[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] | 2:30 AM 

[i][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G049LeVG6BI]Embrace the shadows[/url][/i]
[BlackSam3091] - ADD AN @ SIGN YOU DUNCE
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The resounding of shot drove the rats back into the darkness. Claire held off the temptation to fire into the scattering crowd. Even in her rage, the woman knew that wanton murder wasn't going to make the city any better. Tempering her fury, Noctis lowered her firearms and allowed the human filth retreat. They would live to kill another day, no doubt. [color=ed1c24][i]'It doesn't matter.'[/i][/color] Claire reminded herself, her ears still ringing from the thundering of her pistols moments earlier. [color=ed1c24][i]'They aren't my problem.'[/i][/color] She hadn't set out that morning planning to hunt down thugs and criminals. Claire had merely happened upon the scene and decided to intervene to help...whoever this was, out. Where they went after her strike or what they chose to do was of little consequence to her personally. Someone else might have to deal with them, sure; but Noctis had other priorities. The sun wasn't going to rise for a couple of hours, so the young Venari huntress still had a few hours to kill before she got to sleep. That probably meant more wandering the rooftops hoping to come across signs of supernatural activity. Her late night activities for the past eight months had turned the college aged girl into a nocturnal creature. It was a rare sight indeed to see the woman up and about before the clock struck three PM.

Claire lazily turned her mind away from what she was going to do with the rest of her night. There was a body to deal with. It was...strange. She had expected her reaction to ending a life to be so much more visceral. Quinn had imagined her legs growing weak, her heart racing and her stomach threatening to send bile up her throat. Kletus had told her a thousand times how awful it was to kill a man, or something resembling a man. She had been mentally preparing herself to fight off the nightmares that would undoubtedly follow the horrific event. She was supposed to wake up in a cold sweat every night for months, her victim's face plastered behind her eyelids every time she tried to shut them. Guilt was meant to slowly consume her, devouring her naivety and innocence until Claire was nothing but an empty shell of a human being. Death was supposed to hold weight. Yet, Claire found herself staring at the water soaked corpse of the gangbanger and feeling...odd. The smell was revolting, like the man had defecated himself. There was a certain lightness in Claire's chest that she couldn't immediately explain. Her heart was certainly pumping faster.

But Quinn didn't feel some enormous weight for ending the man. He was a murderous bastard that had tried to beat a girl about Claire's age near to death. He didn't deserve any of Claire's pity. The burden she'd expected never came. His face was forgettable. The cries of pain he and the others she had shot had fallen on mostly deaf ears. It took a long moment for Claire to realize how she felt about the whole thing. It only hit her once she noticed the upward bent of her lips. The gesture was subconscious and very slight. She was smiling. Claire was staring at the body of a dead thug she had shot and she was smiling. It wasn't a grin from ear to ear, nor was it burdened by any regret or bitterness. Her heart wasn't pumping from fear; Claire was excited, thrilled even, by the adrenaline that came with the kill. [color=ed1c24][i]'What the fuck is wrong with me?'[/i][/color]

It was only after her introspection lasted a moment or two too long that Claire noticed the vigilante was staring at her. She'd gotten so caught up in the moment, Noctis had forgotten that not everyone had scattered into the night after she arrived. It was difficult to determine anything about the woman. Her attire did well to hide her identity. The only things Claire could truly make out were her short stature and gender. The stranger was likely a Hyperhuman, too, based upon her miraculous survival through the fight with only minor wounds. She was able to fight off multiple grown men with what looked like sheer strength and little finesse or martial skill. It was dumb luck, a Hype gene or some kind of supernatural ability that allowed someone of her size to do what she had done.

Then the girl opened her mouth. The words that left her mouth confused Claire. She didn't sound grateful, like Noctis had been expecting. She didn't give some kind of corny joke like one of those comic book heroes. The super strong fighter sounded utterly terrified. Fear laced her question like a poison, sinking into her every syllable. It caught Claire off guard. [color=ed1c24]"What?"[/color] It was a dumb response, considering she had heard loud and clear. This person had thrown herself into a crowd of angry gangbangers and gotten her ass thoroughly beat for it. She would be dead without Claire's intervention- or, at least, still stuck fighting a dozen opponents twice her size. Claire furrowed her brow at the [i]'how could you'[/i] bit. It actually made her kind of angry. This idiot was actually trying to talk down at Noctis for saving her life. [color=ed1c24]"Why? [i]Why not?[/i]"[/color] Disbelief mixed with irritation in Claire's response. She took a step closer to the vigilante, sliding her guns back into their holsters to avoid looking like a threat.

[color=ed1c24]"Those guys were going to kill you if I didn't do something. You're welcome, by the way. What are you even doing picking fights with these guys? What, do you think you're some kind of fuckin' superhero?"[/color]