[h1][b][color=ff6130]Ellie[/color][/b][/h1]

In the time it took Ellie to toss her phone, her mind of floored. Grayson was dead for two decades now. The idea of someone like him being back home, let alone alive, put her on edge. Needless to say, she was shaken. Ellie wanted to believe that there was no chance after all this time, but if Takeda could find her, couldn’t he find him too? She hasn’t even had to [i]think[/i] about him in twenty years, and now her life could be uprooted. The man they called Rainsinger was the only one left who’d have any connection to Ellie’s past, to think a ghost could just come in, and throw a wrench in everything she’s worked towards to make her life normal...It bothered her. As much as Ellie wanted to just drop the idea, it didn’t sit right with her. Why would Takeda bring him up? Wouldn’t he just be a dead memory if he was dead at all? No, something was amiss. Grayson always did have some unforeseen trick up his sleeve. That’s why he couldn’t be killed so easily now or then, because he was resourceful. [color=ff6130]”Fuck...[b]DAMNIT.”[/b][/color] Her emotions were jarred. A flicker of a warm glow spurred across her hands before blinking away. He was a threat to her life. Ellie wasn’t the same person anymore, and yet something scared her about this. About being seen as the same person still by him, or by extension, everyone else in her life.

A little while later, Ellie was going to town on the punching bag behind her couch. A flurry of well-practiced punches that never stopped, never overkilled, or preformed sloppily while a song called [url= https://youtu.be/Q2HncP0LikI]Over The Neon Lights[/url] filled the sound between punches. Honestly, if Ellie was anyone’s type of girl, this would probably have them head over heels. All of this was being done because Ellie needed to clear her head of the thoughts she had. Doubt from this mission, paranoia from the idea of Grayson being alive, it just wasn’t her at her best. Sometimes you just have to take out your frustration on a ceiling-hung target.

Even still, he had to think of something. Maybe Fauxpaw would know something. She always knew something. That would have to wait, though. There was someone at the door. Probably Dream and Takeda. She was a bit hesitant to be confronted about their conversation, of course, that wasn’t gonna stop Tenebrae from getting flattened, so she did it. [color=ff6130]”Yeah?”[/color] She looked fine but it was apparent she was being physically active for a while now. Ellie wasn’t sweating, or winded, but you could tell by the redness of her hands. There stood Dream and Takeda. [color=ff6130]”What’re you guys-“[/color]

[i]tap...tap[/i]

She turned around and saw a cat harassing the glass of her window. [color=ff6130]”Faux?”[/color] She immediately hopped across the room to open the window for her. Madam Fauxpaw knew Ellie since her early days of being a vigilante. They always had a good bit of info to share between them. As everyone came in, the scene became more clear, the music over Spotify, the still-wobbling bag strung up, and the morning just-out-of-bed clothes she was still wearing.


[h1][b][color=5a6b7c]Rainsinger[/color][/b][/h1]

Time to hit the town. 

Linus strolled away from the pier on the sidewalks of Tenebrae’s south end, hands in his pockets with his things slung over his back. From what he could tell, things looked largely the same, the buildings still touched the sky in the same way. You couldn’t gauge a city by its exterior, though. If this city wasn’t still as morally roundabout as it was when he left, he’d be genuinely surprised. Cars drifted down the road, bikes soared up and down the sidewalks. Everything was visually pretty tame, now to see how things were beneath the surface. 

He continued to work his way through the city like he knew it the same as the back of his hand, which, he felt like he still did. Being back after a 20 year pseudocide felt strange. It’s like he just left. Still, the guy he spoke to stayed on his mind. Shadow Knights? They sounded like they carried a bit of weight around here, meaning that things actually had indeed changed in the time he was away. Back in the old days, before metas were called metas, that sort of thing was scarce. There weren’t any kind of meta organizations, they were gangs, groups, bands, and sometimes orders. The most leeway any gang in Linus’ old life had was the occasional family member who could bail them out of a tough situation. Of course, if that happened, it happened once and never again, because people were often killed for helping them. Things like that explained the reason Gray Dragons even existed. It wasn’t about power to them, at least not to him anyway, it was about knowing when your next bite of food was coming without worrying from where.

That was why he felt no obligation to wipe out the man he spoke to earlier. He had made something of himself already, going back to squabbling over terf was past him. If the “Shadow Knights” wanted to go there, who was he to stop them? Besides, maybe someone’s gang was still kicking and evolved as well. Wouldn’t that be something...Oh, look at that. A bar. Linus rolled up to a lightly occupied place called the “Love Street.” Judging from the view from the windows, he could snag a drink here. What kind of sailor doesn’t drink? Not this one. He made his way inside and took a seat at the counter.

Surprisingly, there weren’t a lot of people at a bar in the morning, 10, maybe a dozen people who did something with their weekends were in here. A man came by and slid him something with a kick. And there he rested for a while to watch the news on TV. Time to see what’s going on in the world.

[i]” Local jewellers found their doors and windows blown open last night, along with half of the cars along the street. However, nothing was stolen. Police only have footage of a masked suspect in the store, and then a bright light appears at the edge of the camera. Choppers sweeping the area report a streak of light shooting down the streets toward Near North Side, and police have reason to believe two suspects are behind the bombings. However, at this time, police do not have these suspects identified.”[/i]

[i]Gulp[/i]

A streak of bright light? Sounds familiar.

Come to think of it, Sunrider never did get thrown in jail.

[i]Gulp[/i]

Wouldn’t that be a funny reunion? 20 years, pretending to be dead after the big man around town gets pummeled like a sandbag, just to show up saying “What’s up?” On second thought, she’d probably just slam him into the dirt, or run away. They never did like each other too much. They weren’t the same, anyway. Not like they needed too. They both got paid all the same regardless.

Linus shot a look towards a barista behind the counter. She looked visibly disinterested in her surroundings. [color=5a6b7c]”Hey, girl with the gills-“[/color] He spoke to get her attention, and her demeanor seemed to get very tense as he mentioned the gills on her neck poking out from her collar. Linus, of course, being the smooth sailor he was, raised his empty glass in a requesting gesture. The ice cubes in the glass lifted upwards towards the empty rim and started spinning in a circle, to show a sense of similarity between them. The barista seemed to feel relieved at the sight of the floating ice. [color=5a6b7c]”Grab me another round.”[/color] He said as his glass seemed to push itself across the counter, after a $20 tip was dropped inside. A disarming gesture of meta abilities never hurt here or there.

[color=Ff2329]”Gotcha”[/color]

[color=5a6b7c]”So- hear n’ything interesting around town lately?”[/color]