen on a flyer around town. Someone was looking for a roommate and while she ordinarily would not jump at the idea of living with a stranger she couldn't live here anymore. Not quite in her right mind she arranged a time to meet and went about on autopilot through the day until taking a cab to Samuel's apartment that evening to see how it was. The noise was still mind numbing, but seemed to be less here. Perhaps being further from the inner city helped. By now she was exhausted and stood at the door, conscious through momentary spurts of willpower and the noise.

Stephan sipped his coca cola as he walked into the night. He was never one for night walks but there was no way in hell he was going back to sleep after what he'd just seen. Caffeine always helped him calm down, lifeblood of a student as it was. That was why he'd bought it, although the life of a student was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. A lot of things had happened during the night and he'd awoken to a few surprises.

A vintage car zoomed past suddenly and Stephan jumped a little, watching as it rolled by. Maybe it was the caffeine in his system or maybe it was the dream making him paranoid, but he was pretty twitchy right now, which was unfortunate considering the state of his right hand.

Stephan looked down and hummed in annoyance. He'd crushed the can in his surprise, spilling its contents all over his glove. He sighed, throwing the can into a nearby bin before heading to find a tap of some sort. That was one surprise he'd woken up to - increased grip strength. Not super strength, mind, it was limited to grabbing stuff. It didn't work with his left hand either, thank goodness, because he was having enough trouble with one.

Stephan decided to try the drinking fountain in the park. He eased his right glove off his hand, revealing the crimson dyed skin that had come to cover it. That was another surprise he'd woken up to - his hand had looked like he'd bathed it in blood. Stephan pushed the button on the fountain with his left hand, washing the brown, sticky liquid off of his right. He'd found out about his grip strength the hard way when he tried using his sink. To cut a long story short, the cold water tap was now replaced by a rubber duck on the end of a chopstick. He hoped that he could get it repaired in the morning.

Stephan beheld his work - a freshly rinsed black glove. He dried it off on his jacket, debating or not whether to wear it, and tried to decide where to go from there. He had a red hand with the power to crush and a disturbing order from his dream - to kill something, though he didn't know what. He didn't particularly want to, though, and he wondered about the origin of his powers. Was he unique? Were there others like him? What would he do now? He wouldn't get any answers anytime soon, as a sudden crashing sound drew his attention.

Even as the sound began reaching his brain, it became more softer. Stephan's vision was englufed by grey as the sound cut off and the ground disappeared from beneath his feet. He cursed loudly as he began to fall, twisting his body as he did and desperately willing himself to be solid. He couldn't feel the wind or see anything but he could feel himself falling who-knew-how-far. The sound of the wind heralded his return to reality as the smoky grey he saw in front of him solidified into a more solid grey, the exact texture and color of concrete.

Stephan faceplanted on the concrete floor, sending a wave of pain through his body as the rest of it smacked into the ground.
"...Ow." He said.
He picked himself up, face aching from the impact, and brushed himself off as he tried to figure out where he was. A dim light glowed on the wall and showed the yawning majesty of a sewer canal.
"Wonderful." Stephan muttered to himself.
That was the third surprise - the power to go through solid objects. Another somewhat difficult to control power, which he was getting the hang of quickly, but clearly not quickly enough. When his tap got busted he'd activated the power accidentally, and had ended up 2 floors down in someone's coffee table. Thankfully, the apartment's occupant had been sound asleep. He'd used the power to get out quietly too. It had it's uses, but he couldn't use it for long. For one, he was still affected by gravity, meaning if he fell forever he'd probably be screwed. And secondly, he wasn't sure it was in his best interest to stay in that form. It appeared that the longer he stayed in phased form, the colder he got, and it didn't feel like the good kind of cold. But the power was still good to have sometimes, especially in situations like these.

Stephan flexed his hands, first his left and then his right. The right took a little longer. For some reason it was always colder than normal now, and he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was blood on his hand - his own blood. But that wouldn't explain why it was still cold. Stephan looked checked his surroundings for exit points. If his memory served him correctly, there was a man-hole over to the left. Interestingly, it was in the same direction as where he'd heard the noise. It'd sounded like a car crash, which was sort of significant considering there weren't many cars around. Stephan briefly considered ignoring it and going home, but then again, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. But he could make his decision once he got out of the sewer.

---

A red hand appeared from the manhole, digging its fingers into the grooves of the manhole cover. Soon it dragged the rest of Stephan's body up as he phased through the ground. He'd figured out quickly that trying to solidify in a solid object didn't work until he wasn't in it anymore, which usually meant that if he fell through the floor and solidified himself, he wouldn't be solid until he came out the other side. But in this case, he could grab a handhold and drag himself through whatever it was he was going through. He didn't want to try it out while in anything too large though.

Stephan got up and recovered quickly, brushing himself off for the second time. It appeared that he'd dropped his glove at the park, so he'd have to pick it up later. Checking his surroundings, Stephan quickly noticed that he was on a completely different street now. He heard droning car horn and surmised that the sound that had made him phase out had been a car crash.
I think it's coming from over there...
As he began walking towards it, his law degree instincts kicked in and he wondered what had happened during the car crash. It hadn't sounded like a car-on-car collision, although he wouldn't know for sure. He'd imagine, with the car horn droning like that, that the driver's airbags hadn't worked, or something. The only way for the horn to sound after the car had crashed was if the driver's body was pressing down on it - and that wouldn't normally happen if the airbag in the steering wheel deployed properly. At least, that's what he thought. He briefly mused on what kind of car wouldn't have airbags nowadays and remembered the car that had caused him to crush his can.
It can't be that one, right? Stephan thought.

@Lord of Evil

Stephan's trip into the sewers didn't go unnoticed. Despite appearances he wasn't down there alone. Drawn to his scent a man or 'creature' skilfully stalked him to his exit. But it didn't end there.
It never left the sewer but from down there beneath the ground it carefully continued to follow his path. Stalking and waiting. Following him to the crash.

---

@Polaris North
The man, even more feral looking now that he was up close, looked at the wooden sword and sniggered with his gap-tooth grin.
He carried with himself, in the air around him a foul odour of poor hygiene, sweaty clothes and other things that most wouldn't want to consider. It was all topped off and laced with the repugnant sting of pure spirits that had obviously ended just as much on him as in.

"I'll shew ya mahr shword eh." he sputters with a sense of self achievement as he marvels over his own humour and staggers even closer while reaching towards his own belt with unsteady hands.
The old man suddenly stops when he see's her eyes. A hand raises to clasp his mouth as he steps back in a horrid shock.

_{"thss hado en er eyh"}
He whispers through his hand before removing it from his mouth and leaning in for a closer look.
"NOPE!" he suddenly shouts as he snaps back, distancing himself. Shaking his head he looks to the ground and begins to mumble.
"Da derbent,sh hadou ah irit."
He repeats it again and again a few times over as he grows increasingly agitated. Then he says something new. "Eht comin' you're brinnen trebble, godda pra-par."
He looks up at her like she is actually a person and as though he has a hundred things to say or ask.
Eventually he makes his question.

"Kehn I 'ave smm cash?"
He holds out a dirty hand expectantly.
"fo' da bus."

---

His stench reached her nose as he came closer. She scrunched her nose - he smelled absolutely disgusting. She's lived in the club for a year now and she's gotten used to the stench of liquor and vomit... but this was on a whole other level. He was also completely feral-looking. Was he homeless? She was pretty sure that he didn't live in her streets in particular.

As he started to fumble with his belt and draw closer to her, she had more than enough of seeing this man and wanted him to just disappear. She raised her sword above her head in preparation of a strike but was stopped when the man stepped away from her. She raised an eyebrow. He was looking straight at her eyes - not at the sword. Realization dawned upon her. Ever since she got her powers, her eyes had become fundamentally different. Or well, at least, there was a small detail that has changed. It wasn't noticeable at first since people usually keep a distance from her so no one pointed it out - but when one of her closer subordinates saw it, she absolutely freaked out.

She lowered her sword but still ready to smack the living hell out of the man should he decide to do something. He took a closer peek before he distanced himself more - now at a respectable distance, but she guessed more out of fear and shock of realizing what she is. He kept mumbling something incoherent - or at least, extremely slurred that she can barely understand it.

She wanted to wrap her mind around what he was saying. It was slurred but she could make out some of them when repeating it over and over in her head. Something about her bringing trouble? Or at least something bringing trouble and then he had to prepare - or was he talking about how she should prepare? Ugh, drunk men and their slurs. But that meant he knew about these powers - more than she knew at least.

But then the man did something absolutely unexpected for her. He extended his arm and opened the palm of his hands... and asked for cash. "You are unbelievable - absolutely infuriating." She sighed and shook her head before taking out some coins form her pocket, enough for a bus fare. "But there is no sense in not letting you have any. But remember this, old man, you owe me. If I see you again, you will tell me what you know." She dropped the coins on his palm but never lowered her guard.

Just as she dropped the coins, an unexpected voice came from further away. She looked beyond the man and towards the crashed car to see another woman approaching it - a sports car not far behind. "Over here!" She yelled. Even if the man doesn't disappear from sight, she guessed it wouldn't matter. Hopefully, though, the woman wasn't like this man.

@Dark Light

Natasha took a deep breath as the horn stopped, she blinked in surprise, not realizing she'd been holding the breath. She kept walking when she heard the heavy breathing and awkward footsteps of three men gather behind her, slowly moving around her. She glanced behind her, then to her waist, glad her hoodie covered the gun. If she could help it, she wouldn't use it, I don't particularly need to draw attention to myself... she thought. She noticed their breathing change as a sports car sped by, Now's my chance. she thought. She looked around, the dimly lit street not offering her much. She glanced down an alleyway to spy a fire escape. She looked at the couple feet jump she would have to make, I can do it. she thought, feeling energy writhe inside her. She darted.

Natasha was already down the alleyway by the time the men noticed she'd gone. She jumped used her gloved hand and pushed the nearby dumpster, only applying enough pressure to send it sailing to the end of the alleyway. She smiled as the men barely made their way out of it. She jumped up, and missed, Sh** she thought, panic starting to flow through her, the men were mad. She glanced around the alleyway, Why does it only work with this hand??? she thought. She took a deep breath, and motioned for the men to come closer. Her hood was low enough she was certain they hadn't seen her face. Behind her back, she pulled her glove off and clenched her blood red hand, slowly funneling what she'd gathered previously that day.

Sam had been expecting his possible new roommate so he was quickly up and opening the door when he heard the knock. "Hey there, uh...don't tell me, I promised myself my one job was to remember your name," he snapped his fingers a few times before coming to, "Quinn, right, sorry about that. Anyways, come in, let me show you around." He stepped away from the door more in to the front foyer, which wasn't much but it served its purpose. It had a closet for jackets and some mats opposite it to put your shoes when you came in. "I prefer no shoes in the house, I know some people wear theirs all the time, don't know if you do." They walked through a doorway on the right, except their was no door, Sam always wondered what you call a doorway with no door. At any rate he continued with the tour, "so here's the dining room, kitchen is next room over, living room is down those stairs." Saying the living room was down stairs was a bit of a stretch, it was a ledge with one step before the floor so it wasn't uncomfortable. It had an L shaped couch and a 50" TV with some game systems hooked up to it.

He lead Quinn back through the foyer and down the left hallway. The first door they came to on the right Sam said, "this would be your room if you moved in, as you can see there's already a bed, and the dresser is empty for your clothes." They continued on to the end of the hall where it was a bit busy with room. "On the left here we've got the bathroom, only one so we'd have to share, in front of us is my room, and this door on the right is a closet, it's where I keep the vacuum and some other cleaning things." He turned back to Quinn and smiled, "so, you like the place?" He hoped she did, he'd been meaning to rent out the other room for a while and now that he was less able to work extra shifts he could barely keep up payments. He scratched at a spot on his left shoulder blade, it was bugging him which was strange, it normally never bugged him unless he was using his new ability. He tried to keep it covered at all times with a hoodie, he wasn't sure what he'd do when the weather got too warm for that, he'd have to cross that bridge when he got to it.
@t2wave

@Polaris North@Kidd
The old man was surprised and overcome with gratitude at the notion. He grinned widely and even attempted to clasp Himeko's hand. He quickly pocketed the cash in a strange rush of fear like she might try to take it back.

"Howsh bout somin fo eh bid o hewd?" he asks unnecessarily loudly while making a shovelling motion to his mouth to ensure she understood, meanwhile giving his best sorry sad pitiful pleading look.

Then the other woman was noticed. It was unsure if he was ogling the car or the woman. Perhaps both. But for a man who struggled to put together a sentence or simply balance on his own two feet he sure could still preform a strong wolf whistle.
It was followed by a wide grin and a boisterous laugh. He was about to call out when he was hit with a sudden coughing fit.

---

@Lord of Evil@CornixElecti
Meanwhile around the corner. Two men darted into an alleyway while one stood guard watching as Stephan slowly come down the street towards them. His lip curled back as he tried to look as nasty and intimidating as possible.

In the alley way, after barely dodging the bin, the two men's anger quickly subsided when they saw the woman now trapped and motioning them forth. The two men dropped to a slow stride, savouring and maliciously enjoying the tension as they approached her like a pack of animals to their prey.
"what's a little lady like you doing in a place like dis?"
One asks with a slack tongue.
"Look 'ere, we don't have ta hurt ya if ya jus hand everything over." said the other with while sick grinning.
"Yea, everything!"

With the flick of his wrist the closest man produced a knife. "Well what's it gonna be?"

@Dark Light @Lord of Evil

Natasha chuckled, "Why don't you come take it off me." she cooed. Her words were honey sweet, but the grin she gave was anything but. Her right hand flexed, lowering enough than anyone looking at her wouldn't think she was hiding it. She raised her left and motioned for them to come forward again, "If you really think you can take me, have what you want." she crooned. Her eyes flickered to the third guy, snarling and trying to act tough at some unseen threat, Maybe my savior... she mused, Nah... I'll take care of them by myself. she thought. Her body loosened as she focused on their breathing, their heartbeats, their feet, she was ready to move at a moments notice.

Leaning against the wall for some support she reached down and took her shoes off. it took her a moment to push back and stand on her own two feet. She stayed pretty quiet though the tour. She probably would have made a comment or two but she was super tired. The placer was nicer than where she was now at least. Made her wonder how much rent was. Rubbing her eyes with one hand she tried to keep awake long enough to at least get through this. Anyone with any kind of sense would probably notice her drifting though.

After the whole walkthrough Quinn nodded a bit. It took her a bit to gather her thoughts and she squinted in the process. "The place looks nice. What uh... what is the cost?" Shaking her head for a moment she glanced around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the sleep deprivation and the crazy experience of a few days ago had her a bit paranoid. The movement made her head swim though and she weaved a bit. She held her arms out and steadied herself, awake for the moment. "Sorry, I'm alright. I've not had a great last few days. Really tired."

@duskshine749

He stood outside the local tavern that was also next to the nightclub; both dens of sin were relatively empty, a calm before the hedonist storm beneath the moonlight later in the day. Although it was one of several weekdays--or it was the last time Michael wasn't suffering from a hangover--and the party animals probably had regular lives to tend tomorrow. A cold jolt shot up his right arm beneath the brown tweed jacket he wore and it caused him to revert to a vertical stance; he more enjoyed the pole he was leaning on, though. Nothing exciting was happening, and the bus was late for the third time this week. I swear Old Jenkins is gonna get fired one of these days. He ain't made this route on time in two years.
Maybe he just didn't notice it, too busy thinking about Hegelian systems and Heidegger's stance on techne to be concerned with real world (and frankly more important) issues: screams. His maple brown eyes flit to the amassing crowd; a woman brandishing an iPhone near her ear and probably describing the cause of the commotion--what looked to be a totaled car.

"Oh, shit."

He had nothing better to do, and he wasn't particularly feeling a shot of Jameson this early in the day, so he went to investigate the scene. @Kidd

The horn had stopped a little while ago, but Stephan remembered which way it came from. He walked towards it at a regular but somewhat slow pace. He liked walking at night sometimes, something about not having anyone to answer to and going at your own pace. One of the best times to think was while taking a walk at night. He certainly had a lot to think about, considering everything that happened.

Up ahead, he heard some odd sounds. Something like a strange scraping(?) and garbled threats. He turned a corner and saw a somewhat menacing looking man in front of an alleyway, perhaps acting as a lookout for a group? Stephan stuck his hands in his pocket, partially to look non-threatening and partially to hide his hand. It'd be a tricky thing to explain to anyone, and he didn't feel like going into the details. Stephan had a lot on his plate and he didn't really want trouble. Or did he? He didn't really want to admit it but he wanted to try out his powers and see what he could do with them. He most definitely wanted to know just what he could do with his grip strength, but the question was, what would he do with it?

Stephan mulled those questions as he neared the alley, with the intention to keep walking. Curiosity got the better of him and he glanced into the alleyway as he passed, noting the odd placement of the dumpster and the 2 people behind it, as well as a third person at the end of the alley. He stopped in spite of the somewhat menacing figure standing in front, and called out to the occupants in the alley.
"Hey, you guys aren't doing anything illegal in there, are you?" Stephan asked.
It wasn't likely that he would going to get an honest answer, but sometimes a dishonest one said more.

@Dark Light@CornixElecti

---

"Don't push your luck old man." Himeko growled, bemused at the continuous pleading. She could let go of a few coins but also giving him food? No way. She was barely scraping by as it is. If it weren't for the club giving her a free room to stay in and the family restaurant occasionally gives her free meals, then she would probably end up like him... or become a petty thug beating people up for money - something she had come to despise considering all the complications it makes with those under her group's protection. "Go beg at the richer parts of the city. It could only go two ways after all - you get what you want or they dump it on you. At least it's better than here."

The worry in her voice was truly genuine - which surprised Himeko a bit. Then again, someone like her just shone the sign of 'I am rich and I come from the nicer parts of the cities' so, while she does look tense, it seems that she feels genuine concern for the both of them. I, myself, is fine. The driver is over there. He's unconscious, but alive." She gestured to the unconscious male on the ground, leaning against the wall of the alley. And the old man wolf whistled, "I swear to all that is high and mighty, I will-" She cut herself off when the man began coughing violently.

The white haired woman called 911 and Himeko couldn't help but sigh. She had quite a record with them from way back when. Ever since she got to 18 where it was legal for her to be placed in jail for how many years, she tried to keep low. And her violent nature began to settle down at that time. But this wasn't good. Hopefully they wouldn't put the blame on her. She walked towards the old man. "Ha, you could call this a punishment already." She said, lightly taunting the old man before smacking his back repeatedly like one would do if someone was coughing - though it might be a tiny bit harder than normal. But that shouldn't make a difference to be honest.

She looked towards the woman with the phone. "Oh yeah, I might as well told you but this drive isn't drunk or high. He probably was sleepy and ended up crashing himself into that." She spent enough time around those kinds of people to know when someone's drunk or high. She didn't see any evidence of it inside the car either.