[center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5326264][img]https://i.imgur.com/dYnBdpr.png[/img][/url][/center] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o0y-MNqdQU][h3]--It's Just a Burning Memory--[/h3][/url] The cloudy sky finally revealed its intention as droplets of water began falling down, leaving their aerial nest to be embraced by mother earth's gravitational embrace. At first, only a few brave souls took the leap, but others soon followed and what was a mere drizzle turned into a full-fledged rain. Some made landfall onto the ground, some onto leaves, some onto roofs, and then some... [color=dc4a49][b]"...?"[/b][/color] ...onto the pale eyelids of a young girl with bright blonde long locks, although it was difficult to tell considering her hair - and most of her body - was caked in wet mud from head to toe. Although her corpse-like complexion might imply otherwise, she was definitely alive as the rain stirred her awake, opening those lids to reveal a pair of blank red eyes, their round pupils emptily gazing at the gloomy sky. Her mind was a proverbial void, empty and formless, even as her body moved on autopilot to stand up, she thought of nothing, the pathetic state of her sickly thin body didn't bother her, hell, she didn't seem to care that she had not a single thread on her. She didn't move, content to just let the rain pour on her, poorly washing off the mud that stubbornly clung on her wiry frame. That was when she heard a gentle voice in her head, the soft, warm voice of an older woman, one that would make you think of hearty homemade food served in front of a crackling fireplace. [color=2c85ff][b]"Are you awake, my child?"[/b][/color] It was so soothing, so tender, she felt like she could listen to her forever. Yes, she knew this person, her savior, her... [color=dc4a49][b]"Mother..."[/b][/color] The girl whispered, then ever so steadily cracked a smile, [color=dc4a49][b]"Yes, I'm awake."[/b][/color] [color=2c85ff][b]"Good girl, now, Mother needs your help with a little something..."[/b][/color] --- [b]"Read 'em and weep, boys, full house!"[/b] Tommy placed down his cards onto the coffee table, revealing his hand and announcing his undeniable victory simultaneously. By the rules of the game, he was now sixty bucks richer. [b]"Aaah, fuck you, Tommy."[/b] Sam slouched, pressing his back against the dining chair he's occupying, frustrated, he was now twenty bucks poorer along with the other mobsters, except for this Sicilian schmuck, Tommy. [b]"Yea! Wiseguy's must be cheatin'!"[/b] Paulie snarked, making his contempt clear for Tommy's - rather suspicious - winning streak, he glared at the grinning prick then turned his gaze at the last of the mob quartet, [b]"You with me right, Giuseppe?!"[/b] Giuseppe "the Silent" stayed true to his moniker once more as he simply shrugged, but that one shrug spoke a thousand words, particularly that Sam and Paulie were nothing more than sore losers. [b]"Ha! Giuseppe here knows what's up, I’m just [i]that[/i] good,"[/b] Still high on his victory, the Italian-American man gathered the cards and started shuffling them, [b]"Another round?"[/b] [b]"Eh, fuck it, sur- eh...?"[/b] Sam was about to agree, but then he heard creaking noises from where the back door was, [b]"Oh, guys, I think Vito's back."[/b] [b]"Fuck, about time, eh? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."[/b] Tommy stopped shuffling the cards as he was sure that the crew wanted to enjoy those mouth-watering Papa Ron's pizzas more than playing poker right now. [b]"The... fuck?"[/b] ...only for the person who showed up wasn't carrying pizza boxes, nor was [i]she[/i] Vito. It was a naked little girl who looked like she'd weigh lighter than a feather, face covered in damp blonde locks that clung to her skin, dirty feet trailing mud prints all over the floor. All four made-men were dumbfounded, including Giuseppe, they could only watch as the tiny 'zombie' trailed over to the suitcase, the suitcase that held the documents they were supposed to exchange with a representative of their blackmail victim for some fat G's . [i]That[/i] snapped the men out of their trance. [b]"Oi oi oi, lil' shit, the fuck you think you doin'?!"[/b] Tommy - being the 'one in charge' of the group - was the first who took initiative as he swaggered over to the lost hobo brat and grabbed her shoulder, at that moment, he felt chills freezing his spine as the girl [i]suddenly[/i] snapped her gaze at him like a possessed child straight out of the Exorcist. Her wide-opened eyes were blood-red with the narrow pupils of a reptile, glinting sharp fangs peeking from between her lips, pointed ears, and most bizarrely, a pair of [i]fuckin' branches[/i] grew out of her back. What happened next was a blur as Tommy found himself thrown through the air, unceremoniously crashing onto a wall. [b]"...?! BITCH!!"[/b] Sam roared as he, Paulie, and Giuseppe all pulled out their glocks and unloaded everything onto the anorexic monster. Even though she's a small target, at this distance, most of the bullets found home into the girl's flesh... only to be literally pushed out of the wounds, clattering uselessly onto the floor while the holes closed up much faster than what should've been possible. [color=dc4a49][b]"Mother...?"[/b][/color] [color=2c85ff][b]"Punish them, Caroline dear~"[/b][/color] As the trembling mafioso frantically tried to reload, it was already too late for them... .......... ..... ... Unbothered by the mutilated and singed corpses of four dead men behind her, Caroline smashed open the suitcase’s locks, revealing its content to be a file of some documents and pictures. They appeared to be evidences against a certain politician involved in human trafficking or something like that, the blonde didn't personally care. She simply held out one hand over the items as deep blue light enveloped them. When she pulled her arm back, the documents became nothing more than pieces of blank paper and the photographs showed nothing but a flat black surface, The Mother had claimed them. [color=2c85ff][b]"You're such a sweetie, honey~"[/b][/color] [color=dc4a49][b]"Ehehe~"[/b][/color] The girl giggled mirthfully, hearing the praise was really nice and combined with the pleasure she had from siphoning the information, she was one happy little girl. [b]"Breaking News. This just in, groups of masked criminals are attacking Central Penrose as we speak. All citizens, please stay indoors until authorities have dealt with the threat."[/b] The newscaster reported, his voice relayed through the television's speakers. [color=2c85ff][b]"Hear that, child? Be a sweetie and investigate that for me, would you? It's not too far away from where you are."[/b][/color] [color=dc4a49][b]"Yes, Mom~"[/b][/color] The petite blonde nodded gingerly once as flames enveloped her body, purging all the filth off her thin frame, then they coalesced into the shape of an outfit, forming a scarlet ragged dress with a peculiar hem as it constantly ebbed and flaked off pieces of itself much like sparks from a burning campfire. Her back-length locks styled itself into a ponytail at her left temple before a red ribbon kept them in place, formed in the same manner as her dress. Then, she held out her left hand as tongues of flames slithered outward to merge together, forming a peculiar sword-like magic staff that was taller than its wielder. That done, Caroline flapped her crystalline branch-wings and flew out of the mobster's hideout by crashing through a window before taking to the skies, soaring toward downtown Penrose.