[CENTER][H3][B][COLOR=red][hr]C L A I R E  " N O C T I S "  Q U I N N[/COLOR][/B][/H3][sub][i]Los Paradiso, Crescent City[/i] | 2:00 AM 

[i][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhv_yFMuwxs]Descent into darkness[/url][/i]
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Torrents of heavy rain fell from the sky, drenching the dark streets of Crescent City. It was early enough in the morning that the urban center was devoid of much activity. A month's worth of downpour drove most of the city's citizens indoors. Los Paraíso’s Avenue Rogue was an exception to the rule. Business boomed for the seedier trades that infested Los Paradiso's underbelly. Predictions that the end times were coming upon them stirred up the basest desires in man, dragging out their worst qualities for all to see. It disgusted Claire. She'd seen the worst humanity had to offer in the past month. While neighborhoods were flooding and fear hung over the city like a dark cloud, gangsters were taking advantage of the chaos. They peddled drugs, looted stores and indulged themselves while the police were stretched too thin to do a damn thing about it. 

[i][color=ed1c24]'What am I even doing up here?'[/color][/i] The young Venari huntress dejectedly wondered to herself. Water slipped down her weatherproofed outer coat as she crouched atop a roof top overlooking the street below. Claire was freezing cold. The cold wind whipped against her face, prompted Noctis to pull her scarf tighter in a vain attempt to keep somewhat warm. This wasn't the first time she had these kind of thoughts. Claire had been actively searching out Hellion activity for the past year and had only encountered a single Sigbin. The little creature had been criminally easy to beat, once she figured out it was dumber than a box of rocks. There hadn't been any legitimate monster sighting since then. Claire had to wonder if it was all really worth her time. Four years of the most intensive training she had ever undergone for...what? To sit in the rain every night, hoping that something would happen? Claire could be doing something productive. She could be at the gym, or looking for a job, or finishing her college application. But instead of moving her life forward, Miss Quinn thought her time was better served patrolling the city for scary monsters.

[color=ed1c24]'This couldn't be what dad wanted for me.'[/color] Claire reasoned. [color=ed1c24]'His book made it seem like the world was going to fall apart without the Venari. I must be doing something wrong. But what?'[/color]

The woman's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an alarm breaking the monotony of the night. She stood up from her crouched position and moved to the other side of the roof, leaning over the edge to hopefully get a look at what was happening. Sure enough, Claire was given a perfect vantage point of the situation unfolding below her. A gang of drunk thugs were throwing rocks through a store's window front. Vandalism quickly turned to theft as they climbed through the windows and started to loot the empty stores. Contempt built up in the huntress's bosom, but she remained where she was. Claire didn't like watching them steal with impunity; however, it wasn't her job to deal with it. She wasn't about to go pick a fight to help protect someone else's stuff. Calling the police was a waste of time. They wouldn't get there until these guys were long gone, and the cops didn't have time to investigate something so trivial when the city was falling to pieces elsewhere. [color=ed1c24]'Sucks to be them.'[/color] Miss Quinn thought with a shrug, preparing to return to her perch.

A loud voice calling out stopped her in her tracks. Gangsters appeared from the various alleyways, converging on the looters. Oddly enough, Claire's contempt boiled even more. The Crew was just there to protect their turf; they didn't give a damn about stopping a crime in progress. Just another reason for Noctis to hate what Crescent City was becoming. [color=ed1c24]'Maybe all the scum will end up killing each other. Wouldn't that be great?'[/color] The huntress casually leaned against the side of the roof, watching the situation devolve to violence. There was a certain morbid entertainment that came with watching scumbags beat the ever loving shit out of each other. The feeling that they deserved it made it...easier to look over the obvious moral quandary that came with enjoying violence. Combat sports had always held a visceral, primal entertainment value. From the gladiator fights of the ancient days to dog fighting and even professional mixed martial arts and boxing, man had a fascination with seeing things bleed. Claire was no different. She hadn't the smallest desire to stop them. [color=ed1c24]'It's better this way. No innocent people get hurt if these bastards are too busy hurting each other.'[/color]  

Any sick joy the Venari found in the situation drained when a voice bellowed out that didn't belong. Claire's eyes darted across the battlefield, falling on a short feminine figure clad in...was that a ballistic vest? [i][color=ed1c24]'Oh my God.'[/color][/i] Claire sighed. [i][color=ed1c24]'You have got to be kidding me.'[/color][/i] It was one thing to watch a bunch of degenerate punks beating the snot out of one another. It was another thing entirely to watch them wail on some...judging on her size, young woman, who was way in over her head. Unless she was packing a Hype gene, that chick was committing suicide. [i][color=ed1c24]'Get out of there you moron. You can't do anything here.'[/color][/i] Her internalized begging did nothing to stop the hooded figure from picking up a rock and chucking it at one of the thugs. She scored a direct hit. [color=ed1c24][i]Congrats! Now you've killed yourself. Nice job.[/i][/color]

It only took two hits to knock the girl down. Claire's dismay mounted, but she did not leave the edge of the roof top. [color=ed1c24][i]'Not my fight.'[/i][/color] She reminded herself. The gangsters had surrounded her, and were starting to kick the wannabe vigilante while she was down. Noctis could practically feel the blows as she stood stark still, watching the beat down unfold in front of her. [color=ed1c24][i]'You brought this on yourself.'[/i][/color] The Venari could feel her hands shaking. A pressure was building up in her chest, making it difficult to breathe. A powerful feeling of guilt washed over Claire. She was sitting there, watching an innocent person die...and doing nothing about it. Despite the victim's sheer stupidity, it was clear the woman was trying to do the right thing- and Claire's apathy would allow her to die for that. [color=ed1c24][i]'What the fuck am I doing?'[/i][/color]

Noctis leapt from the roof of the short building before she could give it a second thought. If she remained there and watched this person die, the guilt would devour her whole. She was angry. Furious, even. But not at the lowlifes that hit and kicked and beat the poor girl. No, Claire was angry at herself. She had been willing to sit back and watch that woman and only just brought herself to do something about it. Her feet hit the asphalt with a crashed, knocking up the water that had gathered on the street thanks to the constant rain. Any normal person's legs would've been shattered on impact; Claire was a little wobbly, but her Valkyerian durability made breaking her bones a herculean task. Shadows encroached upon her muscled form, enveloping Noctis in darkness. She vanished from sight in less than a second, turning totally invisible to the human eye. Claire moved around the fight. It was an easy task to stay quiet with all the commotion going on.

Claire circled around to the hooded woman's side. She was...very surprised to find the supposed victim not only back on her feet, but the crowd of gangsters retreating to regroup. [color=ed1c24][i]'How the hell are you even alive, much less scaring them off?'[/i][/color] She had to shake her confusion off. That was a question that could be asked of the stranger later. For now, there was work to be done. The shadows left Claire's form, allowing the light to once again encompass the huntress. She appeared behind the charging woman out of seemingly thin air. Noctis quickly pulled both of her pistols from the holsters on her hips. She brought them up, aiming them into the crowd of violent scumbags. [color=ed1c24]'Their lives mean nothing.'[/color] Noctis picked her targets, careful to keep a wide berth of the reckless vigilante. She took aim at center mass. Four thunderous bangs erupted, bright flashes lighting up the early morning with each consecutive shot. 

Claire had always wondered what it was like to kill a man. She wouldn't have to wonder for much longer.