[i]He's most likely exaggerating, but if even a fraction of what he says is true, then...[/i] She was loathe to do something that Oren asked her to do, for the simple reason that Oren had asked her. But as much as she disliked the man, she did not want to be the one who doomed everyone in this city to death, just because she was too proud to listen to the announcer. She sighed, resigning herself to accepting the request. Standing up, she unceremoniously dropped the defunct drone and picked up the small box it had held. She would have to inspect the contents later. 

Already she could hear the sounds of another drone approaching, her sensitive ears allowing her to pick up the sound much earlier than a normal human would. She turned to where it was coming from, keeping her ears pointing straight forward, hands on her hips as she waited. Nearly a full minute passed before the new drone appeared, giving a mock salute to the pile of scrap at Lily's feet. Her eyebrows rose as the projector turned on, showing Oren in a purple cape and with a golden arrow not far from him. Most people might have assumed the arrow to be nothing but an ornamental piece, but recent events had made the Kitsune more suspicious of seemingly innocent items. Oren did not strike has an impulsive man who would carry random items that were of no use, but to look pretty. Moreover, he was also the one who sent out the prizes for winning a fight. It would be a very logical conclusion that he had a small hoard of enchanted items, some of which he doled out to the victors of the various fights, and others which he might find a personal interest in and keep for himself. That arrow was not just a decoration, she was certain of that. What it was for, however, she hadn't a clue. She wasn't one of the Fae Class capable sensing magic easily. 

Her eyes flicked to his image as he began speaking, laying out the details of the task she had begrudgingly accepted. As it turned out, the request was not the only reason she had to go to where he directed her towards, as her next opponent would also be in the very same area. The unveiling of this particular piece of information left her gritting her teeth, and fighting not to let her temper get the better of her. [i]Rather than just tell me where my next opponent would be, he made it into a game of manipulation.[/i] She breathed deeply, closing her eyes, and forced herself to relax. She wouldn't let him see her get riled up. Would not give him the satisfaction. He would get what was coming to him. That much was certain. Her thoughts cleared, she opened her eyes again and went about digesting the rest of the information he had provided. There was a city underneath, lit up by purple lights that seemed to her, to be more than just electrical lighting. What's more, however, was that the opening had been caused by the explosion she heard earlier that day, and that whoever triggered it was likely actively searching for something in the city. At least, that was her guess. She could find few other reasons for why someone would blow a giant sinkhole in an abandoned city, than to find something [i]underneath[/i] it. 

She ler her eyes rise to the sky, the giant shadow of a bird still visible above the clouds. So that thing was moving towards he sinkhole? It would be easy to find, then. Huge and slow-moving as it was, the shadow of its beak was easily distinguisable from the rest of it. Far sleeker than any part of it. But just following it would be one problem solved, out of several potential issues. There were the unknown helicopters, and whoever piloted them. If Oren was to be trusted, there were other factions at play here; factions of which she had no knowledge, or even an inkling of an idea as to what their purpose or intent was. They might be simply scholars, in which case any danger they possessed was negligible. On the other hand, if they were a militaristic organisation then they could prove a significant hindrance. Even if she was fast enough to dodge a bullet, a hail of them would prove about as plausible to avoid as staying drain during a downpour would. It was a situation she would have to assess first, she decided, glancing off towards the east. She couldn't render herself invisible while moving, but she [i]could[/i] mask herself, and make it more difficult to spot her while moving. She blinked and eased her thoughtful frown, turning to where Brucie was currently digging a hole in the middle of the road, using something that might have once passed for a shovel. 

"You are mistaken, Oren," she said as she took the first, slow, step towards the impromptu funeral. "Volition is very much at play. I am not here, doing what I do, because someone forced me to. I chose to come here." She stopped after her third step, looking over her shoulder at him. "Now, finding yourself a thrall of someone else, because every thought is saturated with [i]them.[/i] That would warrant the use of that phrase—" she smiled sweetly at him "—wouldn't you say?" Without missing a beat she faced forward again, walking unhurriedly towards Brucie and Mouse, leaving the drone behind her. 

[hr]

Lily sat inside the remains of an old bakery, chewing slowly on bread that, by all rights, should probably have been moldy by now, but wasn't. Everything she found just told her that this city was only recently abandoned. Sure, there were parts that were more decrepit than others, but for the most part she found that everything was in a decent condition. Nature had yet to reclaim the city, as it were, which only reinforced the idea that [i]something[/i] had happened just a short time prior to the College discovering this place. But what?

She looked out the window, tearing a piece off of a particularly dry piece of bread and stuffed it in her mouth. The street was cobbeled, and filled with small shops on either side. Clothing stores, bakeries, cafes, and the odd jewellry shop. And, most importantly, it was empty. She had scouted the place for a good half an hour before deciding that it was safe enough to be out in the open. Relatively speaking. Overhead the helicopters still flew to and fro, picking up and dropping off Inari-knew-what, if they did that at all. On the other side of the table sat Brucie, tearing into days-old pas tries that couldn't possibly be healthy. [i]It's his stomach,[/i] she mused. On the ground by her feet, lay Mouse and quietly snoozed, resting his head on one of her feet. She dropped what remained of her bread on the plate and sighed, bending down to run a hand along Mouse's back. 

"You sounds annoyed," Brucie offered between bites, eyeing her inquisitively. 

"I am," she grunted, glancing at him. "It's that Announcer... He grates me with every word." 

Brucie swallowed the last of his cinnamon roll whole, clacking his teeth loudly in some form of chewing. "Really?" He stood up and went for another from the counter. "I think he's funny. Hah. Ya know his puns? Gotta love 'em!" 

In that moment, the privacy of Lily's mind, she congratulated him for getting his pastry between her baleful gaze and his head, or the intensity of her glare might very well have burned a hole through his skull. "You are allowed your opinion," she said with forced calm, resuming her petting of Mouse, "but I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't try to copy him." She straightned up, her tails moving just a smidgeon quicker than before. "Understood?" 

The Shark paused his eating to momentarily look at her. "Alright," he said slowly, drawing out the first syllable for several seconds. "Will remember that." He then went back to gorging himself on sugar-topped bread. 

Lily was about to say something more when a distant sound caught her ears, making them unconsciously flick towards the outside. She turned to fully face the window to the outside, ears flicking this way and that, trying to pinpoint the sound. A second later Mouse was at her side, doing much the same thing. He jumped up on his hindlegs, balancing with his front paws against the windowsill, and looked out. Following his gaze, Lily found the sound of the noise: Birds. [i]A murder of crows,[/i] she thought, watching the black shapes spread out across the city. [i]From the big one?[/i] It was something to be considered. Sometimes size was more than just the obvious, but signified a status and power. It was not impossible that they were scouts sent by the giant one above the clouds. 

She waited silently with Mouse as the ravens dissipated, though Brucie continued eating noisily behind her. When they finally did, she allowed herself to breathe again. "It's clear outside," she said. "I'll find a bag and pack some food, then we'll go. And, Brucie?" She extended one of her tails toward him, revealing the empty Flask held in its coils. "Fill this up and put a cork or something in it. I think we might need it." 

"Will do," Brucie said and took the flask, already working on starting a flow of water from his broken water cannon. Meanwhile, Lily went about looking for a backpack to put some food in.

[hr]

It was huge. As in, gigantic. Even Draco could fit in this, it was that big. And probably with room to spare. 

She had searched for the train track, deciding that following that would be the quickest way to her next fight in the tournament. Whatever else Oren had wanted her to do, it would come as a side effect of her trip down into this underground city. 

"Deep," the shark beside her muttered, to which she could only nod. 

"It is," she replied. "For the record, I will most likely be the one fighting, so take this." She handed him the small backpack, no more than one for a kid, which they had filled with as much bread and pastries as they could. "We don't know what's down there, so stay close," she added. "And Mouse?" She looked down, meeting the inquisitive eyes of the dog she had accidentally adopted. She knelt down and scooped him up into her arms. "I'll carry you until we're down there. Follow me, Brucie." And then she jumped, hitting the first outcropping of contrete and stone not five metres down. She continued like this, followed closely behind by the sound of metal on stone as Brucie hurried after her.