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[h1]Questions Without Answers[/h1]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/55cuDim.jpg[/img] | [img]http://i.imgur.com/Sphdpir.png[/img] | [img]https://i.imgur.com/fSOuvy4.png[/img]

[h2][color 662d91]Kusari[/color] | [color a2d9ce]Callan[/color] | [color a187be]Allison[/color][/h2]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img] [hr][color=silver]𝕎𝕖𝕕: 𝕆𝕔𝕥. 𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕   / /   ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝔼𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟   / /  ~𝟘𝟞𝟘𝟝[/color]
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[hider]They weren't welcome here in this unsound motel. As if their words weren't enough, Kusari could see it in their faces. Everywhere they went they were a burden, people suffered as death followed them like a hungry predator. At first she thought the inhabitants of this island were similar to them, but the differences were clear. They were mages, but they weren't [i]special,[/i] not enough anyway. She passed them by like strangers on the street and headed for a room. It was a pretty standard motel room, all she cared about was that there was a bed and that the water was running however. After checking the bathroom's sink and shower she came back to Allison and Callan. [color=662d91]"This seems like a um, good place to stay for now, right?"[/color] She asked, fully aware that her voice still lacked her typical confidant cadence.

Callan, who up until then had been regarding the other mages cautiously, merely scoffed, shaking her head. "[color a2d9ce]Stay there if you want,[/color]" she shrugged, glancing at Allison for a moment before looking away, "[color a2d9ce]I think we should ask around about Angel. Somebody might've seen her.[/color]"

Allison slowly nodded in response. The atmosphere in the motel was oppressive. It was as if any attempt to speak would crush the air out of her lungs. Were it not for Angel's disappearance, Allison would be tempted to just hide herself away until they were taken to the next location that would inevitably be attacked by some force. Bothering those who clearly didn't want them there seemed like a deathwish, but it gave Allison a chance to find Angel. Nothing else mattered. 

Allison's eyes glanced warily at the various strangers scattered around the area, pleading that somehow there'd be someone who'd look friendly enough to talk to. Every face seemed equally unwelcoming, just as unwilling to accept the presence of the trio. Allison found herself looking back at Callan, as if she'd have found the one person her own eyes missed.

Kusari let out a tired sigh as she stood between the two. She wanted to rest, but more than that the thought of being alone right now placed a vice grip on her heart. Callan was too righteous to sit by while she could be looking for an ally, and Allison had more reason than anyone to want to look for Angel. Kusari looked at her dirty arms, she felt filthy. Would they wait for her to take a shower? [color=662d91]"While you ask around I think I'll... deal with this."[/color] She mumbled, dragging herself into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Soon the sound of the shower running could be heard.

Callan tried not to let it bother her. The sound of the shower seemed so out of place given the current predicament. Most frustrating of all was probably the slightly jealous tickle in the back of her mind, which brought with it more guilt than she had time for at the moment. "[color a2d9ce]C'mon,[/color]" Callan motioned for Allison to follow, heading towards the closest unfamiliar face with the slightest grumpy stomp in her step.

"[color a2d9ce]Hey, have you seen an aberration girl around here?[/color]" the intrusive bite in her tone, left over from her mood with Kusari, quickly died off and she immediately regretted it, "[color a2d9ce]Er-- long black hair. About yay high with sunglasses?[/color]"

The white-marked brunette stepped back, taking in the mess that Callan's drenched outfit was bringing. Her mouth formed a thin line.

[color f7976a]"We don't have X's here. Only person that's passed by is the redhead."[/color]

Redhead? Callan blinked in surprised, gears turning for a moment before she glanced around the hall "[color a2d9ce]Zoe...[/color]" she muttered pensively, "[color a2d9ce]Any idea where she went?[/color]" 

The stranger shook her head.

[color f7976a]"Last I saw, Andrew went out to-- hey, Andrew!"[/color]

Another white-marked citizen turned from his conversation with a drawled, [color f7976a]"Yeah?"[/color]

Allison stood quietly by whilst Callan engaged the stranger. The woman's glare quickly reminded the aberration of her sorry state, soaked to the bone and coated with dirt. She only shrinked back more at the realization. Kusari clearly had some sense to clean herself off first. But with Angel still missing, time was of the essence. Allison could handle looking like a mess.

She felt guilty for having Callan do the talking, as this wasn't really her problem. The information gained from the stranger essentially proved what Allison had previously assumed, that Angel wasn't here. It wasn't proof that Angel had been captured and taken away, but it did at least narrow the options down slightly. Allison kept her silence as the conversation shifted to Zoe. Finding her was probably a good idea, at least to prevent another outburst. Allison didn't want to have to use the shard on her again.

Shifting her attention to 'Andrew', Callan self consciously pulled at one of her sleeves, feeling the uncomfortable bit of suction as the wet fabric parted from her skin. She mentally shook her head at herself. Now wasn't the time to worry about that sort of thing. 

"[color a2d9ce]Uh, did you happen to see where our friend went? She's an aberration with red hair.[/color]"

At the very least, Zoe could help them look for Angel. Though Callan also found it unsettling to think she might have wandered off somewhere alone. Not that she couldn't handle herself, but... the memory of Kusari's empty husk of a head and torso came to mind and she repressed a shudder. Yes, it was best she find out where Zoe was first.

The man hesitated for a noticeable moment, like he was figuring out what exact words to use.

[color f7976a]"You'd best wait here. Your USARILN buddies are getting picked up round about now."[/color]

Callan picked up on the hesitation immediately, but it took another moment of suspicious staring before she worked out what it meant. And she was in no mood for it.

"[color a2d9ce]Do you know where she is or not?[/color]" she pressed defiantly, clearly irritated, "[color a2d9ce]We've already got one missing teammate we need to find. We don't need two, so if you know where she went, I suggest you tell us.[/color]" 

[color f7976a]"You [i]'suggest'[/i], huh?"[/color] he scowled at what he perceived as a threat, [color f7976a]"I think you should take it from me--"[/color]

[color=palevioletred]"Transmit. I'm gonna need a healer in town as soon as possible. Over."[/color]

[color f7976a]"Oh, come on..."[/color] Andrew groaned under his breath.

Kusari didn't take long to get out of the shower, most of her time was usually spent washing her hair, she just needed to rinse the viscera and soil from her body. As much as she wanted to just sit and let the water fall upon her, Callan and Allison were waiting for her. It's not as if they were going to get any useful information from the people here. They would say they saw nothing, then they'd roam around pointlessly. Might as well get it over with. 

She'd washed off her clothes as best she could, then wrung them out and attempted to dry them with towels. They were still a bit damp, but at least she wasn't soaking anymore. She looked down at her left ankle, which was now covered by her cuff once more. Through a process she wasn't interested in reliving she had managed to put it back. She felt like an idiot doing it, but it was better than dealing with whatever punishment Zhang would think up. 

As she walked back to Callan and Allison a voice from the cuff made her jump. It was Zoe, whatever she had said Kusari hadn't paid enough attention to listen. She didn't want to deal with that girl, but they couldn't leave her alone. 

[color=662d91]"Are we leaving now?"[/color] Kusari said, walking up to her allies.

Allison turned to face Kusari, offering a quick nod in response to her question.

[color=a187be]"We're going to look for Zoe right now, I guess,"[/color] She said, her voice cautious and surprisngly hoarse. She was well aware of what Zoe had done to Kusari not long ago. c

"[color a2d9ce]Uggh,[/color]" Callan groaned upon hearing the transmission, pressing her forehead into the palm of her hand just as Kusari approached. 

"[color a2d9ce]No,[/color]" she said firmly, "[color a2d9ce]You guys stay and keep asking around. Somebody here's gotta know [i]something[/i].[/color]" 

Uneasy as Zoe made her, she'd rather it be her than them at this point. Making her way towards where she last saw Sander and Christmas, Callan was already busy talking to her cuff.

"[color a2d9ce]Transmit. Zoe, where are you? Over.[/color]"

Kusari relaxed her shoulders and watched Callan call Zoe. She was about to make things difficult again, at this point she felt as if she were watching her actions from in her mind as her body went on auto pilot. [color=662d91]"I'm not leaving you alone with that psycho. I'm coming with you, even though looking for her is a waste of time anyway..."[/color]

[color=a187be]"I'm not staying behind either. It's clear that no one here has seen Angel. No reason to bother them more."[/color] She refrained from adding that it was probably good to have the shard around Zoe. It would be too easy to argue that Allison would just make herself black out again.

Callan paused, turning only slightly to face the two. 

She stared at Allison pointedly, clearly unhappy with the girl's sudden bout of pessimism. What happened to the girl who was ready to risk it all for a vague chance at saving Angelique? Suddenly she was concerned about [i]bothering[/i] people? "[color a2d9ce]You don't know that for sure,[/color]" Callan narrowed her eyes, "[color a2d9ce]You're the one that said she was alive, but If you wanna give up, go take a shower like Kusari. Then go to sleep. I'll look for her myself.[/color]"

She scoffed incredulously. There she went again, trying to play leader. And already she was being rewarded with all the frustration that came along with it. 

[color=a187be]"Angel is alive,"[/color] Allison snapped, [color=a187be]"and I'm not giving up. There's just no use in chasing after redundant information. I could run around here and ask every single fucking person here if they've seen Angel, but what the fuck is that going to solve if they all give the same answer as the first? I already told all of you where I thought Angel was. If I'm right, she's as good as dead if we keep waiting around. Yea, maybe I want to be wrong, to find that Angel was actually hiding here all along and wasn't kidnapped, but that doesn't mean I'm going to delude myself in pretending that's still a possibility right now. We need to keep moving. If that means finding Zoe or whatever, so be it, but standing around asking pointless questions is just adding another body to the pile."[/color] Allison took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. [color=a187be]"Don't you dare suggest that I would give up on Angel."[/color] After a moment, Allison's anger appeared to pass, though the outburst had clearly taken a toll on her throat.

[color=a187be]"Anyway, we should all go. Better to regroup than sit around here."[/color] 

"[color a2d9ce]Okay! You didn't give up! Jesus...,[/color]" Callan threw her hands up in mock surrender. As much as she disagreed with Allison about the whole "redundant information" bit, she found herself feeling weirdly refreshed at the sight of her determination. Refreshed and a little... embarrassed. Why did she have such little patience for Allison anyway? Her eyes flickered to Kusari for a fraction of a second. 

"[color a2d9ce]But that still doesn't mean we need a whole militia to clean up Zoe's mess,[/color]" she frowned. "[color a2d9ce]She won't...[/color]" her voice trailed off for a moment. She suddenly realized just how much she trusted Zoe-- and the answer was...

A whole lot more than she thought she did. But why? She had every reason to agree that Zoe was an unstable psychopath that would kill everyone at any moment. Even with all the evidence aside, she certainly [i]disliked[/i] her enough to think that... but she didn't. 

Zoe hadn't tried anything even though Callan had lost her temper. She'd looked really out of sorts, in fact. Like she hadn't even realized what she'd done until Callan placed the blame. She'd been too furious to listen before, but... deep down she knew, even without Zoe saying it, that she didn't want to hurt anyone. That was why she'd asked her for such a big favor. 

"[color a2d9ce]Look, it doesn't matter. This is where we all agreed to regroup so unfortunately, that includes sitting around here for now. Sander, Christmas and I are gonna go. I won't be alone and we'll be right back to figure out the next move, alright? [/color]"

"[color a187be]I'm going, Callan, and I doubt Kusari's going to listen either. Sorry.[/color]" Allison's throat screamed with every passing second, forcing her back into relative silence. As adamant as Callan was to get them to stay, Allison was too stubborn to listen. Besides, Callan wasn't the leader, she didn't have any control over their actions.[/hider]