((Fine by me)) The Seer nodded brusquely. If she'd encountered Tsitua in actual combat, she would have fled, and used her dirtiest tactics to let herself do so. But if he said to go all out, then she would. She fell easily into a ready stance, feet balanced, knees slightly bent, hands in a natural position a bit in front of her chest, though Amuné gave him a sharp look at his commentary about her magic. The suspicion in her eyes cleared after a moment, and she shook her head. "You are far more perceptive than most," she told him with a rueful smile. In general she had found that many nonhumans had a general awareness of if there was a supernatural signature of some kind, but no more. The sensitivity Tsitua displayed was uncomfortably precise, and seemed to be second nature. As she waited for the cue to start, she extended her senses, letting the delicate threads flow outwards from her in a rushing wave. The young woman let the edges of the room serve was a boundary for the moment, seeing no need to go farther. Her technical control was superb, and the web she spun had no gaps. With a neat mental flip, Amuné dove into the ever-shifting landscape of her Sight. As the layered futures spread and combined before her, the constant holding pattern in her magic shifted. Where before it had been a limit, drawing loose pieces back into itself, now it blossomed like a flower, allowing them to spin outwards, still carefully controlled. The moment the signal to begin was given she started moving. In towards Tsitua, though her first attack was a bluff, and she used a forearm to push the countering blow to one side as she moved in the other. The contact was accompanied by a surge of power as Amuné assessed her opponent, seeking details on strengths, flaws, and vulnerable points. In particular she was looking for places where focused strikes might disable even a portion of his abilities. It was a skill she had yet to master, but if he needed to hold back so she merely had a chance, then her best course was to find a way to bring him closer to her level. The theory behind the skill was simple, though execution was anything but. The relationship between body, mind, and magic was complex but there were anchoring points where they came together. A precise jab could disrupt the connection, and even impair the flow of energy. However it was necessary to focus some of one's own energy into the attack, and Amuné had not perfected that ability yet. --- Cera looked up long enough to give her head a quick shake. "Better not," she said. "The neutrality pact is strictly enforced. Unless someone has taken direct action against the Upstairs and its staff, they can't get involved...at least not in any official capacity." Her eyes glittered with amusement. "Unofficially, employees are allowed to do as they see fit, and we can and have taken action, even as a group effort. But the protections we get by working Upstairs don't apply for those situations." After a couple minutes of rapid button pushing and impatient scowls, Cera sighed and lifted the phone to her ear. "Hey Trill, where you at? Look, I know you don't like -- what? What happened?! ...Right, you take care. I'll be in touch." The vampire got to her feet, expression solemn as she looked at her guest. "Your Wolf just showed Upstairs. And Bart's dead." Her voice had gone flat. "I'm heading over. At the least, there's folks who will need support. At worst...well." --- Curly's sweeping paw missed its mark, catching the ghoul's cloak, and his momentum kept him moving past. The swordswoman leaped back to avoid being tripped up, and her katana swept forward to prevent her opponent from coming too close even as she brought her longsword down at his kagune, trying to cut it off. The antimagic on the double-edged blade was useful against more than merely spells and enchantments: it was also more effective against most nonhumans, and wounds it inflicted burned painfully. The demon blocked with his spear but fell back when the haft was severed. "Sini!" he cried, tossing the bottom of his broken weapon aside. "On it," she replied, circling around to flank Wolf even as a new weapon, a double glaive with a metal staff, dropped into Lucius's empty hand. "I keep telling you to stop using those wooden spears. You should listen." Electricity danced down her katana and leaped towards Wolf as she attacked with both blades. She was an excellent fighter, considerably better than any of the other staff present, and presented Wolf with few openings. Her lightning missed as Wolf jumped to the ceiling, but Sini was quick to follow, a floating leap that wouldn't look out of place in an older martial arts movie bringing her level to press the attack. She couldn't cover distance as quickly midair, and when the ghoul leaped for the first of the Zane copies he put distance between them. The golden-eyed man rippled as Wolf dove through him, his jaws closing on empty air. It was a mere illusion, and vanished now that it had been struck. The remaining copies split again, and they kept moving, some of them merging with others until there were again five. Lucius came up behind Wolf and tried to skewer him with the glaive. "You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" he asked, dry amusement in his voice. ((Dunno if Amuné's skill would work, but that's her predicted plan pending knowledge of exploitable weaknesses. Ghouls can live to be a hundred or more? I thought their rate of aging roughly mirrored humans'. Guessing you want Orion and Cera to find out about the attack on the Upstairs. Got a way to make sure it happens~ Oh, and if you hit Seline -- the real one, and she's not 100% invisible, there is a bit of a shimmer where she really is -- then the illusions covering Zane will flicker. Might be a worthwhile strategy. ^.^))